Rafael Espinoza stops Sergio Chirino to retain WBO title: Highlights and results

Rafael Espinoza defended his WBO title with a TKO win over Sergio Chirino.

Rafael Espinoza made a successful first title defense tonight, stopping Sergio Chirino in the fourth round to retain his WBO featherweight title.

Espinoza (25-0-0, 21 KO) pulled a big upset last December, coming out of nowhere to beat Robeisy Ramirez in a fantastic fight, and though Chirino (22-2, 13 KO) was not exactly a highly-regarded or proven contender — even taking into account his No. 2 ranking by the WBO — it’s a strong first title defense, as the 6’1” Mexican looked sharp and destructive, dropping Chirino three times.

Super featherweight contender Andres Cortes stayed unbeaten with a debatable decision win over Abraham Nova. Cortes (22-0, 12 KO) won on scores of 96-94, 97-93, and 97-93. Nova falls to 23-3 (16 KO) and has now lost two straight.

Troy Isley was also victorious on the show, beating Javier Martinez via 10-round unanimous decision in a meeting of middleweight prospects who haven’t exactly set the world on fire thus far in their careers, and still didn’t tonight in a foul-filled contest.

Judges had it 96-92, 97-91, and 97-91 for Isley, who improves to 13-0 (5 KO), with Martinez dropping to 10-1-1 (3 KO).