ORLANDO — Yoenis Tellez and Abass Baraou entered their interim WBA junior middleweight title fight promising their pressure would break the other man.

That promise set the stage for one of the better fights of 2025, and Baraou ultimately prevailed, dropping Tellez in the final seconds of the 12th round en route to a unanimous decision victory at the Caribe Royale to become the interim WBA junior middleweight champion.

Judge Jeremy Hayes had it 117-110, while Efrain Lebron scored it 115-112 and Nelson Vazquez had it 116-111. The victory made Baraou (17-1, 9 KO) the first man to defeat Tellez (10-1, 7 KOs) as a pro.

With the fight hanging in the balance, Baraou put his foot on the gas, landing a barrage of punches that visibly affected a gassed Tellez. Tellez fought back, but years of waiting for this opportunity propelled Baraou to find another gear, and with around 10 seconds left in the fight, he stepped through from orthodox into southpaw and dropped Tellez.

Momentum shifted back and forth throughout the high-stakes 12-round clash. Baraou’s pressure and combination punching were having a visible effect on Tellez, while Tellez found success fighting off the ropes and punching between Baraou’s shots. Most of the offense for both fighters was hooks and uppercuts to the head and body.

The fight was tightly contested from the start as both fighters were finding success in the first half. As the fight delved into the second half, Baraou’s pressure and volume from close quarters began to give him the upper hand.

When the championship rounds arrived, sensing the fight slipping away, Tellez pressed from the southpaw stance and strung together two of his better rounds of the fight, landing combinations and not getting trapped on the ropes.

Tellez’s late push set the stage for the epic 12th round, but Baraou’s pressure and perseverance proved to be too much. The punch stats also illustrate how close the fight was. Baraou narrowly outlanded Tellez 214 to 205.