Saunders was on top early and seemed to bag the first couple of rounds against Garrido, but things soon began to go wrong for the former Team GB star as ‘The Lion’ gained momentum.
Garrido was relentless in his assault, even though his punches didn’t carry any real power, and Saunders was forced to take cover on more than one occasion in the fourth and fifth rounds.
In the sixth, 29 year-old Saunders took a count from referee Steve Gray and was on the verge of being stopped by a combination of Garrido’s tip-tap blows and extreme tiredness, before desperation sunk in and the Sedgefield man threw in his head.
It was more of an uppercut headbutt to the bottom of Garrido’s jaw than a full-force and straightforward blow, but Gray had seen enough to end the fight with a disqualification for Saunders.
Gray did Saunders a favour and saved him from having a TKO or KO on his record, although promoter Eddie Hearn may want to arrange a rematch between the two at the earliest convenience.
Earlier, cruiserweight Hosea Burton scored a six-round decision win over Elvis Dube to move to 14-0, whilst Sead Dodd out-pointed former British champion Gary Buckland over ten sessions to gain a shot at current Lonsdale belt holder Scott Cardle.
