Rafael Espinoza retained his WBO featherweight world title in emphatic fashion on Saturday night, delivering a dominant performance against Arnold Khegai at Arena Potosí in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. From the opening bell, the towering 6-foot-1 Mexican champion controlled the action, using his height, reach, and precision punching to keep Khegai on the defensive. By the end of the tenth round, the challenger’s corner had seen enough. With Khegai bruised, bloodied, and absorbing increasing punishment, they halted the bout before the start of the eleventh, resulting in an official TKO at ten seconds of the round.

Espinoza (28-0, 24 KOs), the tallest featherweight champion in history, became the first fighter to stop Khegai (23-3-1, 14 KOs), a seasoned ten-year professional known for his durability. Though Khegai found sporadic success with looping overhand rights and fought with grit throughout, he struggled to break through Espinoza’s steady offense. Matters worsened in the seventh round when an accidental headbutt opened a cut near Khegai’s already swollen left eye. Espinoza capitalized, landing sharp uppercuts and maintaining relentless pressure from range.

Nearly two years removed from his upset victory over Robeisy Ramirez to claim the world title, Espinoza has now logged four successful title defenses—each by knockout. Reflecting on the win, he expressed satisfaction with both the result and the spectacle he delivered for the fans. “I know that nobody had ever stopped him before, and I’m the first,” he said. “He’s a powerful fighter, but tonight I showed that I’m better.” As for what’s next, Espinoza remains open, noting he feels strong at featherweight but will evaluate future opportunities before deciding his next move.

In action on the undercard:

It was an IBF junior welterweight world title eliminator, where Lindolfo Delgado kept his undefeated record with a, controversial split decision over Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela. All three judges scored the fight 114-113, with two judges favoring the Linares, Mexico, native  Delgado who improves to 24-0, 16 KOs, if barely. The 2016 Olympian, built an early lead on the scorecards before Valenzuela now 31-5-1, 17 KOs, rebounded to tighten things up in the middle rounds. The back and forth continued but, dramatically, Valenzuela put Delgado on the canvas with a left hook in the final round and thought he'd done enough to win once the final bell sounded.

Ultimately, it was Delgado who prevailed in the nip-and-tuck affair. "This was not an easy fight. Valenzuela is a good fighter," Delgado said. "He shocked me with a knockdown, but I had a strong desire to get back in there and really win. There were some rounds that he may have won by a little bit, but I won the majority of the rounds."

American heavyweight hopeful Richard Torrez Jr. continued his march up the rankings and defended his NABO and NABF titles with a first-round stoppage over Czech veteran Tomas Salek. Torrez (14-0, 12 KOs), who earned Olympic silver for Team USA in 2021, blitzed Salek (23-8, 14 KOs) from the opening bell. He landed a clean right hook that bloodied Salek's nose and subsequently, Salek said to the ring doctor that he couldn't continue due to the likely broken nose.

"The quick result was because our camp went well," Torrez said. "We love to give the people a good show. I’m thankful that we had a good camp. A win is a win, and we’ll be back in the gym tomorrow."

Now, it's time for a better quality of opponent for Torrez.