Roman Martinez vs. Orlando Salido: Recap, Scorecard and Reaction

In a gripping, savage bout on the Mayweather-Berto undercard, Orlando "Siri" Salido and Roman "Rocky" Martinez fought to a surprising 12-round split draw Saturday, allowing Martinez to retain the WBO world super-featherweight title he took from Salido back in April. 

Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole had the scores from the judges' cards:   

UCNLive.com's Steve Kim loved the pairing: 

The different outcome notwithstanding, this display was similar to the knockdown, drag-out scrap between these two in April. Martinez (29-2-3, 17 KOs) won that bout via unanimous decision after scoring knockdowns in the third and fifth rounds.

This time around, Salido (42-13-3, 29 KOs) overcame a knockdown in the third round and wobbly legs in the fourth to control the middle portion of the match. Martinez was never out of any round, firing away at will, and did enough to impress the judges and hold on for a draw.

Some, like ESPN.com's Dan Rafael and Saturday Night Boxing's Adam Abramowitz, felt Salido deserved a win: 

Compubox showed the punch stats were, indeed, in Salido's favor: 

In any case, the fight lived up to its pre-match hype. 

"Everyone saw that the first fight against Salido was a true war. This time around, I'm planning to give my fans the same type of fight," Martinez said prior to the bout, per Rafael. "I predict a nonstop-action slugfest."

True to Martinez's words, the bout started off fiercely and never let up from there. Even at 34 years old, Salido proved yet again he isn't afraid to mix it up with anyone. He moved forward incessantly, challenging Martinez from the outset.

Salido cracked Martinez with a hard right hook early in the second round, but Martinez took it well. It was indicative of the kind of fight fans anticipated.

There were several exchanges during which both fighters took hard, clean shots. Where lesser boxers might have wilted, these two soldiered on. The third round featured plenty of carnage as both fighters scored knockdowns. However, Martinez's tumble was questionable, as Bad Left Hook's Scott Christ and Iole explained:

Salido looked worse for wear after his knockdown. Another big shot from Martinez buckled him in the fourth round. It was a brutal, rugged start for Salido and similar to his match against Martinez in April, when he hit the canvas in the third and fifth rounds.

Steve Marcus/Associated Press

True to form, Salido kept hammering away, not for a second fighting from the back foot. The all-out offensive prevented Martinez from capitalizing on his earlier successes. After a strong fifth round from Salido, SHO Stats passed on the punch stats up to that point:

Remarkably, after being knocked down and staggered in the early rounds, Salido was in control of the bout at the halfway point. Martinez's jab couldn't keep Salido from getting in close. The Mexican challenger rained down punches from myriad angles and moved forward with the single-minded purpose of a Terminator.

John Locher/Associated Press

Martinez had little opportunity to move around the ring and gather himself. He still had his moments, though, hammering away at Salido's head with few other strategies available to him under the constant pressure. Salido had the uppercut working at times, a punch that Martinez did better work with early in the fight.

Actress and noted boxing fan Rosie Perez was digging the show: 

The wild exchanges continued into the late rounds. Both fighters stayed in the pocket, foreheads touching and ripping away at each other's flesh. Salido did yeoman's bodywork, but Martinez usually had a counter waiting for him.

Iole noted Martinez had a great moment in a chaotic 10th round: 

Neither fighter relented, even as the obvious physical toll mounted. Rocky, despite being two years younger than Salido, looked gassed. He kept up the work rate, however, and apparently did enough to save a draw.

This fight would seem tailor-made for a trilogy. Salido may feel hard done by the referees after both fights. He looked like the better fighter for several rounds in Las Vegas and felt he was held back by the referee while fighting in Puerto Rico, where Martinez is from, in the first chapter.

"I was very prepared for the first fight but the referee wouldn't let me fight my fight. It seemed the referee was talking to me the whole 12 rounds. I was trying to focus only on my opponent, but I couldn't," he said, per Rafael.

A potential third bout between these two would be a can't-miss event for hardcore boxing fans.