By Jake Donovan
It wasn’t the all-out war that most expected, but Cosme Rivera and Antonio Pitalua went tooth and nail for the duration of their Telemundo-televised main event Friday evening in Mexico City.
In the end, the action proved to be a stalemate as the battle of former title challengers ended in a split decision draw.
Scores were 115-113 Rivera, 115-114 Pitalua and 114-114 even.
Rivera used constant movement in the early rounds, the typical blueprint when facing the relatively stationary Pitualua, who even as a middle-aged gatekeeper still carries fight altering power. The strategy managed to rack up rounds on the scorecards and also expose Pitalua’s 42-year old legs.
However, Pitalua’s pure pinching power wouldn’t remain caged for long. The Colombian-born slugger landed a bomb of a right hand in the fifth round to drive Rivera to the ropes, but the thrill would only last for a few seconds. Rivera regained his composure – and with that, control of the bout once again.
It looked as if Rivera would begin to pull away, peppering Pitalua with clean – if not particularly hard – shots in the sixth. More of the same came about in the seventh until Pitalua was once again able to get the crowd out of its collective seat with a booming right hand towards the end of the round.
The shot had a lasting effect on Rivera, who played keep away in the eighth and not offering very much offense in return. Whatever punches were offered, Pitalua was easily able to avoid, offering slick head movement (or as slick as can be the case in this stage of his career) while craving the opportunity to unload his right. Rivera’s lateral movement disallowed that moment, although the lanky Mexican was beginning to give away rounds.
Chants of “Chino” filled the arena in support of Rivera, who responded to the support of his countrymen with an uplifting ninth round. Movement was still offered, but Rivera also stood his ground and made his presence felt when the situation called for it. Pitalua didn’t quite know how to react, other than to block combinations with his face.
Realizing the fight was slipping away, Pitalua picked up the aggression in the 10th, rather than waiting around for a knockout opportunity that wasn’t presenting itself. Now making his home in Mexico City, Pitalua found friends among his adopted countrymen, who began to drown out the “Chino” cheers with a “Pitalua” chant of their own.
Unlike Rivera’s action to the crowd the round prior, Pitalua’s attempt at pleasing the paying patrons wasn’t quite as productive. A greater rate of activity was offered, but much of it of the wide and looping variety, so much that even the defensively challenged Rivera was able to avoid cleanly getting hit.
Rivera pumped his jab in the “championship” rounds (a fringe title was at stake), often following it up with a straight right hand to keep Pitalua honest. The extra pep in his step indicated Rivera enjoying a world of confidence as he was nearly clinical in his attack. Pitalua reverted back to stalker mode, but his punches telegraphed enough to where he was unable to effectively unload.
The final round was Pitalua at his most desperate – which also meant his most dangerous. Rivera remained well aware of what he had in front of him, not taking any foolish risks down the stretch while Pitalua continuously stalked but was unable to capture his prey.
As it turned out, Pitalua didn’t need to do much more than what he offered throughout the night – constant forward movement. It proved to be enough to keep the fight within reach, though a more effective rally down the stretch would’ve surprisingly earned him the nod on at least two cards.
Instead, the 42-year old escapes with a split decision draw that many will argue probably should’ve went towards his opponent. Nevertheless, it marks the second time within his past three fights in which he was unable to secure a victory as his record moves to 52-5-1 (46KO).
Rivera offered arguably his best performance in years, but fails to obtain the win to show for it. Instead, he settles for his first draw verdict in more than a decade. His record now stands at 32-14-3 (23KO), with just two official wins among his past nine contests.
Amazingly, the fight is just the first draw in the 19-year career of Pitalua. It’s also just the 10th time in 58 contests that a fight of his didn’t end in knockout, although a decision win remains an elusive target.
The last time Pitalua’s hand was raised in a fight that went to the cards was 11 years ago. That statistic should’ve been changed last year, when he landed on the wrong end of a controversial split decision against Ed Paredes.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.