In a night of competitive fights (in a sport plagued by A-side/B-side matchmaking), Joseph Adorno won a tough decision over Hugo Alberto Roldan to become the IBF Latino Jr. Welterweight champion in Saturdays ShoBox main event. All three judges scored it 95-94 for Adorno; ITRBoxing had it for Adorno 96-93. 

Adorno (17-1-2, 14 ko) boxed really well early, capitalizing on Roldan’s reckless aggression with check left hooks and uppercuts and dropping him in round two. It looked like it could have been an early night. But as the fight got into the middle rounds, Roldan’s awkward lunging in style started to bother Adorno, as Roldan (21-1-1, 7 ko) started landing shots of his own, mixed with a few accidental headbutts that caused swelling over Adorno’s left eye. Adorno closed strong and seemed to be the clear winner. Despite already fighting several top fighters, at only 23 Adorno is still very much developing, and as his trainer Chino Rivas told him in the corner at one point, this fight will only make him better. 

In the featherweight co-feature, Frency Fortunato (14-1, 10 ko) won a controversial split decision over Bernard Torres (16-1, 7 ko). Fortunato boxed really well from distance behind his jab in the first half of the fight, dropping Torres in round 4. But as the fight wore on, Torres pressure seemed to catch up to Fortunato as he started opening up with combinations. Torres closed the fight strong and it seemed like a flip a coin fight, although one judge had it for Fortunato 97-92. The others split it 95-94 each way. I had it 95-94 for Torres, who seemed to close strong enough down the stretch to get the nod. 

Also on the card, Roiman Villa (25-1, 24 ko) dropped and decision Janelson Bocachica (17-1-1, 11 ko) in a fun scrap.