Samuel Molina clung on to the European welterweight title at Malaga, Spain’s classic bullfighting arena, La Malagueta, when he fought to a majority 12-round draw with Belguim’s Anas Messaoudi.
The challenger and taller man used his reach advantage, alongside impressive hand speed, to make life difficult for Spain’s Molina before the champion, the aggressor, came on strong down the stretch.
One judge favored Messaoudi by a 115-114 score but was overruled by two tallies of 114-114. The 26-year-old Molina is now 32-3-1 (15 KOs) while Messaoudi, 31, slipped to 17-0-1 (11 KOs).
In chief support, Spain’s 22-year-old Rafael Acosta, 15-1 (6 KOs) retained the EBU Silver strap at lightweight by stopping 30-year-old Italian Giuseppe Carafa, 20-7-2 (3 KOs) in the third round.
The event was promoted by Saga Heredia and Tundra.
