Former WBC light middleweight champion Sergio Mora predicted the bout between Stevie Spark and Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela could be the “fight of the night”.

It certainly delivered but Australian Spark fell short in the end, going down in a split decision defeat (96-93, 94-95, 95-94) to Gollaz after a 10-round war.

While Spark hit harder than his rival and primarily had the better moments of the pair throughout the fight as a whole, he was knocked down in the sixth round.

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Professional boxers and DAZN experts Jessica McCaskill and Darren Barker agreed Spark should have won.

That knockdown though, ultimately, may have been what cost the Australian in what was an entertaining fight on Sunday’s Canelo Alvarez vs John Ryder undercard.

As expected, it was an active opening to the fight from both men, with Spark in particular taking on the role of the aggressor as he worked to the body and backed up Gollaz to the ropes.

“You can tell from the body language of Gollaz, he’s taking the worst of it,” Chris Mannix said in commentary for DAZN.

Gollaz though responded with the better exchanges of the two in the second round, striking with variety to keep Spark under pressure as he jabbed upstairs and then went back downstairs.

Spark had the early momentum in the third round as the Australian backed up his rival with a big left hook, leaving Gollaz looking a bit unsteady and lethargic with his movement.

Spark continued to find success with that left hook throughout the third round and while Gollaz was doing well to take the damage, the question was how much longer he could last.

“He’s taking them pretty well but can he do it for 10 rounds?” asked Todd Grisham in commentary.

Mannix, meanwhile, said while Gollaz had been landing some shots of his own, the power of Spark’s punches had been the “difference” in the early rounds of the fight.

The challenge for Gollaz was to maintain his aggression and keep up with the Australian without overextending and leaving himself open to Spark’s power.

Gollaz did just that in the latter stages of the fourth round to regain some momentum and back Spark up but the bell sounded soon after.

As the action resumed and entered the fifth round it was Spark once more who had the better of the exchanges early, firing a big right hand at Gollaz.

The difference in body language between the two was clear to Mannix heading into the sixth, with Gollaz “flat-footed” and “backing up” while Spark was “fighting on his toes” and “looking like he’s in command”.

That all changed in the sixth round though, even after Spark landed a big overhand right early, as Gollaz had his best round of the fight and knocked down the Australian with a body shot.

Gollaz continued to go to the body throughout the round and while Spark survived, the momentum had certainly tipped in the Mexican’s favour.

But just when it looked like Gollaz had the clear advantage, Spark fired right back and backed his rival up to the ropes.

“You wouldn’t know Stevie Spark just got hurt, would you?” Grisham said.

“He’s laying it down.”

The fight was certainly delivering on expectations, with both Spark and Gollaz producing fireworks as the pair went to an eighth round.

Spark caught Gollaz with a few massive right hands to close out the round but his rival just wouldn’t go down, irrespective of how much power the Australian was hitting with.

That remained the case for the rest of the fight as it went the distance, going to the judges’ scorecard.

Mora predicted it would be a close decision win for Spark despite the knockdown but in the end it was a split decision victory for Gollaz.