Estrada-Rodriguez Undercard Results: Cardenas Edges Barrios; Rubalcava Wins In Matchroom Debut

Arturo Cardenas took in the advice of Robert Garcia and applied it all the way to the finish line.

A hard fought battle with locally-based Danny Barrios saw Cardenas ride a second half surge to take a well-earned majority decision win. Judge Robert Tapper (95-95) had the fight even, overruled by scores of 96-94 and 97-93 for Cardenas.

Their terrific junior featherweight battle served as the DAZN opener Saturday from Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Barrios—who resides in nearby Glendale—raced out to an early lead as Cardenas struggled with his movement and activity. Cardenas landed the more telling blows but Barrios was by far the busier fighter throughout the first half.

That changed in a big way, once Garcia implored Cardenas to let his left hook fly.

A significant increase in punch output turned the tide for Cardenas. Barrios was hurt on a few occasions and also battled fatigue as he badly faded in the later rounds. A two-way exchange ended the eighth round and brought the rabid crowd to its feet.

Barrios stood his ground in the tenth and final round, while Cardenas was given the marching orders to go for the knockout. That moment never came for the unbeaten California native. Barrios boxed even as he was booed by his local fans, while Cardenas waved his arms and dared his foe to engage.

Final punchstat numbers were in line with the tight scorecards. Barrios (132-of-489 total punches, 27% connect rate) was the slightly busier fighter, Cardenas (133-of-463, 28.7%) the slightly more accurate.

The crowd turned against Barrios and cheered on the visiting Cardenas as both mounted opposite turnbuckles. In the end, it was Cardenas (14-0-1, 8 knockouts) who left with his unbeaten record still intact. Barrios (15-1, 5 KOs) was dealt his first defeat and will head home having to accept that he let one slip away.

Gabriel Muratalla (12-0, 6 KOs) earned an eight-round, unanimous decision over Hermosillo’s Carlos Fontes (23-4-1, 19 KOs) in their bantamweight affair. Scores were 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 for Muratalla, whose younger brother Raymond (20-0, 16 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 6-rated lightweight contender.

Phoenix’s own Fabian Rojo (9-0, 7 KOs) delivered a knockout finish for his adoring fans. The 22-year-old southpaw halted Daniel Gonzalez (5-2, 2 KOs) in the second round of their junior middleweight contest. A pair of left hands sent Gonzalez to the canvas, which produced an immediate stoppage.

The first fight of the evening saw Leonardo Rubalcava enjoy a successful Matchroom Boxing debut. The 21-year-old junior welterweight outpointed William Flenoy (3-4-1, 1 KO) over six rounds. Scores were 60-54, 59-55 and 59-55 for Rubalcava (8-0, 3 KOs).

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