Twice recovering from being decked to the canvas by his Puerto Rican foe Alberto Machado, Mexican fighter Angel Fierro produced a Knockout of the Year candidate with a left hook that thrilled fans watching live on US television.
A Mexico vs Puerto Rico boxing clash once again delivered on Thursday night, as fierce underdog Fierro rose from Machado's two knockdowns to deliver a devastating finish at the Albergue Olimpico in Salinas.
Fighting in his opponent’s backyard on the Caribbean isle, late replacement Fierro was dropped in the first and second rounds before rallying to take home the vacant WBO NABO Lightweight crown via the stunning shot in the sixth.
“Got to put the Mexicans down," quipped one viewer on Twitter, analyzing Machado's failure to complete the job. "It ain’t never over."
Another fan warned: "[Don't] make light of a last-minute replacement opponent fighter out of Tijuana ever again. Comeback of the Year 2021?”
Speaking post-fight, Fierro said: “[Machado] dropped me twice but I was able to come back.
"I’m just ecstatic that I was able to face a fighter of his quality and come out victorious.
“When I went back to my corner, I told them to remind me of my daughter because with this fight, I could change her life.
"That’s exactly what they did after the third round; they told me I could change her life with a win tonight.
"They motivated me. I didn’t come here to be a tourist in Puerto Rico; I came to win.”
Fierro’s demolition of former WBA 130lb-titlist Machado is the second stunning come-from-behind KO for new promotion Ring City USA, which as of this month provides a Thursday Night Boxing programme for NBCSN.
At the beginning of March, fans were left speechless by a similarly thunderous showstopper from Brandon Adams that analyst Brian Campbell dubbed “the left hook from hell”, with organisers hailing the fact that both their main events thus far have seen victory snatched from the jaws of defeat.
Like Fierro – now 18-1-1 – Adams was down on all three scorecards to Serhii Bohachuk before wresting away his WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight title and improving to 22-3.
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