Yoenis “Bandolero” Tellez did not have a clean night. A clash of heads in round three left his nose badly damaged, blood spilling onto the canvas, and he would later describe the pain as “10 out of 10”. What he did next — continuing to box sharply, maintain accuracy, and out-land Brian “La Bala” Mendoza across every subsequent round — said more about his character than any technical display. When the scorecards came in at 98-92, 97-93, and 97-93, the numbers matched what the data already showed: Tellez was the better fighter on the night, and the stats backed every point.
Read our pre-fight preview and prediction for full fighter profiles and pre-fight context.
| Yoenis Tellez | Brian Mendoza | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 25 | 31 |
| Record (after) | 12-1 (9 KOs) | 23-5 (17 KOs) |
| Height | 5’10” | 5’10” |
| Reach | 72” | 70” |
| Nationality | Cuba | USA |
| Nickname | Bandolero | La Bala |
| Round | Tellez Landed | Tellez Acc. | Mendoza Landed | Mendoza Acc. | Round Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 6/25 | 24.0% | 8/38 | 21.1% | Mendoza |
| R2 | 16/50 | 32.0% | 15/55 | 27.3% | Tellez |
| R3 | 7/25 | 28.0% | 10/48 | 20.8% | Close |
| R4 | 14/47 | 29.8% | 17/57 | 29.8% | Close |
| R5 | 17/50 | 34.0% | 12/40 | 30.0% | Tellez |
| R6 | 18/45 | 40.0% | 12/63 | 19.0% | Tellez |
| R7 | 24/60 | 40.0% | 15/56 | 26.8% | Tellez |
| R8 | 15/47 | 31.9% | 14/45 | 31.1% | Close |
| R9 | 18/49 | 36.7% | 12/48 | 25.0% | Tellez |
| R10 | 12/37 | 32.4% | 10/51 | 19.6% | Tellez |
| Total | 147/435 | 33.8% | 125/501 | 24.9% | Tellez |
Mendoza came out as the busier fighter in round one, landing 8 to Tellez’s 6, exploiting the early exchanges to establish a physical presence. But from round two onwards, the data tells a different story. Tellez’s accuracy began to climb — 32% in round two against Mendoza’s 27.3% — as the Cuban found the range and began timing his entries. Despite the round-three head clash that would define the night’s narrative, Tellez never stopped performing the fundamentals: throwing clean, accurate shots and forcing Mendoza to commit to big, wasteful output.
The tactical gap showed most clearly in the volume differential. By round four, Mendoza had thrown 198 punches to Tellez’s 147 — but their landed totals were almost identical (49 vs 44). Mendoza was working 35% harder for the same output. That is an efficiency deficit that compounds across 10 rounds.
The middle third of the fight is where Tellez built the margin the scorecards reflected. In rounds six and seven — with the broken nose already a factor — he landed 42 punches at a combined 40% accuracy rate, while Mendoza contributed 27 at 22.5%. Round six was particularly revealing: Mendoza threw 63 punches and landed just 12 (19%), wasting energy on a combination-heavy strategy that Tellez’s movement was neutralising. Tellez, meanwhile, picked his spots and connected cleanly.
The 40% accuracy in rounds six and seven, sustained through genuine physical adversity, represented the kind of performance the Boxing Data system is designed to highlight — a fighter who was less clean statistically at the start of the fight actually improving their accuracy through the championship rounds while fighting hurt.
With a clear lead on the cards, Tellez managed the final three rounds intelligently. His accuracy held above 31% throughout, and even in round ten — the final round, with the fight seemingly won — he threw 37 punches and landed 12 at 32.4%. Mendoza’s output reached its least productive in the closing round: 51 thrown, 10 landed, 19.6% accuracy. The judges’ numbers (98-92, 97-93, 97-93) reflected what the data showed throughout.
The human element of this performance deserves acknowledgement. Tellez later described fighting with a broken nose as an experience of pain at the maximum end of the scale, with breathing impaired and blood a persistent presence for seven rounds. The fact that his accuracy actually improved from the early rounds — rising from 24-28% in rounds one through three to a consistent 32-40% from round five onwards — confirms this was not a fighter who survived despite the injury but one who adapted and performed through it.
At 12-1, with the WBA ranking him highly at 154 pounds, Tellez is now positioned as a genuine super welterweight title contender. A division featuring Fundora (WBC), Xander Zayas (WBA/WBO) and Josh Kelly (IBF) offers significant opportunities, and Tellez’s combination of accuracy, championship-round stamina, and mental toughness make him a credible challenger for any of them.
For Mendoza, the result compounds a difficult period. At 23-5, his power and aggression remain evident — he threw 501 punches, landing 125 — but in a division of elite technical boxers, output without accuracy is not enough to win fights. His margin of 24.9% accuracy across 10 rounds was not competitive against a fighter of Tellez’s quality.
The Fundora–Thurman PPV produced results across all five main bouts. Read our reviews of the full card:
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