Co-Main Event: Michel Pereira defeats Santiago Ponzinibbio via split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Brazil’s Michel Pereira may have earned a place in the welterweight rankings with a hard-fought three-round split decision Santiago Ponzinibbio in an exciting co-main event
Scores were 30-27, 29-28, 28-29 for Pereira, now 28-11, 2 NC. The No.14-ranked Ponzinibbio falls to 29-6.
Ponzinibbio had trouble getting his offense in gear against the bigger Pereira, and as he chased his elusive foe, he left himself open to the Brazilian’s kicks and punches, with a right hand to the head with a little over a minute left in the opening stanza stunning the Argentina native briefly.
After some more difficulty getting close early in round two, Ponzinibbio began landing some hard shots in the second half of the frame, and as Pereira tried to answer his opponent’s charge, the action heated up and set up an interesting third round.
Bloodied, tired, but still willing to dig deep in search of victory, Ponzinibbio and Pereira continued to scrap in the final five minutes, with a last-minute surge of landed shots by the “Argentine Dagger” putting a stamp on a tough fight to call.