Andres Cortes W10 Eridson Garcia... In the main event at Zuffa Boxing 05 in Las Vegas, local lightweight Andres Cortes claimed a dominant decision victory over Dominican contender Eridson Garcia over ten rounds. Cortes kept Garcia guessing early by staying at range, then blitzing in with two- or three-punch combinations, before sliding back out of range to avoid Garcia’s attempted counters. Cortes’s approach started to cause problems for Garcia, who was repeatedly warned for holding through round three, and between round referee Thomas Taylor warned his corner that a point deduction could follow if he continues to hold. And, sure enough, in round four, Garcia was hit with a point sanction by the official after again failing to let go on the call of break. It exacerbated things for the Dominican fighter, who was already struggling to keep up with his undefeated opponent.

 

From the mid-point of the fight, Cortes switched tactics and opted to close the distance, and Garcia seemingly had no answer to Cortes whenever the pair fought on the inside, with the Las Vegas native feasting at close quarters, ripping Garcia to the body and head. By the end of the seventh round, Cortes was exuding the confidence of a man who knew he had his opponent’s number. That didn’t change through the final three rounds, as Cortes comfortably negotiated the final nine minutes of the fight to claim a decision by scores of 97-92, 96-93 and 95-94 and move to 25-0 for his career.