Miguel Contreras and Hector Tanajara provided a fan-friendly fight Friday night, but they didn’t settle anything in their eight-round lightweight fight.

They fought to an eight-round split draw on the Jose Ramirez-Jose Pedraza undercard at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.

Judge Ray Armendariz scored Tanajara a 78-74 winner, but Rudy Barragan had Contreras ahead, 77-75, after eight rounds. Judge Steve Weisfeld scored their back-and-forth fight a draw, 76-76.

San Antonio’s Tanajara (19-1-1, 5 KOs) and Contreras (11-1-1, 6 KOs), of Bakersfield, California, each left the ring with a second straight blemish on his record.

Tanajara, 25, fought for the first time since suffering his lone professional defeat – a stoppage after the sixth round to unbeaten William Zepeda (25-0, 23 KOs) on July 9 at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.

Contreras, 24, lost his previous bout by second-round knockout to Starling Castillo (16-1, 12 KOs) on the same card on which Zepeda defeated Tanajara.

Contreras and Tanajara went for broke as soon as the eighth round began, as both boxers seemed to know their fight would be close on the scorecards. They traded mostly right hands, and plenty of them, yet neither fighter could hurt his opponent.

Contreras, who never stopped throwing punches during the seventh round, drilled Tanajara with a right uppercut with about 55 seconds remaining in it. Tanajara threw right hands in those three minutes, yet he couldn’t stop Contreras from coming forward.

A bullish Contreras backed Tanajara into the ropes and landed a left hand with just over 1:10 on the clock in the sixth round. A right cross by Contreras rocked Tanajara with about 30 seconds to go in the sixth round.

Tanajara drilled Contreras with a right hand a little less than a minute into the fifth round.

Contreras and Tanajara traded shots on the inside for most of the fourth round. A cut opened beneath Contreras’ left eye during the fourth round as well.

Tanajara came out aggressively at the start of the third round. He landed a left hook that knocked Contreras off balance with just under two minutes to go in the third round.

Tanajara landed two left hooks with just over 1:10 on the clock in the third round. With 15 seconds to go in the third round, Tanajara was warned for hitting Contreras behind his head.

Contreras continued to pressure Tanajara during the second round, when he walked through Tanajara’s offense and landed the harder shots more consistently.

Contreras caught Tanajara with multiple right hands during the middle minute of the first round. Tanajara countered Contreras with a right hand toward the end of the opening round and moved out of Contreras’ punching range.

Earlier Friday, Aelio Mesquita simply couldn’t take Karlos Balderas’ right hand.

The younger, faster, stronger Balderas dropped Mesquita twice during the first round and once early in the second round on his way to a technical-knockout victory. Referee Edward Collantes stopped their fight 38 seconds into the second round, once Mesquita went down from yet another right hand by Balderas.

The 25-year-old Balderas, a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Santa Maria, California, improved to 12-1 and produced his 11th knockout. Brazil’s Mesquita, 30, slipped to 20-7-1 (18 KOs) and lost by knockout or technical knockout for the fourth time in his seven-year pro career.

A counter right hand by Balderas sent Mesquita to one knee almost as soon as their scheduled six-rounder started. With 20 seconds to go in the first round, Balderas blasted Mesquita with another right hand that knocked him flat on his back.

Barely 30 seconds into the second round, Balderas landed yet another right hand that sent Mesquita to the canvas to the canvas again and led to the stoppage.

In the bout before Balderas’ easy victory, Javier Martinez suffered a knockdown during the third round, but the middleweight prospect from Milwaukee came back to defeat Donte Stubbs by unanimous decision in a six-rounder.

The left-handed Martinez mostly out-worked Stubbs, particularly to the body, on his way to winning by scores of 59-56, 58-55 and 58-55. Martinez, 26, improved to 6-0 (2 KOs) and went the distance in a second straight six-round bout.

Stubbs, a former MMA fighter from Riverside, California, dropped to 6-4 (2 KOs).

Stubbs showed toughness throughout the sixth round, when he took Martinez’s best punches, pressed forward and landed flush shots of his own.

An assertive Martinez unloaded an array of power punches that made a fatigued Stubbs hold him just after the midway mark of the fifth round. By then, a cut developed beneath the left eye of Stubbs.

Martinez landed multiple left hands with just under one minute on the clock in the fourth round. The favored fighter then dug to Stubbs’ body again later in the fourth round.

A right-left combination by Martinez affected Stubbs about 40 seconds into the third round. Stubbs bravely moved forward, but he was mostly met with hard head and body blows for most of the rest of the third round.

Seemingly out of nowhere, however, Stubbs landed a straight right hand that send Martinez to the seat of his trunks with 15 seconds to go in the third round. Martinez reached his feet quickly after what appeared to be a flash knockdown.

Within a 10-second span in the final minute of the second round, Martinez drilled Stubbs with a hard right to the body and then a flush left to the body. Martinez landed a stiff jab and then a counter right hook just before the first round ended.

In the bout before Martinez’s victory, Charlie Sheehy showed the power that has Top Rank’s matchmakers high on his potential.

The 23-year-old lightweight prospect dropped Johnny Bernal with a right hand a little less than two minutes into their four-round, 135-pound bout. Denver’s Bernal reached his feet, but an aggressive Sheehy overpowered him and bloodied his nose.

Once Sheehy snapped Bernal’s head back with a left hand and backed him into the ropes, referee Marcos Rosales halted the action 2:33 into the first round.

Sheehy, of Brisbane, California, improved to 2-0 and recorded his second knockout. The 19-year-old Bernal fell to 2-1 (2 KOs).

In the first fight Friday, 6-foot-9, 259-pound heavyweight prospect Antonio Mireles stopped previously unbeaten Brandon Hughes early in the second round of a scheduled four-rounder.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.