Lindolfo Delgado needed two tries to make weight – and then some assistance from the judges to claim a victory.
The unbeaten Mexican was lustily booed upon receiving a split decision over countryman Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela. Scores were 114-113 on all three cards – one for Gollaz and the other two for Delgado – in their ESPN Knockout/Top Rank Classics FAST channel-aired IBF title eliminator Saturday evening from Arena Coliseo in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Delgado survived a 12th-round knockdown to prevail in a bout to determine the mandatory challenger to the IBF 140lbs title held by Richardson Hitchins, 20-0 (8 KOs).
Both boxers were in search of redemption, though for vastly different reasons.
It has been a year to forget for Guadalajara’s Gollaz, 31-5-1 (17 KOs), who suffered a brutal eighth-round stoppage defeat to Subriel Matias in their March 1 IBF title eliminator. The 31-year-old fringe contender Gollaz returned to the win column one fight later, though he struggled mightily in a 10-round unanimous decision over club fighter Manuel Medina.
Delgado entered the fight as an unbeaten, rising contender. However, he needed two tries during each of the IBF weigh-ins – the official pre-fight session as well as the second-day hydration check – to make weight and proceed with this bout, raising concerns over his ability to make 140lbs beyond Saturday night, particularly in his eventually ordered title shot.
Gollaz was the sharper of the two in the early going, arguably taking each of the opening three frames. Delgado punched in combination but was often short with his jab and right hand. Gollaz smartly worked behind the jab and boxed well in a bout in which he was viewed as the cruder fighter.
Through four rounds, Delgado was warned both for low blows and using his elbow at close quarters. A 2016 Mexican Olympian, Delgado found a way to fight within the rules and seized momentum in Round 5. Gollaz’s offense slowed, though he managed a right hand that landed on Delgado’s chin in the sixth.
Delgado enjoyed his best round of the fight to that point in the sixth, taking the frame though clean combination punching. Swelling began to develop around Gollaz’s right eye, which was also a factor in his abovementioned defeat to Matias earlier this year.
Gollaz’s offense dramatically slowed in the sixth. Delgado was steady with his jab and right hand behind it, while Gollaz didn’t have much in return to offer against his countryman.
The start to the second half of the bout saw Gollaz resume control, even if only for a round or so. Gollaz used his jab to keep Delgado at his desired distance.
Delgado attempted a more assertive approach in the eighth. He still pumped his jab but with greater conviction. He also landed a pair of left hooks upstairs, as well as another to the body. Gollaz connected with a pair of two-one combinations down the middle, which worsened Delgado’s bloody nose.
Momentum swung back in Delgado’s favor in the ninth round. Gollaz was steady with his right hand throughout the frame, but he couldn’t get his defense squared away quick enough to avoid a leaping left hook by Delgado midway through.
Gollaz fought with a sense of urgency in the 10th. His right eye was worsening and there was concern that the ringside physician would ultimately call for the fight to be stopped as a result. He responded to the threat with a series of power shots, most of which found the mark as Delgado struggled to adjust his defense.
Delgado charged forward in the 11th, but he often missed with his jab. He found success with his straight right, though, as Gollaz’s left eye began to swell. Delgado worked his way out of a clinch and landed a pair of chopping lefts at close quarters. Gollaz was not without his moments. The check left hook continued to be money for the hard-luck contender.
A more purposeful left hook connected in the opening seconds of the 12th and final round. The shot sent Delgado to the canvas for the bout’s lone knockdown and should have sealed his fate. However, he was already far enough ahead on two of the three cards, meaning it was Gollaz who needed a knockout to win.
The unpopular verdict sent Delgado’s record to 24-0 (16 KOs), while Gollaz fell to 31-5-1 (17 KOs) with his second defeat in his past three starts. Delgado was also considered fortunate to have edged past Elvis Rodriguez in a majority decision on April 5 in Las Vegas.
Absent an immediate rematch ordered by the IBF, Delgado will be granted a title shot at some point in 2026.
Delgado-Gollaz served in supporting capacity to the Rafael Espinoza-Arnold Khegai WBO 126lbs title fight.
