Nicola Adams retained her WBO flyweight title by the skin of her teeth on Friday night at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Britain’s double Olympic gold medallist endured a far tougher night than expected and suffered the first blip of her career as rugged Mexican challenger Maria Salinas pushed her to a split draw over ten rounds.
The pressure of Salinas troubled the champion throughout the night with many of the rounds close and tough to score.
When the scorecards were read out, there were some boos as a portion of the crowd believed the Mexican should have been awarded the victory.
Adams was initially awarded the title after being upgraded from ‘interim’ status in July.
With the draw, she retains the belt, although it appears some feel she is fortunate to have done so.
You can read a round-up of the reaction to the bout below.
LATEST BOXING NEWS
97-93 to Adams
96-94 to Salinas
95-95 drawHow did you score Nicola Adams
Maria Salinas?
— Boxing on BT Sport
(@BTSportBoxing) September 27, 2019
Nicola Adams with some home cooking gift/draw. This is NOT how you retain your belt. Feel bad for Maria Salinas.
#boxing
— przemek garczarczyk (@garnekmedia) September 27, 2019
Nicola Adams barely squeezes out a home decision against a very game Marina Salinas. Adams hopefully learned some things tonight. She's 6-0 but far from the finished article based on tonight's performance.
— Stuckinkyiv Boxing (@stuckinkiev) September 27, 2019