Products You May Like
The co-main event between featherweight contenders Josh Emmett and Shane Burgos was expected to deliver fireworks, and it was like the Fourth of July at the Apex, with Emmett using two third-round knockdowns to break open a close fight and win a three-round unanimous decision.
Scores were 29-28 twice and 29-27 for the No. 8-ranked Emmett, now 16-2. The No. 10-ranked Burgos falls to 13-2.
Emmett was swinging his right hand with abandon in the early going, and he threw in the occasional short left hook for good measure. The bigger Burgos took the punches well as he moved forward, but he was taking too many of them, which only made Emmett more confident. Burgos stuck to the game plan, though, landing some hard calf kicks that were getting Emmett’s attention, and by the end of the round, both were trading bombs.
After hurting his left knee in the first frame, Emmett showed a sense of urgency in the second and he landed more flush shots that Burgos took with no issue. And as the New Yorker shook off the blows, he came back with more volume as he kept up a disciplined effort in the midst of an intense scrap.
In the opening minute of the final round, Emmett sat Burgos down with a short left hand, and while he recovered immediately, in a close fight a knockdown is pivotal. After the two rose, an inadvertent low kick by Burgos brought a momentarily halt to the fight, and when the action resumed, there was no let-up to the attacks of Emmett and Burgos. Midway through, another left hand dropped Burgos for the second time, and Emmett got in some ground strikes before Burgos got back to his feet. Looking to turn things around, Burgos went after Emmett, only to get rocked again just before the final horn.