FILIPINO veteran All Rivera scored a huge upset after beating promising prospect Omar Juarez via a 10-round majority decision on June 28 (PH time) at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Juarez started out strong and landed his punches early on. Rivera, however, landed a left straight that marked Juarez under his left eye.
Rivera did some veteran tactics by roughing up the 22-year-old Juarez and putting him out of his game.
Rivera was given a warning by referee Mark Nelson in round four after using his shoulder to take Juarez down to the canvas.
Juarez continued to connect with his punch combinations and was more accurate with his attack.
Rivera was slapped with another warning after an uppercut below the belt.
The 28-year-old Rivera, known for his heavy hands, dropped Juarez with a counter right hook in the ninth round that sealed him the win.
Rivera got the nod of the two of the three judges. Octavio Rodriguez had it 95-94 and Kyle Shiely scored it 95-93 for Rivera, while Scott Erickson saw it even at 95-95.
Rivera logged his first win in US soil after losing his first two fights there against Malik Hawkins in 2019 and Rances Barthelemy early in 2021. He improved to 22-5 with 18 knockouts.
Juarez, on the other hand, suffered his first career defeat and dropped to 11-1 with five knockouts. (EKA)