The fight nearly came to an early end in round three, when Tellez was on the receiving end of an accidental headbutt that sent him down with a broken and bloodied nose. After using nearly the whole five minutes allowed to recover, Tellez rose to his feet and resumed the action.
"My corner lifted me up and they got me back into the fight,” said Tellez. “When you're a warrior you don't show any weakness, but I had trouble breathing, there's no doubt. The pain was a 10 out of 10, but I'm a warrior and my corner told me I had the courage and that I could get this win.”
"He kept trying to switch to smother me and that's how the headbutt happened,” said Mendoza. “It was just because of him switching.”
Despite a bloodied nose, Tellez began to find his range against Mendoza, working off the jab to pile up rounds and turn the tide after the headbutt. Mendoza was able to regain some momentum with a strong flurry to end round six, despite a left eye that began to bleed and that would remain bloodied through the rest of the action.
"The biggest thing was that I had to be aware not to get hit in the nose,” said Tellez. “I definitely had to think about it. I had to think more and focus on my defense."
Both fighters stepped on the gas to begin round nine, landing eye catching shots in the early moments that sent the crowd into a frenzy, and seemed to buoy the two fighters through the last two frames. Another nip and tuck round closed the bout, with both men looking to pull away on the scorecards.
In a narrow fight that saw the two fighters land nearly the same number of power shots (74-71 Tellez), the judges favored the more accurate fighter in Tellez (34% connect rate to 25%), by scores of 98-92 and 97-93 twice.
Sean Michael Ham / Premier Boxing Champions