By: Sean Crose
The interim WBA flyweight title was on the line Saturday night in Orlando, Florida. Angelino Cordova was determined to go home with the secondary title. First, however he would have to defeat Yankiel Rivera. The fight which was scheduled for 12 rounds and was the main event on a DAZN MVP card. Cordova threw wildly in the first. By the mid part of the round it was clear it was simply the man’s style. Indeed, Cordova ended up being thrown to the floor by Rivera in the opening chapter.
Rivera was able to land well at the end of the second while Cordova essentially threw wild punches and grabbed and held. Rivera who is clearly the more polished and professional of the two had an excellent third round for himself. The fourth round was so insane that there seemed to be no order to it. Cordova threw and threw wildly, not planting his feet, not even really focusing on a particular target. When that didn’t work he would headbutt. He ended up going down at one point and that was ruled a knockdown but really who knew?
Cordova to his credit looked much sharper in the fifth than many likely expected. With that being said, Cordova got a point taken away from him in the following round for hitting behind the head. There was unsurprisingly another headbutt in the seventh. Rivera however appear to be in control of the round. The chaos continued throughout the 8th which saw Cordova being sent to the mat again.
Cordova was able to get a few good shots in the 9th. What made Cordova so strange is that he threw endless punches but never seemed to take aim beforehand. He just swung away. It allowed him to have some moments in the tenth, but how many? Believe it or not- and it was very hard to believe- Cordova almost knocked Rivera down in the 11th. He truly had the man hurt but Rivera was able to survive the round.
The last round frankly saw Rivera not doing much. Cordova’s chaotic style allowed him to land a few punches, but he never really gave himself the chance to look good. He was so sloppy and unconventional that it was hard to see whether or not he was being effective. The decision of the judges ended up being a draw.
