By Jake Donovan

Julian Rivera rode an early blitz to stave off a late rally from Edgar Jimenez to take a split decision in their flyweight war Friday evening in Mexico City.

Scores were 115-114 and 117-113 Rivera, and 115-114 Jimenez in their Telemundo-televised main event.

Rivera sprinted out to an early lead in a flyweight bout in which both combatants were badly in need of a victory. Jimenez struggled to get his offense untracked in the first three rounds, which cost him dearly in the end.

The fight truly became… well, a fight once Jimenez began rolling in the fourth round. The momentum swayed back and forth from that point onward, with neither fighter giving an inch. Rivera enjoyed a sizeable lead at the midway point, but saw Jimenez begin to chip away in the middle rounds.

A strange moment came early in the 10th when Rivera had Jimenez cornered and hurt, but was disallowed the opportunity to follow up as the referee intervened. It was thought that a standing eight-count was called, that perhaps the referee thought the ropes were all that prevented Jimenez from hitting the canvas. 

Instead, action simply resumed. Rivera did enough to take the round, which ultimately sealed the deal on two of the three scorecards. Jimenez rallied back hard in the 11th and 12th rounds, but came up just short in the end.

The crowd rightfully gave both fighters a standing ovation at the end of what was fittingly billed beforehand as a ‘Mexican Civil War.’ That it came down to a split decision only befitted the 12 rounds of intense action preceding the reading of the scorecards.

Rivera has now won two straight as he improves to 12-6 (2KO). Jimenez heads in the other direction, now in the midst of a two-fight losing streak in falling to 15-7-1 (11KO).

OTHER TELEVISED ACTION

Manuel Martinez (2-4, 2KO) worked every second of the way for his second career win, scoring a third round knockout over Juan Manuel Benitez (0-2, 0KO) in the final televised swing bout. Martinez was the busier throughout and had Benitez badly hurt before the referee intervened.

Guillermo Medina (5-2, 4KO) cruised to a second round corner stoppage over Angel Esau Molina (6-4, 2KO). Two knockdowns by Medina in the second round weren’t enough to convince the referee to slam the brakes on what had quickly become a mismatch. However, order was restored when the fight was stopped in between rounds. 

All three bouts aired live on Boxeo Telemundo.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox