ROGERS MTAGWA W10 ALDO VALTIERRA

The wear and tear of a lot of hard fights is starting to show, but Rogers Mtagwa was too strong and too insistent for veteran Aldo Valtierra in their rematch at the New Alhambra in Philadelphia on Friday night.

This was the latest in a series of gruelling fights on the Telefutura network that have pitted the Tanzanian from south Philadelphia against tough Mexican fighters.

Mtagwa was originally to have defended his NABF featherweight title, but two opponents fell out. When Valtierra agreed to the match, as a late substitute, it was on the understanding that the bout would be a 10-rounder at junior lightweight.

Coming in at 131 3/4 pounds might have helped Valtierra absorb some heavy right hands. He landed some good shots of his own, appearing to wobble Mtagwa at least twice.

At 37, though, and coming in at short notice, Valtierra could fight only in spurts — he wasn’t as effective has he had been last July when losing a split 12-round decision to Mtagwa in this same ring.

Mtagwa was the constant aggressor and fought hard whereas Valtierra often sought to clinch. When Valtierra opened up, though, he gave Mtagwa a lot of trouble.

As ever when Mtagwa fights it was entertaining. Mtagwa missed wildly at times, sometimes spinning himself around from the follow-through, but he was keeping Valtierra on the defensive for long enough to win most of the rounds.

A point taken from Valtierra for a blow to the back of the head did not affect the outcome, which was a unanimous but hard-fought decision win for Mtagwa with scores of 96-93, 96-93 again and 97-92.

With proper notice to prepare, Valtierra might have won. Mtagwa, 28, willed his way to victory but I wonder how many such performances he has left in him — not too many, I fear.