MANILA - The bout between defending WBO junior flyweight champion Ivan Calderon and Filipino challenger Rodel Mayol was stopped halfway into the 12-round fight, resulting in a technical draw.

According to Dong Secuya of PhilBoxing.com, the referee stopped the fight at 1:15 in the sixth round “due to excessive bleeding from Calderon's cut on the forehead caused by an accidental head butt in the 5th round.”

The judges’ scores were 58-56 in favor of Mayol, 58-56 for Calderon, and 57-57.

The fight, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) was Mayol’s third attempt to win a world title. He lost previous fights against former IBF king Ulises Solis and WBC minimum weight champion Eagle Den Junlaphan.

Mayol, also called “Batang Mandaue,” hails from Cebu. He now has 25 wins (with 19 knockouts), three losses and one draw.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico’s Calderon, who retained his junior flyweight belt, has 32 victories (with six knockouts) and one draw.

The Calderon-Mayol fight is part of the undercard of “Cotto vs. Clottey,” which pits WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto against former welterweight champ Joshua Clottey in the main event. Cotto won over Clottey via split decision.