Burgos-Fierro fight to a draw on Chocolatito-Martinez card

SAN DIEGO – Former teammates Juan Carlos Burgos and Angel Fierro have each others’ number.

Fierro won 96-94 on one card, but two scores of 95-95 overruled that to produce a majority draw Saturday evening at Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.

In the main event, former four-division champion Roman’ Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (50-3, 41 KOs) faces WBC flyweight titlist Julio Cesar ‘El Rey’ Martinez (18-1, 14 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round non-title bout contested at 118 pounds.

Fierro came into the fight with three straight knockout wins but could not knockout Burgos, who has never been stopped. That didn’t stop Fierro from taking it to his fellow Tijuana native in the early rounds.

Burgos connected with a pair of counter left hooks that kept Fierro at bay, but the Erik Morales-trained fighter switched up his offense and attacked in spurts.

Fierro has grown accustomed to knockout wins but figured to go rounds against the sturdy-chinned Burgos, who has never been stopped in 42 bouts heading into the night. The reputation was well-regarded by Fierro, who didn’t waste any punches while taking the fight to his fellow Tijuana native in the early rounds.

Fierro hurt Burgos in the third round and sent him to the canvas, but referee Thomas Taylor correctly ruled the damage was caused by Fierro stepping on his opponent’s foot and denying him the knockdown.

Burgos came alive in round eight, where he connected with a left hook and a right hand from long distance. Fierro fired back with a slew of combinations at close range.

It was a no holds barred ninth round. Both fighters traded huge shots, but Fierro appeared to be the more aggressive of the two. But it was the veteran Burgos who slipped a left hook, and a subsequent right hand countered Fierro to the inside.

Burgos stood his ground well enough in the 10th round to snap a three-bout losing streak although he didn’t win the fight. The 34-year-old moves to 34-6-3 (26 KOs), while Fierro suffered his second draw as a professional and moves to 19-1-2 (15 KOs).

Souleymane Cissokho remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Roberto Valenzuela Jr. in a super welterweight bout.

The judges scored the fight 100-90 and 99-91 twice, all for Cissokho, who improved to 15-0 (9 knockouts).

Both fighters traded knockdowns. After getting outclassed for the first three rounds, Valenzuela (19-3, 19 KOs) dropped the 30-year-old Cissokho to the canvas with a hard combination to the body. However, the France-based fighter came back with a right hand that put Valenzeual flat on his back.

In round two, Valenzuela, of Mexico, began to swell under his left eye. In round three, Valenzuela was cut on the nose. In round four, Valenzuela turned the tide and landed a hard combination to the body, and sent Cissokho to the canvas. In the final minute of the round, Cissokho uncorked a huge right that put Valenzuela on his back.

To round out the undercard, Diego Pacheco (14-0, 11 KOs), in his first fight with new trainer Jose Benavidez Sr., planted Genc’ The Sexy Albanian’ Pllana (9-4-1, 5 KOs) in a second-round destruction. The bout was contested just above the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds. Lightweight Marc Castro (6-0, 5 KOs) overcame a second-round knockdown to outpoint Mexico City’s Julio Madera (3-2, 2 KOs) over six rounds.