Armando Resendiz didn’t get a knockout in his U.S. debut, but the Mexican super middleweight prospect beat the best opponent he has faced in 12 professional fights.
The 22-year-old Resendiz edged Quilisto Madera by split decision in an action-packed, eight-round battle Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Judges Carla Caiz (78-74) and Fernando Villarreal (77-75) scored their fight for Resendiz, who lost 77-75 on the scorecard of judge Robert Hoyle.
Resendiz (12-0, 8 KOs) ended a 14-month layoff in a fan-friendly fight FS1 televised from Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall. The 28-year-old Madera (12-3, 8 KOs), of Stockton, California, fought for the first time in 23 months.
Resendiz and Madera went at it right until the final bell.
Madera nailed Resendiz with a right hand barely 10 seconds into the eighth and final round. That shot caused Resendiz to move around for a few seconds.
Resendiz and Madera continued to trade during a back-and-forth eighth round.
Resendiz caught Madera with a hard right hand just before the halfway point of the seventh round. Madera came right back with a right hand of his own, which initiated some solid exchanges for the remainder of that round.
Madera also suffered a cut above his left eyebrow toward the end of the seventh round. That cut was caused by what referee Thomas Taylor declared an accidental clash of heads.
Madera’s right-left combination was his best sequence of the sixth round. Resendiz drilled Madera with a right hand toward the end of the sixth round that made Madera try to hold him.
A left hook by Madera made Resendiz reset his feet with just over two minutes remaining in the fifth round. They traded right hands with about 1:20 to go in the fifth round.
A straight right hand by Resendiz moved Madera backward with about 15 seconds left in the fourth round. Resendiz’s right hand was his primary weapon in the third round, when he remained the aggressor.
Resendiz’s right uppercut snapped back Madera’s head and backed him into the ropes about 35 seconds into the second round. Resendiz pressured Madera throughout that second round and continually landed the harder punches in those three minutes.
Madera knocked Resendiz off balance with a left hook just before the midway mark of the first round. Madera caught Resendiz with a short, right hand coming out of a clinch with about 45 seconds to go in that opening round.
Madera also clipped Resendiz with back-to-back left hooks just before the first round ended.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.