Opening up action on Prime Video, unbeaten Mateo Tapia (17-0-1, 10 KOs) and the hard-charging Endry Saavedra (16-1-1, 13 KOs) fought to a majority draw in an explosive 10-round middleweight bout that saw both men hit the canvas.
In the end, one judges’ score of 94-92 for Tapia was overruled by two scores of 93-93.
The action first started heating up in round two, as Saavedra forced Tapia to the ropes and unloaded, connecting with a bruising right hand that put Tapia down in the last minute of the round. Tapia rose to his feet but Saavedra continued to stalk him around the ring and dropped him once again before the bell came to end the round.
"I thought I could have gotten him out of there because I'm a Mexican warrior,” said Saavedra. “I did everything I could and left everything in the ring. I was surprised he kept getting up, especially after the second knockdown. But he's a Mexican and he wasn't going to go out easily."
"He was getting me with some short shots on the inside and taking my legs and I just had to keep working him and stay in the fight,” said Tapia.
Saavedra appeared to be in control of the fight until round five when Tapia responded in electric fashion, blasting his opponent with a perfectly-timed counter right that sent him down. Saavedra appeared worse for wear in the couple of rounds after the knockdown, as Tapia was able to consistently find his offense and avoid return fire.
The tide turned back in Saavedra’s favor in round nine as he was able to close the distance on Tapia and stayed in his pocket before eventually wearing him down and forcing Tapia to the mat once again. Tapia showed heart to once again make it to the end of the round and landed several ferocious right hands on Saavedra in the final frame. Tapia won the final round on all three cards to earn the draw.
"I was prepared for 10 hard rounds,” said Tapia. “I feel like it could have gone either way. It was a tough fight. I knew he was going to bring the fight and I just tried to take advantage when I had openings. I'm glad we could give the fans a great fight."
"Everyone saw the fight and I know the fans here believed that I won,” said Saavedra. “I can only do my job. The judges had to do theirs.”
Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions