Shakeel Phinn was unstoppable on Thursday night in what should have been the biggest win of his career – that is until the judge's scorecards were read.

Phinn marched forward and inflicted most of the significant damage in an entertaining fight, but for his troubles he was ultimately left with a split draw against unbeaten Erik Bazinyan at Montreal Casino, in Montreal, Canada.

The judges scored the fight 97-93 (Phinn), 96-94 (Bazinyan) and 95-95.

The fight was a battle of former sparring partners and Canadians – both hailing from Quebec and both attracting their share of fans. Pressure from Phinn (26-3-2, 17 KOs) put Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs), traditionally a front-foot puncher, on his back foot from the start.

Phinn pushed ahead unleashing furious combinations as Bazinyan found himself on the ropes again and again. Bazinyan had a few moments of success boxing on the outside, but the temperament of the fight was simple – Phinn walked down Bazinyan over and over, and Bazinyan couldn’t keep him off.

Phinn seemed to take full control late in the ninth round as Bazinyan was hurt and nearly dropped with 20 seconds left in the round. Phinn’s conditioning was the X-factor, and as the final bell sounded and the familiar fighters embraced and turned together to the crowd, most observers expected Phinn to be rewarded with a career-defining win.

Instead, when the cards were read, Bazinyan – sporting a black eye and amid scattered boos from the crowd – made a quick exit from the ring. Without the win, Phinn settled for a consolation prize of taking photos in the ring and soaking up the appreciation of fans.

In the co-feature, junior lightweight Avery Martin Duval (11-0-1, 7 KOs) stopped Ezequiel Palaversic (8-3-1, 4 KOs) in the fourth round. The technical knockout occurred at 2:15 as the power of Duval wore down Palaversic.