Highlights
—Jorge Lara, who owns 10 first-round knockouts, came out looking for another quick ending against Jesus Rojas, landing big combinations and uppercuts in an aggressive first round.
—As both fighters fought in close, their heads clashed throughout the early rounds. In the third, Lara was cut above his right eye by a headbutt that referee Jack Reiss ruled accidental. From there, Rojas repeatedly targeted the eye with his jab and seized momentum.
—Prior to the start of the seventh round, with Lara unable to continue because of impaired vision, Reiss called an end to the bout. The fight went to the scorecards, with all three judges scoring it 57-57 for a technical draw.
For two rounds, Jorge Lara was in complete control of his 126-pound clash against once-beaten Jesus Rojas.
He pressed the action, landed clean shots to the head and body, and easily absorbed what little punishment Rojas dished out.
Then, with one clash of heads midway through the third round, everything turned.
Cut over his left eye by a headbutt that referee Jack Reiss ruled accidental, the unbeaten Lara suddenly struggled to hit his target, and Rojas turned into the aggressor, repeatedly attacking the eye with his jab.
At the end of the sixth round, with Lara unable to continue because of impaired vision, Reiss called an end to the bout. The scheduled 10-rounder went to the scorecards, with all three judges scoring the fight 57-57 for a technical draw.
Each judge gave Rojas (21-1-2, 15 KOs) the final two rounds, and Lara (27-0-2, 19 KOs) was less than pleased with the outcome.
“I’m very upset with the way this went,” he said. “Rojas is a dirty fighter. I came to fight and show people what this sport is all about. My eye kept getting worse and worse as the fight went on, and there was no way I could continue.”
Jorge Lara, left, suffered a cut over his right eye in the third round of his clash with Jesus Rojas, resulting in the fight being stopped after six rounds and scored a technical draw. (Suzanne Teresa/Premier Boxing Champions)
