José Francisco Rodríguez Tamayo vs. Oswaldo Novoa Mora

Last chance saloon for this pair of Mexican warriors, both of them former straw-weight champions. Novoa is 37 and has maybe the ugliest record of any currently active former world titlist, at 14-8-4, but in his pomp he was a handful even for his weight range's elites. Rodríguez is a dozen years his junior chronologically, but in ring years might be considered just as much a grey-beard. He already looked to be shot to bits in 2014, when he needed a gift draw to get past a determined yet limited Filipino journeyman by the name of Jomar Saballe "Wallopman" Fajardo (although Chihuas did take a clearer UD in their rematch in 2015, in fairness) and has been, at best, hot & cold since. He's riding a 10-0 streak with eight kayos, but that can be chalked up to careful matchmaking, with the greatest (and latest) victim being Hernán Israel "Tyson" Márquez Tadeo - himself indisputably shot to bits.

This will be fought on the ostensibly neutral turf of Cancún - over 2,000 miles away from both Rodríguez's native state of Nuevo León and Novoa's cradle of Guadalajara. That said, Chihuas is probably the favorite, and is coming in holding the hardware and with a great deal more positive momentum.

This will be for the WBC Latino super flyweight title, in Rodríguez's third defense. He is currently ranked #13 by the WBC. Novoa, who is on an 0-4-3 skid that stretches back five years, is absent from every major organization's rankings.

 

This content is protected

 

Chihuas beat Gallito by UD.

All three judges scored 95-92.