Gilberto Ramirez stopped Sullivan Barrera in round four of a scheduled 12-round light heavyweight bout at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.

In round three, Ramirez dropped Barrera with a straight left to the body. In round four, it was the same exact same shot that sent Barrera down again. Ramirez ended things a few seconds later when he landed another straight left to the body that made Barrera take a step back and go to his knees and the fight was stopped at 1:34.

Ramirez, 174.6 lbs of Mazaltan. MEX is 42-0 with 28 knockouts. Barrera, 174.6 lbs of Miami is 22-4.

Diaz Decisions Fortuna; Wins Interim Lightweight Title

Joseph Diaz won the WBC Interim Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Javier Fortuna.

It was a competitive fight with both guys throwing and landing at close range. Diaz was just a little quicker in those exchanges, and was able to get the better of most of the action.

In round three, Diaz was cut around the left eye due to an accidental headbutt. In round four, Diaz was deducted a point for hitting behind the head.

Diaz landed 203 of 521 punches; Fortuna was 193 of 761.

Diaz, 134.4 lbs of South El Monte, CA won by scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112 and is now 32-1-1. Fortuna, 134.6 lbs of Lo Romana, DR is 36-3-1.

Estrada decisions Tsunami; Wins Light Flyweight Belt

Seneisa Estrada added the WBA Light Flyweight world title to her WBO Minimumweight title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Tenkai Tsunami.

Estrada was the more active fighter who landed some crisp-combinations on the aggressive no former champion.

Estrada laded 131 of 464 punches; Tsunami was 97 of 378.

Estrada, 108 lbs of East Los Angeles, CA won by scores 99-91 and 98-92 twice and is now 21-0. Tsunami, 107.2 lbs of Japan is 28-14-1.

Zepeda stops Tanajara after 6

In a fight featuring undefeated lightweights, William Zepeda stopped Hector Tanajara Jr. after round six of a schedu;ed 10-round lightweight.

Zepeda stayed on the inside and landed combination after combination and Tanajara continued to take punishment. Tanajara tried to fight back, but did not have enough behind his punches to make much of an imprint, and the fight was stopped following round six.

Zepeda, 134.2 lbs of Mexico is 23-0 with 21 knockouts. Tanajra, 135 lbs of San Antonio, TX is 19-1.

Naoko Fujioka retained the WBA Flyweight title with a majority decision over Sulem Urbina.

Fujioka, 111.8 lbs of Tokyo, JAP won by scores of 99-91, 96-94 and 95-95 and is now 19-2-1. Urbina, 112 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 12-3.

Bryan Chevelier won a 10-round unanimous decision over James Wilkins in a featherweight bout.

In round five, Wilkins started to bleed from his mouth.

In round eight, Chevalier was deducted a point for pushing the head of Wilkins down.

Chevalier, 126 lbs of Puerto Rico won by scores of 97-92, 96-93 and 95-94 and is now 16-1-1. Wilkins, 125.8 lbs of Staten Island, NY is 9-2.

In a battle of former world title challengers, Lamont Roach Jr. took out Daniel Rosas in round two of a scheduled 10-round super featherweight bout.

In round two, Roach landed a hard flurry that was finished off with a hard right to the body and Rosas went to the deck and the fight was stopped at 2:14.

Rpach, 130 lbs of Washington, DC is now 21-1-1 with nine knockouts. Rosas, 128.2 lbs of Mexico City, MEX is 21-5-1.

Miguel Gaona made a successful pro debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Gilberto Aguilar in a lightweight fight.

Gaona, 135 lbs of Serano, CA won by scores of 39-37 on all cards and is now 1-0. Aguilar, 134 lbs of Mexico City, MEX is 0-3.

Azat Hovhsnnisyan won a 10-round unanimous decision over Jose Gonzalez in a super bantamweight match.

In round three, Hovhannisyan started to swell under his right eye.

In round eight, Hovahannisyan landed a huge barrage of punches that sent Gonzalez down.

Hovhannisyan, 122 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won by scores of 100-89 and 99-90 twice and is now 20-3. Gonzalez, 121.6 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 23-7-1.

Mihai Nistor was dropped twice, but was able to come back and stop Colby Madison in round two of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight slugfest

In round one, Nistor sent Madison to a knee with a body shot. At the end of the round Madison dropped Nistor with a hard right hand. In round two, Madison dropped Nistor with a big counter right. Later in the round, Nistor landed a wild overhand right that dropped Madison and the fight was stopped upon Madison getting to his feet at

Nistor, 223 lbs of Bucharest, ROM is 3-0 with three knockouts. Madison, 229.6 lbs of Baltimore, MD is 9-3-2.

In a battle of undefeated super lightweights, Starling Castillo viciously stopped Miguel Contreras in round two of a scheduled eight-round bout.

Castillo landed a nasty straight left that knocked Contreras straight out and the fight was stopped at 46 seconds.

Castillo, 135.6 lbs of San Cristobal, DR is 15-0 with 12 knockouts. Contreras, 133.4 lbs of Bakersfield, CA is 11-1.

Gregory Morales remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over former super flyweight world champion Rodrigo Guerrero in a featherweight fight.

In round three, Morales began to bleed from the nose.

Morales, 124 lbs of San Antonio, TX won by scores of 59-55 on all cards and is now 13-0. Guerrero, 123.6 lbs of Mexico City is 26-12-2.

World ranked Tim Tszyu kept his perfect mark intact b stopping late-replacement Steve Spark in round three of a scheduled 10-round bout at Newcastle Entertainment Center in Newcastle, South Wales, Australia.

Tszyu, who was the bigger fighter dropped Spark twice in round three with body shots and the fight was halted at 2:22.

Tszyu, 152 3/4 lbs is now 19-0 with 15 knockouts. Spark, who was coming up in weight and took the fight on about a week’s notice after original opponent Michael Zerafa pulled out is now 12-2.

Noynay Stops Wilson in 5

Joe Noynay stopped previously undefeated Liam Wilson in round five of a schedule 10-round super featherweight bout.

Noynay registered four knockdowns,, as he sent Wilson down once in round one, two times in round four and once in round five. The final knockdown was the clincher, and the fight was stopped at 2:40.

Noynay, 129 3/4 lbs of the Philippines is 19-2-2 with eight knockouts. Wilson, 130 ls is 9-1.

Wade Ryan stopped Troy O’Meley in round six of their scheduled 10-round super welterweight bout.

In round three, O’Meley was cut over the right eye from an accidental headbutt. Ryan dropped O’Meley in round five, and O’Meley pulled he plug on the fight in round six.

Ryan, 152 3/4 lbs is 19-9 with seven knockouts. O’Meley, 152 1/4 lbs is 11-2.

Sam Ah See returned from a six-year hiatus by stopping former interim titlist Czar Armonsot in the opening round of their scheduled eight-round welterweight bout.

In round one, Ah See hurt Armonsot with a hard uppercut that was followed up by a combination that sent Armonsot to the canvas. Seconds later, a hard right hook hurt Armonsot, and the fight was stopped at 2:47.

Ah See, 145 1/2 lbs of New South Wales, AUS is now 14-0-1 with seven knockouts. Armonsot, 143 1/2 lbs of Melbourne, AUS via the Philippines is 35-6-3.

Linn Sandstrom and Natalie Gonzales Hills battled to a six-round split draw in a super flyweight bout.

In round one, there was swelling under the right eye of Hills.

Each fighter won a card at 58-56 and third card was 57-57.

Sandstrom, 115 lbs of Australia via Sweden is 1-1-1. Hills of Australia via the Philippines was making her pro debut.

Chris Colbert retained the WA Interim Super Featherweight title with 12-round unanimous decision over Tugstsoght Nyambayar at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Colbert dominated the action with his and an occasional flush power punch, with the late-replacement Nyambayar never able to get close to land anything of significance.

Colbert landed 218 of 622 punches; Nyambayar was just 78 of 332.

Colbert, 130 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 118-110 twice and 117-111, and is now 16-0. Nyambayar, 129.6 lbs of Mongolia is 12-2.

Chris Colbert:
“He carried power for a 126-pounder. Boxing is about hitting and not getting hit. I had to use my Muhammad Ali tactics and float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.

“We had a tremendous training camp. We sparred a lot with a bigger guy in Michel Rivera. I had a lot of practice using my speed and jab in camp. The jab is always a key in this sport.

“This was a great fight and ‘Tug’ did a great job coming in off only a week and a half of training for me. I take off my hat to him and wish him nothing but the best in his career.

“I’m very slick. It’s not that easy to hit me. If you get me with one, you got lucky.”

Rivera stops Fernandez in 8

Michel Rivera scored an emphatic eighth round stoppage over Jon Fernandez in a scheduled 12-round lightweight bout.

In round six, Fernandez landed a hard right hand that sent Rivera down to the canvas for the first time. In round eight, Rivera landed a jab that was followed by a booming right that splattered Fernandez face-first on the canvas, and the fight was immediately stopped at 44 seconds

Rivera, 134.4 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 21-0 with 14 knockouts, Fernandez, 135 lbs of Spain is 21-2.

Michel Rivera:

“Fernandez is a good fighter who hits hard, but he doesn’t have the skill that I have. I had to get him tired and I knew I could get to him. My coach was telling me that my right hand would be able to land. Once I landed it, I knew right away that the fight was over.

“I was trying to find the distance, and around round 6 or 7 the distance got a little tighter.

“Fernandez is a good boxer, and I know that he has good condition. He has great experience and he is good in Spain. I know that he fights with good European talent.

“You can see that he is a top guy with a good record and experience. I know that he is tough clearly.

“I can fight with Ryan Garcia, I can fight with Teofimo Lopez, and I’m not joking. I know that I can fight with any of the top five in the lightweight division. I live in the gym and I have made the sacrifices to be great and I have a great team behind me.

“I’m so excited, beyond happy. Fernández was a strong, experienced opponent that forced me to change the gameplan I had going in.

“I had a plan, but I had to throw I away once he got me with a punch. I knew since the first round that I would have to be careful with him. He had heavy hands and was taller than me, but I was faster and more skilled overall.

“To be honest, I felt like I was winning on the cards anyway. My corner would tell me ‘you lost this (round)’ and I felt I was up 5-2.

“(Looks at his medal) This goes for Rolando Romero. Once I do face him, I would like to go up against Gervonta Davis or Teofimo López next.”

Based in South Florida, Titan Fighting Championship has long been a springboard for both UFC and Bellator Fighters, providing fans with exciting, high-level matchups and last night was no exception. Two preliminary bouts were broadcast on the promotions Facebook page, and the main card played on UFC Fight Pass. Charles Rosa and Jose “Shorty” Torres narrated the action with the highest level of professionalism, expertise and energy. The action took place at the Intercontinental Hotel Miami with a very enthusiastic crowd.

 The main card exploded with a brutal contest between Kendly St. Louis (3-3-0) and Slava “Slava Claus” Borschev (3-1-0), a seasoned K-1 Kickboxer from Russia with UFC star Urijah Faber in his corner. From the opening bell, Borschev’s kickboxing skills were frustrating St. Louis. Landing low-kicks to the calves of St. Louis and alternating with high kicks, body punches and knees, Slava pressed the action. Midway through the round, St. Louis was surviving but taking punishment. With about forty-five seconds left in the first round, St. Louis landed an overhand right dropped Slava. Now St. Louis put his purple-belt in BJJ to good use and dominated the rest of the round. Slava managed to survive the strangulation attempts of St. Louis and was saved by the bell.

Slava opened round two with a hard body kick and began scoring with nasty combinations to the body. St. Louis showed the heart of a warrior and scored a takedown where he had the clear advantage. Slava fought his way back to his feet and ripped combinations to the body of St. Louis. Another takedown attempt paused the onslaught but Slava quickly regained his footing and continued to attack. Slava landed a left hand to the liver of St. Louis that slowed St. Louis down and turned the tide completely in Slava’s favor. St. Louis stayed in the fight and opened a cut above Slava’s left eye but Slava’s attack was overwhelming, landing round kicks to the head and finally another shot to the liver that dropped St. Louis to his knees. The fight was called at 4:41 of round two and Borschev took the TKO victory. 

Another absolute beast of a fighter is Angel Alvarez (1-0-0), a ten-time Cuban National Judo Champion, who took on Sanford MMA’s James Hay (3-1-0). Alvarez has been training at the Goat Shed Academy under coach Asim Zaidi, who ended a tremendous week with fighters from his stable taking home wins at BKFC18, Titan FC70, and even the Florida State Golden Gloves.  This contest ended in an unanimous decision for Alvarez with all judges scoring the fight 30-27. 

Fellow Goat Shed fighter and highly touted prospect Roy Echeverria (4-0-0) ended his bout with a more definitive statement in the form a beautiful oblique kick to a spinning hook kick combination against Earnest Walls (2-17-0), who stepped in as a last minute replacement. Walls seeked redemption for a prior loss to “The Unbroken” Roy in the night’s co-main event. Echeverria is an exciting, all around mixed-martial artist and a highly technical striker who is very likely to remain undefeated in the bantamweight division at Titan. 

The night also saw the highly anticipated professional MMA debut of Talita Alencar, a multi-title holding Jiu-Jitsu champion from Brazil. As expected, Talita finished her opponent Staci Vega via Rear Naked Choke at 4:41 of the first round. 

Heavyweight Denzel Freeman (2-0-0), an accomplished wrestler and Tae-Kwon Do Red belt defeated Duane Crespo (debut) at forty-seven seconds of round one. The 204-pound southpaw landed a left round kick to the body and followed up with punches that forced the referee stoppage. In the main event, American Top Team’s Bruno Assis took on Shane O’Shea for the vacant Titan FC Middleweight Championship. The fight opened at full throttle and was another back and forth match until Assis managed to secure a dominant position on the ground. The fight ended at 2:22 of round one when Assis transitioned from an armor to a triangle choke, securing another strap for the overflowing trophy case at American Top Team in Coconut Creek.

WESTON, FL – Saturday night in Weston, FL BAD PROMOTIONS hosted WESTON FIGHT NIGHT 2 with another night of extraordinary High-Class boxing and Entertainment. A roaring crowd and wild nightclub atmosphere filled the room at the Bonaventure Spa & Resort as BAD PROMOTIONS, provided a red hot show for the fans.  In addition to the fans at ringside, this was also the first show that was presented live on PPV at BadPromotions.com.  The new promotional company, owned and operated by 26-year-old Light Heavyweight Prospect Blake BAD Davis, saw great numbers on the stream with fighters representing Mexico, Colombia, Italy, Uruguay, Australia, Texas, Atlanta, Oregon, and of course South Florida.

In the opening bout of the night, Atlanta’s Richard Graham moved to 2-0-1(1KO) with a hard-fought draw against tough Oregonian, Dylan Carlson 1-3-1(1KO).  All three judges were in agreement with a 38-38 card.  n

Local favorite Italian boxer now living in Miami, Esteban “Maxi” Mussio moved to 2-0(2KO) with a TKO3 victory over John Williams 0-7. Super Welterweight Mussio gave the game Williams all he could handle throughout the fight, although he could not hold up to the force of Mussio.  The fight was stopped at 0:50 of the third round when referee Alan Abeles stepped in to save Williams from the continued damage he took throughout the scrap.

In an electric and competitive scrap, Australian/Swiss swimsuit model bantamweight Avril Mathie moved to 6-0-1(3KO) with a close UD Victory over hard-charging Mexican Moni Trejo 2-2-1(1KO).  The pride of Saltillo, Mexico Trejo came to claim victory but came up short, literally with the taller Mathie finding her range with her constant jab and uppercuts. Trejo, who normally fights at super flyweight, fought valiantly as she kept the pressure on Mathie throughout the fight while scoring with counter-left hooks and overhand right hands. The pro-Mathie crowd created huge energy inside the venue but did not stop the Mexican warrior who kept coming forward until the final bell. All three judges were in agreement once again with all three cards reading 58-56.

Fort Worth Texas native and current WBC United States (USNBC) champion, Edward Vazquez moved to 10-0(2KO) with a big 4th round KO over tough and tested Colombian Yeison Vargas 16-7(11KO). Vazquez set the pace from the opening bell working behind a stiff jab and great head movement, slowly opening the Colombian up with big body shots and right hands. Vazquez accelerated in round four, as he started to let his hands go, and landed a huge right hand that sent Vargas crumbling to the canvas. The 25-year-old Vazquez is managed by DKO Management, and this was his first start since winning an eight-round split decision over Irvin Gonzalez (14-2) on November 28th in Las Angeles to capture the WBC USNBC title.

BAD PROMOTIONS CEO and light heavyweight prospect Blake “BAD” Davis moved to 7-0(4KO) with a 59-second destruction of veteran Mexican boxer Ulisses Jimenez 24-28(16KO). DAVIS landed a bomb of a right hand early in round one that sent the Mexican flopping to the canvas showing a lack of heart and grit as he let referee Samuel Burgos reach the count of 10.

Bronx NY Native now training in South Florida Pistol Peter Dobson moved to 13-0(8KO) with a crushing 3rd round TKO against Wilfrido Buelvas 21-14(15KO). The Colombian Buelvas gave Dobson a run for his money early, as he came out hard and won the first round according to two judges often cathing Dobson on the ropes with straight right hands. The momentum switched quickly as Dobson started turning up the heat at the end of round two hurting Buelvas with some big shots near the end of the round. Round three started competitively, and then Dobson came forward with big shots and a devastating right hand hit Beulvas like a shotgun ending the scrap at 1:28 of round 3.

In the main event, Mr. St Pete Clarence Booth moved to 20-4(12KO) with a 3rd Round TKO over Rodolfo Puente (19-7). Where Puente was very competitive, this fight was all Booths’ as he set a strong pace from the opening bell picking apart his Colombian counterpart. Booth the former sparring partner for Keith Thurman and Sergi Lipinets knocked Puente down at the bell and the of round one with a big right hand. Puente came out swinging in round two determined to go out on his shield but Booth again controlled the round often landing big left hooks and right hands. The end came in round three with Booth landing a straight left and right hook, which put Puente out at 0:59 of round 3.

BAD PROMOTIONS will be back in 8 weeks with another installment of BAD PROMOTIONS High-Class Boxing and Entertainment.
PHOTO CREDITS – GERARDO RAMOS – BAD PROMOTIONSCATCH THE REPLAY AT WWW.BADPROMOTIONS.COM

David Morrell Jr. defended the WBA Super Middleweight title with a vicious first round stoppage over Mario Cazares at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Morrell landed a straight left that stunned Cazares and that was quickly followed by another straight left that plummeted Cazares under the bottom ropes and the fight was immediately stopped at 2:32.

Morrell, 167 1/2 lbs of Minneapolis is 5-0 with four knockouts. Cazares, 166 1/2 lbs of Culican, MEX is 12-1.

“I didn’t expect that to end so quickly,” said Morrell. “I thought it would be more like a five or six round fight. However, once Cazares stepped in the ring, I noticed that he was not ready to fight on my level. He wasn’t ready for this kind of test or this level of fight.”

On the devastating knockout, Morrell said, “When I saw the opening, I took him out. When I hit him, I saw his legs wobble and I knew he was gone, completely out.”

“I’m ready for anyone at 168 pounds and now the world can see it,” continued Morrell. “I would love to fight Caleb Plant. I’m ready to fight Plant. He’s an excellent boxer, but I’m ready to go.”

Glanton Decisions Apochi in a war

In a 10-round cruiserweight war, Brandon Glanton won a 10-round split decision over Efe Apochi in a battle of undefeated fighters.

The two traded hard and thudding power shots from bell to bell. Each guy took the lead in various times of the bout. In round six, Glanton landed a hard left and right on the ropes that badly hurt Apochi for a knockdown. That proved to be the difference as Glanton took card by a 95-94 score. Apochi took a card 96-93.

Glanton was 187 of 654 punches; Apochi was 183 of 721.

Glanton is now 14-0. Apochi is 11-1.

“I knew it was a close fight because at the very end he didn’t hurt me, but I staggered,” said Glanton. “We always talk about balance in the gym, though. I got the split decision because balance is something that we constantly work on. He didn’t hurt me, that’s why I was able to keep fighting.

“Thank God the judges saw it the right way,” continued Glanton. “That knockdown is something we worked on in the gym. I hope the boxing world sees what my coach is doing. The small details, the intricate things, make the difference in a fight like this. All the little details that he schools me on is what he told me would be the difference in this fight, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t.”

“What can I say?” asked Apochi. “I thought I won the fight. I used my jab, showed some heart, had some good movement in there, but I’m not the judges. I don’t know what they saw, but I thought that I did what I had to do. He’s a tough guy. I won’t take anything away from him. He took some tough shots and he was still there.”

On the possibility of a rematch, Glanton said, “If they want the rematch, then I’ll do it again. I think I’ve proven what I needed to prove, but it’s easier the second time.”

“Of course, I want a rematch with Glanton,” continued Apochi. “I want a rematch with him right now!”

All Rivera Decisions Juarez

All Rivera scored a 10-round majority decision over previously undefeated Omar Juarez in a junior welterweight bout.

It was an action packed fight that was fought at close quarters. Rivera won the fight on the strength of a 9th round knockdown as he won by scores of 95-93, 95-94 and 95-95.

Rivera, 142 1/2 lbs of Bobon, PHL is 22-5. Juarez, 142 1/2 lbs of Brownsville, TX is 11-1.

Rivera landed 123 of 428 punches; Juarez was 152 of 354.

“I was confident that I was going to get the decision,” said Rivera. “I was blocking a lot of the shots that Juárez was throwing. I was landing the more powerful punches. Juárez was doing good work in there, but we were landing the more effective shots. I feel like when I hurt him I maybe could have done a little more to get him out of there early and avoid the decision. But he’s a stronger fighter and I respect his talent.”

Juárez said, “I honestly thought that I did enough to get the win. I did get knocked down. There was one round where I stayed in there and took a couple hits, but I felt like I was the smarter fighter in there. I adjusted well and I thought I did well over all. Almost all of the greats have losses and I know I’m going to be great one day. I just have to fight through this adversity.”

On their professional experience levels, Rivera said, “I’ve been in the ring 27 times now professionally, and I think Juárez is still a kid who’s developing his skills. I’ve fought some of the best fighters around. I’ve won belts. So, I definitely think my experience played a difference tonight.”

“He was the better man today,” Juárez concluded. “I’m not going to take anything away from him. He’s a hard fighter. He’s from the Philippines, which has a lot of strong fighters. I respect him a lot, but I’ll be back.”

When asked about the knockdown, Rivera said, “We actually worked on that shot in camp. We also worked on the follow-up sequence. So, when it landed my corner wanted me to take it to the body to finish him, but he’s a tough fighter.

“I’m here for any 140-pound fighter that wants to step in there with me,” concluded Rivera.

Nathaniel Gallimore won a 10-round majority decision over previously undefeated Leon Lawson III in a junior middleweight bout.

Gallimore landed 78 of 356 punches; Lawson 66 of 302.

Gallimore, 153 1/4 lbs of Chicago, IL won by scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95 and is now 22-5-1. Lawson, 153 1/4 lbs of Flint. MI is 14-1.

Atif Oberlton remained undefeated by stopping Jasper McCargo in round five of a scheduled eight-round light heavyweight bout.

In round four, Oberlton, landed a two lefts that were followed by a cleanup right hook that dropped McCargo.

In round five, it was a hard left hand to the body that dropped McCargo in the corner, and the fight was stopped at 44 seconds.

Oberlton, 175 lbs of Philadelphia is 3-0 with three knockouts. McCargo, 177 lbs of Richmond, VA is 4-2-2.

Travon Marshall won an entertaining four-round unanimous decision over Ruben Torres in a super welterweight contest.

In round two, Marshall dropped Torres with a left hook.

Marshall landed 70 of 210 punches; Torres was 48 of 219.

Marshall, 153 3/4 lbs of Landover, MD won by scores of 40-35 on all cards, and is now 2-0. Torres, 151 3/4 lbs of Sacramento, CA is 4-2.

The first belt on the line is Luis “Baboon” Palomino’s (3-0, 3 KOs) Featherweight World Championship. Palomino is well known in South Florida for his MMA career including an epic battle with Justin Gaethje. Palomino faces England’s Tyler “El Tornado” Goodjohn. Baboon controlled the action for most of the fight and opened a cut on his opponent’s face in the second round. Baboon scored at will in the third round, connecting with power jabs and straight rights. In the fourth round, Baboon danced and continued to score, splitting Tyler’s guard over and over again. In the last round, Baboon added a vicious uppercut to his repertoire and landed it several times en route to a unanimous decision victory to retain his title. 

The BKFC Middleweight World Championship between Thiago Alves (1-0) and Uly Diaz began with immediate aggression from both fighters and both men were bloodied in the first round. Monster dropped Pitbull in the second round, who then recovered and finished the round with some good shots of his own. Pitbull dropped Uly early in the third round and continued the punishment throughout, landing hard combinations and a good case could have been made to stop the fight. The ref decided to let the action continue until the end of the round, but the ringside doctor decided he’d seen enough. 

Crowd favorite Hector Lombard (2-0) and Joe “Diesel” Riggs (3-0) took to the ring next. As expected, the first round began with thunder that soon subsided as the two men tried to establish a rhythm. Lombard was the aggressor in rounds two and three and landed several hard, looping hooks and some good straight lefts. Riggs returned fire in round four but was dropped by a left hand. Riggs then complained of an eye poke, but the replay showed a legal punch. After some discussion, it was ruled a TKO and Hector Lombard became the new BKFC World Cruiserweight Champion.In the main event for the BKFC Heavyweight World Championship, Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran (4-1-1, 2 KOs) took on Sam “Hillbilly Hammer” Shewmaker (4-1-1, 2 KOs).  Shewmaker began the round with a few haymakers, and Beltran’s face was bloodied. Shewmaker continued to press the action in round two. Beltran came back in round three with some good body shots and an overhand right, and was more active in the fourth round as well. Round five saw Beltran continuing to control the action but both men were fatigued. This was a close fight that ended at 2:13 am. The unanimous decision went to Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran, the Undisputed BKFC World Heavyweight Champion.

When we last saw Francisco RIcchi (2-0), he sustained a brutal injury following a punch to the throat and was placed in a medically-induced coma. He is returning to fight Brian Maxwell (0-3-0). Ricchi knocked down Maxwell in the opening seconds of round one, pursued some more, and ended the round with a short right hand and another knockdown. The action continued in round two with RIcchi dominating and knocking down Maxwell again with only 34 seconds left in the round, heralding the end of the fight and another TKO for Ricchi. 

Next up are two southpaw heavyweights Steve Herelius (debut) vs. Juan Torres (1-1). Both men were having trouble figuring out a successful plan of attack and spent much of the first two rounds in a clinch. Round three saw more action with both fighters connecting with significant blows at the beginning before showing signs of tiring. Rounds four and five continued as usual, with Herelius earning a split decision victory at the end. 

Two evenly matched fighters took to the squared circle next. Bruce Lutchmedia (1-0) and Eddie Hoch (1-0)

Although a lackluster performance from both fighters, Hoch was slightly more dominant en route to an unanimous decision.  Lutchmedial showed a spark from time to time, but it wasn’t consistent nor did it appear often enough throughout the 5 round bout to earn him more than a round or two.

Jarod “Kid Gatti” Grant remains undefeated after a TKO stoppage at 35 seconds of round four over Travis Thompson. This was Jarod’s biggest test to date in his bare knuckle career and he did what no one thought he could do, stop Travis Thompson. 

The fireworks started with Jake “Brutal” Bostwick and Julian “Let Me Bang” Lane. Lane knocked down Bostwick once in the first round, then again in the second. Bostwick recovered to finish the second round. Lane lost a little steam in the third round. Bostwick, bloody but unbeaten, was spurred on by his fans chanting, and finished the fight strong. The judges scored the bout 50-44, 50-43, 48-45, for the winner by unanimous decision, Julian Lane. 

Next up, former UFC competitor Pearl Gonzalez made her BKFC debut against Charisa Sigala (0-1). With Amanda Serrano in her corner, Gonzalez pressed the action throughout the fight and won an unanimous decision of 50-45, 50-45, 50-45.  After the bout, Gonzalez credited “moving to Brooklyn with Team Serrano” as a game-changer in her career. 

In the opening bout, Miami’s Eduardo Concepcion cracked fellow debutant Gabe Brown with a left hand then dropped him with a quick right. The ref immediately called the fight off at just five seconds of the first round, earning Concepcion the second fastest KO in BKFC history. 

The second matchup featured Yosdenis Cedeno, a familiar face in the South Florida MMA scene, making his BKFC debut against another MMA veteran, Alan Arzeno, who is 1-0 with the BKFC organization. Round one was a feeling out exercise with neither side landing any significant blows. Round two saw a little more action with Cedeno landing two good shots and pressing the action. Rounds three and four continued with little damage done. There was a ten second blast at the end of round five with both fighters swinging for the fences. In the end, Yosdenis Cedeno won a split decision with two judges scoring the bout 49-46 in his favor, and the third scoring 49-46 for Arzeno.  

Next up were welterweights Paul Teague (0-1) and Joshua “Famez” Alvarez, making his bare knuckle debut, with what may be the third fastest knockout in BKFC history at 17 seconds of the first round. From the opening bell, Famez, representing South Florida’s fastest growing MMA gym, the Goat Shed, dominated and connected several times before the final, swift straight right. The fourth bout featured Montaser Aboughaly, making his debut and fellow newcomer Luke Parsons. Aboughaly quickly knocked Parsons down twice before the ref stopped the fight at 34 seconds of the first round with a third knockdown.

Gervonta Davis dropped Mario Barrios three-times en-route to scoring an 11th round stoppage over Mario Barrios to win the WBA Super Lightweight belt in front of over 16,000 fans at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The two started off slow with Barrios boxing and using his size to take the early rounds. Davis started to come on in the middle rounds, and in round eight-dropped Barrios with a hard right hook. Seconds later, Davis dropped Barrios again with a straight left that that split the guard of Barrios. Barrios was able to gather himself and not only survive the round, but was able to have a solid round nine. Davis and Barrios picked up the pace and had some heated exchanges as the headed towards the championship rounds.

In round 11, Davis dropped Barrios with a vicious body shot. Davis smelled the end of the fight and landed a vicious left that rocked and buckled Barrios and the fight was stopped at 2:13.

Davis, 139.75 lbs of Baltimore is 25-0 with 24 knockouts. Barrios, 139.5 lbs of San Antonio is 26-1.

“I made it tough. I definitely could have made it easier but I went up two weight classes and I got the job done,” said the 26-year-old Baltimore native, who was headlining his second SHOWTIME PPV. “I hit him with some clean shots, but I’m the type of fighter that wants to catch you with clean shots. I don’t just want to throw any type of shot. The shots I was throwing were missing, but eventually I caught up with him.”

“I knew for sure if I catch him, I’m crackin,” Davis told SHOWTIME’s Jim Gray. “So I caught him, and it showed. My coach was telling me to go to a jab style but I’m a southpaw so they know I’m going to that jab side. So I would try and bait him in. I faked like I was going left, and I threw my right. And my hook over top, and that’s where I caught him.”

“I knew he was hurt. I just had to catch him at the right time,” Davis continued. “Floyd [Mayweather] came to me and was honest and said I was down,” continued Davis, who was actually ahead on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage. “So he said ‘Show me that you’re great.’ And you know how we do it in the doghouse, baby!”

“He has the potential to be one of the greatest ever,” said Mayweather. “When I first met ‘Tank’ when he was 14 or 15 years old, I told him I’d make him a world champion. And that you’ll be one of the best someday. I’m proud of him.”

“I’ve never been a hater. Congrats to ‘Tank’,” said Barrios. “He came here and did his thing. It was nothing short of an exciting fight and that’s exactly what both of us predicted. He was the better man tonight, but I’ll definitely be back.

“’Tank’ is explosive. He caught me slipping and it’s boxing. At the end of the day, one punch can change the fight. That’s exactly what I felt happened. Congrats to him.”

Lubin stops Rosario in 6

Top ranked super welterweight contender Erickson Lubsin stopped former unified champion Jeison Rosario in round six of a 12-round bout.

Lubin boxed early and jumped out to a nice lead in the fight. In round four, Rosario landed a hard right that staggered Lubin. Lubin was able to steady himself and in round six dropped Rosario with a body shot. Lubin ended things when he landed a hard straight left through the guard that sent Rosario to the canvas. Rosario could not beat the count at 1:42

Lubin, 153.5 lbs of West Palm Beach, FL is 23-1 with 17 knockouts. Rosario, 154 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 20-4-1.

“I just followed the game plan,” said the 25-year-old Lubin, who improves to 6-0 since suffering the only loss of his career to 154-pound kingpin Jermell Charlo. “I would just go back to my corner after each round and Coach [Kevin] Cunningham and my team would just say, ‘Stick to the jab. Stay consistent with your jab.’ I’m way faster than him and I knew he had good power and he was trying to counter me. So I would fade him out and use my jab consistently.”

“I started to hurt him in the body as soon as the first round started,” the 2016 “Prospect Of The Year” Lubin said. “I started with the body and I saw him grunt. So I was able to hurt him to the body. I just wanted to distract him with the jab, then go downstairs. And I was able to get him out. I knew even if he got up after the knockdown that the fight was over. I know I’m a great finisher and I knew I was going to get him out of there as soon as I saw him drop.”

Adames stops Salazar in 3rd!!

Carlos Adames stopped Alexis Salazar in round three of a scheduled 10-round super welterweight bout.

After two non-descript rounds, Adams uncorked a huge left hand that dropped Salazar. Salazar got to his feet, but was wobbling around and the fight was stopped at 2:59.

Adames, 157 lbs of the Dominican Republic is 20-1 with 16 knockouts. Salazar, 157 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 23-4.

“I was in control the entire fight, and that’s what reduced him to turning around at times,” said the 27-year-old Adames. “I was working with the jab to the body at first so that was working, and then I came with the left hook. I did my job and followed my strategy from A to Z and was able to succeed the way I wanted to.

“The key moment of the fight was when I managed to disrupt his focus. Once I was able to do that then it was easy pickings for me.”

“I was feeling good in there and I thought I was winning rounds,” said Salazar, whose 15-fight win streak was put to an end with one punch. “But he started grabbing me and that’s when he got me with an uppercut. That swung the fight. I just have to get back to work and keep looking for more opportunities.”

Akhmedov stops Mendez after 8!

Batyr Akhmedov stopped Argenis Mendez after round eight of their 12-round junior welterweight bout.

In round two, a cut was opened up around the left eye of Akhmedov. The cut was ruled from a punch. That did not seem to hurt him, as he Akhmedov was able to break down Mendez and fored him to retire on the stool after the 8th frame.

Akhmedov, 139.5 lbs of Uzbekistan is 9-1 with eight knockouts. Mendez, 139.5 lbs of the Dominican Republic is 25-7-3.

“The fight went as planned,” said Akhmedov, who overcame the first cut of his career over his left eye after an accidental head clash in the second round. “We were expecting a tough fight like that. I’ve been out of the ring for a long time, so I needed to get those rounds in. My plan is to fight for the world title next. We knew he would be uncomfortable to fight and tricky. He was headbutting and elbowing me. It was good experience for me.”

“Mendez is a tough guy who fights top fighters,” continued Akhmedov. “We knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. When I hurt him, my corner was telling me to slow down and take my time before going for the knockout.”

“I started feeling (injured) in the second and third round,” said a disappointed Mendez. “My knuckles were broken and I couldn’t throw a punch anymore after I cut him with my right hand in the first round. I tried to keep fighting from the fourth round on, but to no avail. It was useless.”

Julio Cesar Martinez retained the WBC Flyweight title with a 6th round stoppage of Joel Cordova in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In round five, Cordova began to bleed from his mouth. In round six, Matinez dropped Cordova with a hard left. Cordova was able to continue, but ate a huge flurry of punches that forced the referee to stop the bout.

Martinez, 112 lbs of Mexico City is 18-1 with 14 knockouts. Cordova 112 lbs of Mexico City is 12-5-2.

Matellon Decisions Argumendo; Defends Interim Light-Flyweight title

Daniel Matellon retained the WBA Interim Light Flyweight to with a 12-round unanimous decision over former strawweight champion Jose Argumedo.

In round three, Argumedo was cut over his left eye from an accidental clash of heads, In round five, he was cut over his right eye.

Matellon of Panama City, PAN won by scores of 117-111 and 115-113 twice to raise his record to 12-0-2. Arguemdo of Mexico is 24-5-1.

Christian Alan Gomez stopped previously undefeated Jorge Perez Sanchez in round nine of a scheduled 10-round welterweight fight.

In round two, Gomez landed a hard uppercut that Sanchez to the canvas.

In round nine, Gomez landed a perfect uppercut that sent Sanchez face-down to the canvas, and the fight was stopped at 1:50.

Gomez, 147 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 21-2-1 with 19 knockouts. Sanchez, 147 lbs of Mexico is 13-1.

Good looking prospect Diego Pacheco stopped Jesus Palomares in round six of a scheduled eight-round battle of undefeated super middleweights.

Pacheco dominated the fight with his boxing ability, and in round six he started to dominate and the fight was stopped after a hard uppercut at 2:17.

Pacheco, 167 lbs of Los Angeles is 12-0 with nine knockouts. Palomares, 167 lbs of Sonora, MEX is 7-1-1.

Gabriel Valenzuela stopped Juan Ocura in round seven in a scheduled eight-round super lightweight fight.

In round three, Vaenzuela dropped Ocura with a perfect right counter,

Ocura hung in tough, but started to eat a lot of shots in round seven, and the bout was stopped at 2:10.

Valenzuela, 138.9 lbs of Tepic, MEX is 24-2-1 with 14 knockouts. Ocura, 138.9 lbs of Sabrinas, MEX is 14-15-1.

Former world champion and pound-for-pound elite, Vasiliy Lomachenko stopped Masayoshi Nakatani in round nine of their scheduled 12-round lightweight bout at the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas.

In round one, Lomachenko was cut on the middle of his forehead that was caused by a accidental headbutt. In round five, Lomachenko stepped around Nakatani and landed a left hand that put Nakatani on the deck.

Lomachenko was very accurate in his first fight back after losing his titles to Teofimo Lopez at the end of 2020. In round nine, Lomachenko landed a series of quick shots to the head that hurt Nakatani. Follow up hard combinations had the referee stop the fight at 1:48.

Lomachenko said, “I’m happy because I won. All the strategies that we developed with my team {worked}. I reached all my goals. I won and now I’m back on track.

“Everybody saw how I won this fight, and everybody is waiting for the rematch {with Lopez}, so let’s make a rematch.

“He has a fight in the future with {George} Kambosos, but how about after, in the beginning of next year? December, January, February, I am waiting.”

Added Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, “In case there was any doubt, Lomachenko proved he is still one of the very best fighters in the world. He is healthy and ready to fight any of the lightweights.”

Lomahenko, 134.6 lbs of Ukraine is 15-2 with 11 knockouts. Nakatani, 134.4 lbs of Osaka, JAP is 19-2.

Alimkhanuly stops Brant after 8

Janibek Alimkhanuly stopped former beltholder Rob Brant after round eight of their scheduled 10-round middleweight bout.

In round six, a short left sent Brant to a knee. Alimkhanuly dominated the fight and Brant was never in the contest

Alimkhanuly said, “Tonight, I showed the world what ‘Qazaq Style’ is about. Rob Brant is a former world champion for a reason, but I came here to showcase my full arsenal, and that’s what I did.

“I am highly ranked, and I have the confidence to fight any middleweight in the world. I had a great training camp with Buddy McGirt, and this was the result of all the hard work we did in camp.” 

.Alimkhanuly, 159.6 lbs of Kazakhstan is now 10-0 with six knockouts. Brant, 159.6 lbs of St, Paul, MN is 26-3.Rpb

Giovani Santillan remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Cecil McCalla in a welterweight bout.

Santillan landed 168 of 469 punches; McCalla landed 109 of 500.

Santillan, 147.6 lbs of San Diego, CA won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 and is now 27-0. McCalla, 147.4 lbs of Randallstown, MD is 23-4.

Luis Fernando Saavedra won a six-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Robert Rodriguez in a bantamweight fight.

Saavedra landed 92 of 296 punches; Rodriguez landed 86 of 290.

Saavedra, 118 lbs of Mexico won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55, and is now 9-6. Rodriguez, 118.8 lbs of San Antonio, TX is 9-1-1.

Floyd Diaz won a four-round unanimous decision over Jaime Josso in a bantamweight bout..

Diaz, 117.8 lbs of Las Vegas, won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 2-0. Josso, 116.2 lbs of Laredo, TX is 2-1.

Guido Vianello stopped Marlon Williams in round two of their four-round heavyweight bout.

In round one, Vianello dropped Williams with a right to the body. Seconds later it was another right that put Williams down for a second time. When the bell rang to start round two, Williams did not look good, and the referee stopped the fight at the start of round two.

Vianello, 244 lbs of Rome, ITA is 8-0-1 with eight knockouts. Williams, 217.5 lbs of Lafayette, LA is 6-2.

Subaru Murata made a successful pro debut with a 2nd round stoppage over Kevin Monroy in a scheduled four-round junior featherweight contest.

In round two, Murata landed a booming left hook that sent Monroy to the deck, and the fight was stopped at 1:42.

Murata, 121.6 lbs of Tokyo, JAP is 1-0 with one knockout. Monroy, 119.8 lbs of Stockton, CA is 1-2.

DeMichael Harris remained perfect as he stopped Jonoton Hernan Godoy after round three of a scheduled four-round lightweight bout.

In round three, Harris dropped Bodoy with a right to the temple. Later in the round, Body was dropped again with a right. At the end of the round, another right hand sent Bodoy down for a third time. The bout was stopped in the corner after the round.

Harris, 134.2 lbs of Cleveland is 4-0 with four knockouts. Godoy, 134.2 lbs of Buenos Aries, ARG is 5-9.

Boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez thrilled his adoring fans one last time as he and Hector Camacho Jr. entertained a throng of fight fans in a special exhibition bout at Jalisco Stadium and Guadalajra.

The two fought hard, which was much to the delight of the crowd. Before the final frame, Chavez called in pound-for-pound king, and Guadalajara native Canelo Alvarez to stand in his corner. The two once again embraced after the fight, which seemed to be a symbolic passing of the torch from past to future Mexican darling to current superstar and future legend that Alvarez is on course to be.

The bout was special for all involved as Chavez fought Camacho’s late father, Hector Camacho 29 years ago.

This bout marked the end of an era, as Chavez announced that this would the final time that he would hang up the gloves as he has been participating in exhibitions in recent years.

Silva stuns Chavez Jr. via split decision

MMA Legend Anderson Silva came over to boxing and won an eight-round split decision over former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Silva was the more aggressive fighter and landed more and had Chavez on the ropes for a good portion of the fight.

The scores read 77-75 twice for Silva and 77-75 Chavez.

Silva, 182 lbs of Brazil, is widely considered the greatest MMA fighter of all-time now has a professional boxing record of 2-1. Chavez, who weighed in 2.4 lbs of the contracted weight of 182, is now 52-6.

“I ’m so happy to be here. I want to thank Adidas for taking care of me and supplying me with the all the gear that I needed to train for this fight. We won every round . This is a dream of mine for many years. I did this because I have the best team . My team is my family. We did this together. Lots of hard work to get to this point. Absolutely will do this again,” Said Silva.

“I did good ,I just had some problems breathing plus my ribs where kind of hurt  ,the cut didn’t affect me at all. I thought it could have been a draw,” said Chavez

Alvarez wins Trilogy; Decisions Chavez

Ramon Alvarez won his trilogy bout with Omar Chavez with an eight-round unanimous decision over Omar Chavez in a middleweight bout,

In round four, Chavez was cut on the outside of his right eye. Alvarez controlled the action and beat Chavez to the punch throughout the eight-round affair.

Alvarez of Guadalajara, MEX is 29-8-3. Chavez of Culican. MEX is 38-7-1.

“I feel really great and proud on this Victory over Omar Chávez ,i had an excellent preparation ,with my brother as my trainer was very aware of me getting this done ,this Victory dedicated for my all my family and all my whole Town that came to cheer for me. Having my family in my corner gave me added strength and energy. It’s a really special night and I’m proud of my effort,” said Alvarez 

 “He won, no question. It was a clear head butt that caused lots of blood to pour out. That changed the whole fight . I could see his punches, he was able to apply pressure . He hit me with hard punches. I would do fight him again,” said Chavez

Sosa Decisions Mina via Split Decision

Damian Sosa won a 10-round split decision over Abel Mina in a super welterweight fight.

Sosa, 153 lbs of Tijuana, MEX won by scores of 96-94, 95-94 and Mina took card 96-94

Sosa is now 18-1. Mina, 153 lbs of Perto Quito, ECU us 13-1.

“I fought a really good fighter. It was a tough fight. He is a awkward fighter, and I have never faced anyone like him. It took some time to adapt to his style. I came in really good Shape. I did my training with champion Jaime Munguia. I won this fight and I’m dedicating this fight to my parents and all my Mexican fans,” said Sosa.

 “We came here to win, and not get robbed. We worked so hard in our  preparation with my team and in the fight. We hit him with many solid punches, and we boxed and brawled when necessary. We deserved the victory period,” said Mina

Melendez Decisions Torres

Jorge Luis Melendez won an eight-round unanimous decision over Kevin Torres in a super lightweight bout.

In Round one, Melendez dropped Torres with a left hook. In round, Melendez began to bleed from his nose.

Melendez cruised down the stretch and won by scores of 77-74, 76-74 and 77-75.

Melendez of Jalisco is 14-7. Torres of Bellingham, WA is 17-2.

“I came in very good shape, I tried to knock him out. ,I threw good combinations. got cut on my eyebrow, but it didn’t bother me at all ,I feel that I won  this fight, and i am just wafting For another good fight and bigger opportunities.,” said Melendez

“He’s a tough fighter, a strong fighter, I wasn’t proud of my performance. It just wasn’t my night,” said Torres

Leonardo Padilla won an eight-round unanimous decision over Jesus Acosta in a junior lightweight bout.

Padilla, 129 lbs of Caracas, VEN is 20-3. Acosta, 129 lbs of Guadalajara is 15-3.

Cesar Gutierrez stopped Oscar Mejia in round one of a scheduled eight-round super lightweight bout.

Gutierrez dropped Mejia with a hard left hook and the fight was stopped.

Gutierrez, 140 lbs of Guadalajara is 12-0 with five knockouts. Mejia, 137 lbs of Auguscalientes, MEX is 14-5.

Johan Alvarez, the nephew of Canelo Alvarez made a successful pro debut with a 1st round stoppage over Erick Hernandez in a super featherweight bout,

In round one, Alvarez hurt Hernandez with a hard right to the head that resulted an eight-count, Alvarez dropped Hernandez with a hard right, and the fight was stopped at 2:41.

Alvarez of Guadalajra, MEX is 1-0 with one knockout. Hernandez of Guadalajara, MEX is 0-1.

Jaime Munguia remained undefeated by stopping former world title challenger Kamil Szeremeta after round six of their 12-round middleweight fight at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.

Munguia dominated the fight and started to beat up Szeremeta more and more with each round until Szeremeta pulled the plug on the fight following the sixth round.

Munguia, 159.6 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 37-0 with 30 knockouts. Szeremeta, 159.8 lbs of Bialyatok, POL is 21-2.

“I was surprised at his ability to take punishment,” said Jaime Munguia. “He has all my respect because he could take a lot of punishment. I was really trying to work my offense in this fight and try different things. Then I began to pressure him and change the distance at which I fought. Hopefully, I can fight for a world title at the end of this year. If not, I would like to fight Gabriel Rosado.”

Rosado Shocks Melikuziev in Three

Former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado stunned undefeated super prospect Bektemir Melikuziev in round three of a scheduled 12-round super middleweight bout.

In round one, Melikuziev landed a body shot that backed Rosado up and eventually to a knee. In round three, Rosado landed a perfect counter right to the jaw that sent Melikuziev face-first on the canvas, and the fight was stopped at 1:21.

Rosado, 168 lbs of Philadelphia, PA is 26-13-1 with 15 knockouts, Melikuziev, 168 lbs of Indio, CA is 7-1.

“I knew I would have to dig deep,” said Gabriel Rosado. “I had more experience than he, but he’s very strong and throws heavy shots. I was trying to time him, but he caught me with the body shot. He didn’t drop me, but I took a knee to recover. And then I got the win.”

Esparza wins Flyweight Title with Decision over Zamora

Marlen Esparza got off the deck to comeback and wrestle the WBC Flyweight title over Ibeth Zamora in an action packed fight.

In round one Zamora dropped Esparza from a counter right over the top. Esparza was able to whether that and come, back and outland Zamora with the cleaner shots over the activity of Zamora.

Esparza landed 226 of 569 punches; Zamora was 157 of 726.

Esparza, 111.4 lbs of Houston, TX won by scores of 97-92, 96-93 and 96-94 and is now 10-1. Zamora, 111.4 lbs of Huichitlan, MX is 32-7.

Cobbs Stops Solomon in 5

Blair Cobbs remained undefeated with a fifth round stoppage over Brad Solomon in a welterweight bout.

Cobbs took some shots early, but turned the tide in 5th round. In that round, he dropped Solomon with a straight left and the fight was stopped at 2:57.

Cobbs, 146.8 lbs of Las Vegas, NV is 15-0-1 with 10 knockouts. Solomon, 146.8 lbs of Douglasville, GA is 29-4.

The highly anticipated fight between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos and the entire card has now been postponed until August 14.  Teofimo Lopez Junior tested positive for COVID and Is symptomatic. 

‘We send our best to Teofimo and his family and hope they get well soon, and look forward to seeing this epic battle on August 14, 2021,” said Triller Fight Club co-founder Ryan Kavanaugh. Additional information on the rescheduled date including all musical acts and ticketing will be announced shortly.

The most anticipated boxing exhibition, perhaps in history, took place tonight at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. YouTube sensation Logan Paul surprisingly took the 50-0, 12-time, five-division boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather the distance in an eight-round exhibition.  The brave YouTube star stepped to the 44-year-old retired Mayweather in the opening round ending the first round with a flurry at the end of the round, not many if any landed. The 26-year-old Paul intelligently used his size advantage on Mayweather, at times like a weighted blanket. Mayweather was able to counter punch the bigger Paul and landed a strong left hook in round four that seemed to show flashes of the Floyd Mayweather of old. There were times it looked as if the Champ was going to kick it up a notch and take out the younger Paul, but the young Maverick survived the biggest night of his life.  At the end of the day, it was about entertainment, and the crowd, although a bit disappointed they did not see a knockout, they did witness the greatest boxer of our era for perhaps the final time in a big-time boxing event.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER“He was strong, tough and better than I thought he was. I was surprised by him tonight. That was some good little work. 

“Even without much experience, he knew to use his weight to tie me up tonight. 

“I had fun tonight. I thank all the fans who came out, you’re all unbelievable.”
LOGAN PAUL“I don’t want anyone to tell me anything is impossible ever again. The fact that I got in here with one of the greatest boxers of all time, it proves the odds can be beat. Anyone can beat the odds and do great things in life. This is one of the greatest nights of my life, I’m happy.

“It’s an honor to share the ring with Floyd. He’s one of the GOATs. This is one of the coolest things ever.”

Badou Jack KO’s Late Replacement Colina in Four

Light heavyweight Badou Jack 24-3-3 (14KO) dropped Dervin Colina 15-1(13KO) 3 times in the fourth round to secure a KO win.  Jack was dominant from the opening bell, starting unusually fast, letting his hands go. Colina often held and was deducted 2 points for holding to avoid the attack from Jack.  Colina was a late replacement after Jean Pascal tested positive for a number of banned substances, perhaps Jack’s unusual early aggression was frustration stemming from Pascal’s positive tests, in which he was very vocally upset on social media.

Badou Jack

On the Jean Pacal rematch falling out…

“People can say it’s bad luck but this is all from God. And I just have to be patient. This is God’s plan.

“The game plan was just to outbox him. Everything else will come. Definitely, hit the body. He was a little soft in the body but give him respect. He came out on short notice. He was supposed to fight next week but this is a different level.

“My goal is to become a three-division world champion. I walk around very heavy. I’m about to be 38 this year and I don’t like to cut weight so I’ll get with my team and see what’s next.

“He was trying to hold a lot and survive. I fight better when I fight better opponents. I was a little sloppy. The world class fights are when I perform the best.”

Luis Arias Upsets Jarrett Hurd in the Rain in Miami

In a thrilling junior middleweight battle, Luis Arias fought the fight of his life with a hard-earned split decision victory over former unified 154-pound champion Jarrett Hurd 24-2(16KO). Arias 19-2-1(9KO) started fast and very aggressive from the opening bell, often landing an overhand right while coming forward. Arias baited Hurd into an early inside brawl when midway through the second round a torrential Miami downpour halted the action when Arias slipped on the wet CashApp logo in the center of the ring. The rain slowed and Arias went right back to work coming after Hurd mauling with overhand rights.  Hurd had his moments in the middle rounds while taking a lot of shots himself. In a wild 9th round after another rain clean-up, Hurd scored a knockdown, however, it was a slip from the wet canvas.  Arias went on to potentially win the 9th round.  Arias came forward in the final round looking to take Hurd out, both fighters took several shots including a big shot from Hurd at the final bell that appeared to drop Arias. The official cards read 95-94 Hurd, 97-93 Arias 96-93 Arias. 15Rounds.com scored 97-92 Arias.

Luis Arias

“I came in here and challenged the No. 1 guy at 154 pounds and we fought somewhere halfway and I was able to edge a decision. Props to Jarrett Hurd. You fought a great fight. Honestly, you could have had me out of there. I was definitely buzzed. If you would have found a way, I definitely would have gone down.

“He is a great fighter and like I told him afterwards, he came in here and fought his heart out. He definitely should have taken more time off with what he was dealing with outside of the ring.

“We’re here. I never quit on myself. People close to me were telling me to get a job and quit boxing. I just beat a former champion. Don’t ever give up on yourself.

“I would like to thank Ismael Salas as well. I came to him semi-late. About six or seven weeks and I needed to change something in my game plan to beat Jarrett. The things I was doing before would have gotten me a loss tonight. I needed somebody to just tweak a little bit and put my game up a little bit so I could beat this champion. Jarrett is a hell of a fighter and he’s not done.

“My key to victory was staying confident. Staying confident and sticking to the game plan. Knowing I’m the better fighter. Knowing I’m in better shape and I hit harder. I’m a better boxer and my defense is better. I’m better than him and I just proved it.

“The game plan was to jump on him, get the early lead and keep it. I felt like in the middle rounds I was wining the fight but you never know because I wasn’t the A-side in this fight. I buzzed him a lot especially on the inside. If we were fighting at 154, he would have gotten knocked out. Everybody knows it.

“I’ve been around the Charlos. They are great champions. I’m not going to sit here and call out [Jermell] Charlo. I have to earn my stripes. Had I beat Hurd at 154, maybe I could mention him. But I can’t. The goal is to go down to 154 pounds and fight a former challenger.”

Jarrett Hurd

“I’m not sure what went wrong tonight. I believe I won the fight. I had a knockdown. I could make a hundred excuses but it wasn’t a great performance.

“The plan coming out in the first round was to box. I wasn’t as confident in my feet as the rain came down, so I had to go toe-to-toe more. That wasn’t really what we trained for, so I was a bit sloppy.

“I’ll take the rematch at whatever weight. I know I’m the better man.”

Chad Johnson dropped in Exhibition

Six-time NFL Pro Bowler Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson showed up, and showed out in his hometown of Miami in a four-round battle with MMA and bare-knuckle veteran Brian Maxwell. The southpaw “Ocho Cinco” got off to a good start showing his boxing skills with footwork, athleticism, catching Maxwell with right hooks, and occasional straight left hands while avoiding Maxwell’s attack, most of the early rounds. The fight turned scrappy at times with Maxwell from Roanoke, VA who holds a combined record of 2-6 in MMA and Bareknuckle saw an opportunity to take his idol down.  Maxwell kept pressing and caught Johnson relaxing a bit in the final round and dropped the former Pro Bowler Johnson who got up to see the final bell. 15Rounds.com scored the fight 38-37 Maxwell.  The fight was declared a Spirited Exhibition by ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr.

Johnson has been training in the offseason since high school and held his camp for this fight with the Charlo Brothers in Houston. Johnson said afterward he was happy to “Get this off of his bucket list” and “I am ready for Conor”.

Brian Maxwell

“Ask the world who Brian Maxwell is now. Brain Maxwell is here. Thank you, Chad. It was an honor fighting my idol and I appreciate it.”

Chad Johnson

“I had fun. I had two months to get ready for this and I want to thank God for keeping us safe out there. I want to thank Floyd, Leonard Ellerbe and my whole team for allowing me to check this off my bucket list. My life has always been about taking chances and doing crazy stuff and this is just one off my bucket list. It’s a message for a lot of people who are scared to fail, scared to lose, scared to take chances to go out there and live. Don’t be scared to fail, it’s okay. I don’t box. I fight but it ain’t in the ring so of course I was a little sloppy.”

Mayweather Promotions Adrian Benton improved to 5-0 (3KO) with a unanimous decision win over the hard-charging Pedro Cruz 1-1(1KO) fighting out of San Jose California. Cruz came forward the whole fight and found early success, finding the swift-footed Benton in a competitive scrap. Benton started timing Cruz with counterpunching and angles, separating with the lead as the fight wore on. By the fourth round, Benton was having his way with Cruz, who never stopped coming forward. The cards read 40-36 thrice.  I gave Cruz the second round.

Hard punching super lightweight Jean Carlos Torres 19-0 (15 KO) dropped Zack Kuhn 10-8-1 three times on his way to a destructive second-round knockout. A slow-starting first round quickly heated up when Torres started letting his hands go, dropping Kuhn twice in the first round. A ripping left hook from Torres immediately dropped Kuhn ending the fight at 41 of round two.

Highly decorated amateur and Mayweather Promotions rookie Jalil Hackett out of Washington D.C. took his talents to Miami, and made an impressive successful debut with an early first-round destruction over debuting Dallas, TX product Angelo Diaz.  Hackett came out firing, hitting Diaz nearly at will, and finally dispensed Diaz in the corner with a slick hook and straight right hand resulting in a knockout win 1:10 of round one.

The Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul event kicked off with competitive professional boxing as Buckeye, Arizona’s Dorian Mark Khan Jr 1-0 (1KO) who made his professional debut in hot Miami style with a TKO win over Jonathan Gray 0-4.  The southpaw Kahn was sharpshooting from round one, and aggressively progressed through round two dropping the game Gray who, by advisement of his corner did not answer the bell through for the third round.

A huge crowd collected at the Hard Rock live in Hollywood Florida for the Logan Paul Floyd Mayweather weigh-in.

26 year old, 6’ 3” Logan Paul weighed 189.5 a day ahead of his clash with boxing great 44 years old 5’ 8” Floyd Mayweather who came in 34.5 pounds lighter at 155.  

The exhibition is set for tomorrow with no rehydration rule in place meaning Paul could come in much heavier.  The match will be held with 10-ounce gloves and no scoring or decision will be called at the conclusion.  Knockouts are legal.

“I’ve been here before, I know what it takes,” Mayweather said. “I fought every different style you can possibly fight. Height don’t win fights, weight don’t win fights, fighting wins fights and I can fight.”

“He’s not ready,” Paul said after weighing in. “He doesn’t know what to expect. This isn’t the biggest fight of my life, it’s the biggest fight of his life. … I’m going to get it done, it’s a fight and anything can happen. Floyd’s not ready, that’s all I can say.”

Also weighing in for a separate exhibition matchup was Former NFL star wide receiver and Miami native Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson 179.5 who will be making his unofficial boxing debut against MMA and bare-knuckle boxing veteran Brian Maxwell 183.5.  This match will be the first of four on the main card starting at 8 pm EST.  (PPV $49.99)

PHILADELPHIA–Genc Pllana stopped hometown favorite Brandon Robinson in the eighth and final round of their super middleweight clash that headlined the evening session of a King’s Promotions day-night doubleheader at the 2300 Arena

It was a spirited bout throughout the contest that saw Pllana forge ahead on the strength of a jab that he followed up by flurries of scoring blows that weren’t impactful, but more of controlling shots. Robinson created some offense of his own against the awkward Pllana. In the later rounds, it seemed that Pllna was wearing Robinson, and in round eight he cracked Robinson with a hard right hand in the corner that put Robinson down, and the fight was stopped at 33 seconds.

Pllana of Hagerstown, MD is 9-3-1 with five knockouts. Robinson of Philadelphia is 15-3.

In a battle of undefeated lightweights,, James Bernadin took a six-round unanimous decision over Osvaldo Morales.

Bernadin of Lancaster, PA won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 and is now 4-0-1. Morales of Harrisburg is 4-1.

Fan-favorite Elijah Morales won a four-round unanimous decision over Andres Abarco in a welterweight fight.

Morales of Trenton, NJ won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 8-0, Abarco of Normandy Park, WA is 2-5.

Jonathan Rodriguez won a four-round unanimous decision over Sebastian Baltazar in a bantamweight contest.

Rodriguez of Bethlehem, PA won by scores twice and 39-37 and is now 9-1. Baltazar if Tacoma, WA is 1-5.

Rafiq Muhammad remained undefeated by stopping Rasheed Johnson in round four of their scheduled six-round welterweight fight.

In round four, Muhammad dropped Johnson with a hard right hand in the corner. Johnson was hurt, yet tried to fight back, but caught again and was driven into the ropes where he ate several more flush shots and the fight was stopped at 2:40

Muhammad of Richmond, VA is 5-0 with three knockouts. Johnson of Philadelphia is 7-4.

Khainell Wheeler stopped Vincent Baccus in round one of their scheduled six-round super middleweight clash.

In round one. Wheeler dropped Baccus with an uppercut. Seconds later it was a counter right that hurt Baccus and backed him into the ropes that was followed up by a right that sent Baccus down and the fight was stopped at 2:46.

Wheeler of Bethlehem, PA is 5-1 with five knockouts. Baccus of Okmulgee, OK is 4-3-1.

Roudly Lolo stopped debuting Eric Monroe in the opening round of their scheduled four-round middleweight fight.

The came out and set a furious pace as they landed some hard shots until one blasted off of the head of Monroe that sent the first-time to the canvas. Lolo landed a flurry of punches that sent Monroe plummeting down, and the fight was stopped at 1:43.

Lolo of Harrisburg, PA is 1-0-1 with one knockout. Monroe of Philadelphia is 0-1.

PHILADELPHIA–Devar Ferhadi won an eight-round unanimous decision in a battle of super middleweights that headlined the King’s Promotions matinee portion of a day-night doubleheader at the 2300 Arena.

Ferhadi of Frederick, Maryland, won by scores of 80-72 and 79-73 twice to raise his perfect mark to 9-0. Mansfield, of Burlington, NC is 7-4-1.

Andrew Rodgers scored an upset as he took a six-round unanimous decision over Greg Outlaw in a junior welterweight fight.

The fight was hotly contested throughout with Rodgers getting inside on the longer Outlaw. In round five,, the pressure of Rodgers forced a knockdown.

That was the difference in the fight as Rodgers won by scores of 58-55 twice and 57-56 to improve to 5-9. Outlaw of Bowie, MD is 8-1.

Joseph Jackson remained undefeated with an opening round stoppage over Terrance Williams in a junior middleweight bout.

Jackson landed a perfect left hook to the body that sent Williams down for the 10-count at 2:42.

Jackson of Greensboro, NC is 17-0 with 13 knockouts. Williams of Harrisburg, PA is 5-5-1.

Christian Bermudez remained undefeated with a 47 second stoppage over Lawrence Mertagh in a junior welterweight bout.

Bermudez of Brooklyn is 4-0 with three knockouts. Mertagh of Brooklyn was making his pro debut.

Kashon Hutchinson stopped previously undefeated Edgar Torres 46 seconds into round one of their scheduled six-round welterweight bout.

In round one, Hutchinson dropped Torres with a flurry of head shots. Hutchinson followed up with a some flush power shots, and the fight was stopped after a perfect left to the head that rocked Torres at 46 seconds.

Hutchinson of Reading, PA is 8-5 with two knockouts. Torres of Springfield, VA is 8-1-1.

Quadir Albright stopped Isaac Hayne in the opening round of a battle of pro debuting junior welterweights.

Albright landed a leaping right that sent Haynes down and the fight was stopped 65 seconds into the contest.

Albright of Philadelphia is 1-0 with one knockout/ Haynes of Albany, NY is 0-1.

15ROUNDS.COM Johnny Farace was on hand in Miami, Florida where YouTube sensation Logan Paul worked out for the media at the legendary 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach. Paul and Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather are just days away from their highly anticipated June 6 showdown. Paul was very confident stating he would hand the legend Mayweather his first loss.  Paul stated he weighed194 today after a long camp in Puerto Rico with trainer Milton Lacroix and his team. He also said they do not have Floyds hat.  Paul looked very good on the jump rope, and threw some heavy punches on the gigantic heavy bag at the legendary 5th Street Gym.  His mitt work was questionable however as he resembled the novice professional he actually is despite landing a PPV fight with who was once a king of the sport. Mayweather sees this as a legal robbery and showed much emotion and anger after the younger Paul snatched his hat in Miami a couple of weeks ago.  

Devin Haney retained the WBC Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over former three-division champion Jorge Linares at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Haney dominated the action as he mixed up his punches as he started featuring the his jab. That punch set up good rights and uppercuts that built him a good lead as the headed to the last part of the fight.

In round 10, Linares landed a hard right at the bell that rocked Haney and buckled his legs, Haney survived a few anxious moments but literally held on for the victory by scores of 116-112 twice and 115-113.

Haney landed 215 of 675 punches; Linares was 116 of 620.

Haney, 135 lbs of Las Vegas is now 26-0. Linares, 135 lbs of Barinas, VEN is 47-6.

“The fans want to see that,” said Haney. “They want to see if I can go in there and walk my opponent down. Hit him with big shots. I showed I can do it all, I can box, I can bang, I can take a shot and face adversity and get the job done.
 
“It was a good shot, but I wasn’t hurt, sometimes when you get hit by a good shot, you have to be smart, continue the game plan, and I did that and got the win.
 
“I knew he was going to come here and give it everything, it was a huge opportunity for him, he would be willing to get knocked out to go for the win, take my biggest shots to get this title.
 
“I just kept smart, used the jabs, feinted and landed shots in the 12th round. You are going to get hit with big shots in boxing. I didn’t get dropped; I didn’t get hurt. You see fighters get dropped and get up from big shots and people praise them, I didn’t get dropped, I stayed on my feet, kept throwing shots and closed it out.
 
“I want to fight the best, I stayed focused on Jorge this week, I knew he was a tough competitor, and I got the job done with the game plan. If Teofimo Lopez wants to do it next, let’s do it for all the belts, the real undisputed.”

Cameron stops Hernandez in 5; Defends Super Lightweight Title

Chantelle Cameron defended the WBC Super Bantamweight world title with a fifth round stoppage over former world champion Melissa Hernandez.

Cameron dropped Hernandez with a right hand in round four. Cameron dominated the fight, but for some reason the fight was stopped during a lull in the action.

Cameron, 139,2 lbs of Northampton, UK is now 14-0 with eight knockouts. Hernandez, 136.2 lbs of Miami, Lbs is 23-8-3.

Quigley wins Majority Decision over Mosley Jr.

Jason Quigley won a 10-round majority decision over Shane Mosley Jr, in a middleweight bout.

Quigley landed 159 of 496 punches; Mosley was 144 of 572.

Quigley, 159.4 lbs of Bellybofey, IRE won by scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95 and is now 19-1. Mosley, 160 lbs of Pomona, CA is 17-4.

Fuzile stops Ward in 7

Azinga Fuzile stopped Marti J Ward in round seven of their scheduled 12-round super featherweight bout.

In round four, Fuzile dropped Ward with a right hook to the side for the head.

In round seven, It was another right hook the sent Ward down again. The two banged legs, and Ward was the worse off of that exchange. Ward got to his feet with his face all bloody and the fight was stopped at 1:10.

Fuzile, 129,2 lbs of East London, SA is 15-2 with nine knockouts. Ward, 129.6 lbs of Brentwood, UK is 24-2-2.

Coe Stops Tadd in 2

Khalil Coe made a successful pro debut with a 2nd round stoppage over Nathaniel Tadd in a light heavyweight bout.

In round one, Coe dropped Tadd twice. First he hurt Tadd with a body shot. Coe followed up with a flurry of body shots that sent Tadd down to the canvas. Coe went right back to that body, and landed a big uppercut and down went Tadd for a second time. In round two, It was another left to the body that sent Tadd down for a third time, and the fight was stopped at 1:10.

Coe, 176.2 lbs of Jersey City, NJ is 1-0 with one knockout. Tadd, 179 lbs of Houston is 2-5.

Reshat Mati remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Ryan Pino in a welterweight bout.

Mati, 145.8 lbs of Staten Island, NY won by scores of 60-54 and 58-56 twice and is now 10-0. Pino 146.8 lbs of San Juan, PR is 8-7-2.

Ramla Ali remained undefeated by winning a six-round unanimous decision over Mikayala Nebel in a featherweight contest.

Ali, 124 lbs of London, UK won by scores of 60-54 on all cards, and is now 3-0. Nebel, 124.6 lbs of Las Vegas is 4-9.

Amari Jones stopped Jonathan Burrs in the first round of their four-round super welterweight bout.

Jones landed a hard left that dropped Burrs and when Burrs got to his feet, the fight was stopped at 2:56.

Jones, 153.6 lbs of Las Vegas is 2-0 with two knockouts. Burrs, 153 lbs of Frederick, MD is 3-4.

Esteban Bermudez shocked previously undefeated Carlos Canizales to win the WBA Light Flyweight title in Mexico City.

In round six, Bermudez landed a hard left that put Canizales on his back. Canizales got to his feet only to eat another hard hook to the head that sent him sprawling on his back, and the fight was stopped.

Bermudez is now 14-3-2 with 10 knockouts. Canizales is now 22-1-1.

David Carmona won a 10-round unanimous decision over Belmar Preciado in a super bantamweight contest.

Carmona is now 22-6-5. Preciado is 21-4-1.

Elvis Garcia stopped Luis Montiel in the first round.

LAS VEGAS – No dispute.

Josh Taylor made sure of it, knocking down Jose Ramirez twice enroute to winning all of the pieces to the junior-welterweight title with unanimous decision Saturday night in front of a small crowd at Virgin Hotels and an ESPN audience.

 The judges scored it the same way. It was 114-112 — once, twice, three times — all for Taylor. The margin was only two points, a nod perhaps to Ramirez’ toughness. But the difference between the two was clear, indisputable. There was no argument. No need for a rematch.

Taylor moved toward an even bigger date, perhaps with leading pound-for-pound contender Terence Crawford at a heavier weight, welter. But there were no lingering questions Saturday about who he was. There’s not a better 140-pound fighter on this planet or any other.

“I have been waiting for this moment all my life,’’ he said to a crowd of fellow Scots who chanted his name and waved the Scottish flag.

Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) seized the moment midway through the fight with all of his advertised guile and power. He had promised to knock out Ramirez (26-1, 12 KOs). But that was the only promise he didn’t keep. He knocked put everything else, including some early doubt.  

Ramirez was first to enter the ring, wearing a robe in bright colors and dark shoes. Taylor followed, clad in Scottish tartan and a waistband in gold. It was a clash of culture. A clash of colors. A clash of styles.

After a couple of days marked by escalating trash talk, they had finally arrived at the moment when they would communicate with hands bound in white gloves and loaded with dark intent.  

Ramirez was the first to strike. For three plus rounds, he moved forward throwing right hand leads with his first step toward Taylor. It appeared to surprise Taylor. For few moments, the Scotsman looked uncertain, even dazed. But he would recover, adjust and mount the fight’s second and third strikes.

Late in the fourth and throughout the fifth, Taylor seemed to regain his footing and eventually the momentum. He imposed his will, if not his superior height on Ramirez, moving forward in much the same way that Ramirez had in the earlier rounds.

In the sixth, Taylor caught, a left-handed counter that landed on Ramirez’ chin and dropped him onto the canvas. In the seventh, Taylor struck again, this time in the split second after referee Kenny Bayless separated them. Bayless stepped back from the break and Taylor fired a left uppercut.

Ramirez was back on the canvas, down for a second time. He got up. But the spring in that first forward step was gone.

Suddenly, Taylor looked bigger.

Looked stronger.

Looked to be in control.

He was.

“We used his aggression against him,’’ Taylor said. “No disrespect. I’ve got nothing but love for Ramirez. This week was no disrespect. It was all part of the mind games to get in his head, to make him more eager to jump in at me and be more aggressive, to use his aggression against him.”

Ramirez wasn’t finished after the knockdowns. He never is. He carried on the fight with the resilience that has been a trademark to his career and his character. In the eleventh, an incoming Ramirez appeared to stun Taylor, who fell into him and then hung onto him. But it wasn’t enough and Taylor knew it. He waved a gloved right hand at the crowd, limited to 750 people by COVID protocol, as he walked to his corner after the eleventh.

One more round, and there would be no dispute.  

“I’ve got nothing but love for Ramirez. This week was no disrespect. It was all part of the mind games to get in his head, to make him more eager to jump in at me and be more aggressive, to use his aggression against him.

“I thought the scorecards were a little tight. I thought they were well wider than that. I wasn’t too happy with the selection of the judges, but I wasn’t going to moan. I was confident in winning this fight anyway.”

Ramirez said, “He took advantage of some of those clinches but, hey, I got back up and tried to give it my best and stay smart. I was never hurt. I was aware. I was just disappointed every time it happened. I tried to shake it off and get back to my rhythm. But it was overall a good fight. Hopefully, I get back and I learn from my mistakes. You win some and you lose some. 

“I felt like I landed some clean shots. It came down to the clinches. He would let his hands go as soon as he got his chance and I think I left it to the referee to do his part and it was a lack of experience on my part.”

Zepeda Decisions Lundy

Jose Zepeda didn’t have much time to celebrate. He won with precise punches. Then, he went back to work as a hopeful observer.

Zepeda (34-2, 26 KOs) kept himself in line for a junior-welterweight title with a unanimous decision, 98–92 on all three cards, over Hank Lundy (31-9-1, 14 KOs) Saturday in the Theater at Virgin Hotels.

Then, he took seat, hopeful for a shot at the winner of the next fight, Jose Ramirez-versus-Josh Taylor for all of the pieces to the 140-pound title. Zepeda, of Long Beach, Calif., looked solid against Lundy, a Philadelphia fighter. For 10 rounds, it was all business for Zepeda, who was coming off a wild Fight of the Year in October when he got up from four knockdowns to knock out Ivan Baranchyk. In 2019, he lost a majority decision to Ramirez.     

Sims Upsets Rodriguez via Majority Decision

The show began with an upset. Kenneth Sims Jr. scored it, opening the ESPN telecast for the Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor bout with a stunner, a majority decision over junior-welterweight prospect Elvis Rodriquez at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotels. Rodriguez (11-1-1, 10 KOs), of the Dominican Republic, started strong. But he appeared to tire midway through the eight-rounder. Sims (16-2-1, 5 KOs), began to catch up with him, rocking him with repeated blows and staggering him in the closing moments of a bout that ended with him leading on two cards, 78-74 on each. On the third, it was a draw, 76–76.  

Sims remarked, “I got a baby on the way, so that’s all the extra motivation I needed.” 

Mexican featherweight Jose Vivas overcame two knockdowns and a point reduction for a low blow to score a unanimous, yet narrow decision over Louie Coria of Moreno Valley, Calif. Vivas (21-1, 11 KOs) looked beaten in the third when Coria (12-5, 7 KOs) dropped him twice. But Rivas, a Manny Robles-trained fighter, came roaring back with an aggressive inside attack. Over the next five rounds, Vivas rocked him with repeated body blows. The judges noticed. All three scored it, 75-74, for him in the final fight on the ESPN+ portion of the Ramirez-Taylor card. 

Las Vegas junior-lightweight Andres Cortes (14-0, 7 KOs) relied on aggressiveness in a tough fight to stay unbeaten, scoring a 77-75, 78-74, 75-3 decision over Eduardo Garza (15-4-1, 8 KOs), a Texas fighter who kept it close with body punching throughout eight rounds of the fourth fight on Ramirez-Taylor card.  

Cuban featherweight Robeisy Ramirez (7-1, 4 KOs) combined precision and power to score repeatedly over six rounds for a one-sided decision over Ryan Allen (10-5-1, 5 KOs) of Las Vegas. Allen’s hands-down defense left him wide open for repeated blows from Ramirez throughout the third bout on the Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor card.  

Raymond Muratalia (12-0 10 KOs), a lightweight from Fontana, Calif.,  had all the advantages. His strength, size and power overwhelmed Jose Gallegos (20-11, 15 KOs) midway through the fifth round of a scheduled eight-rounder. It was over, a TKO, at 1:40 of the round during the second fight on card featuring Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotels.

Javier Martinez remained undefeated with a fourth round stoppage over Calvin Metcalf in a scheduled six-round middleweight bout.

In round four, Martinez landed a perfect right hook to the head that sent Metcalf down and out at 1:33.

Martinez, 162.5 lbs of Milwaukee, WI is 4-0 with two knockouts. Metcalf, 160.4 lbs of Kansas City, MO is 10-6-1.

Jonathan Rodriguez stopped Armando Torres in round four of a scheduled 10-round light flyweight bout between former world title challengers at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC Auditorium in Tampa, Florida.

In round four, Torres was cut over his left eye from a headbutt. The fight went on, but not for much longer, as Rodriguez landed flurries that made Torres turn his back on two occasions and the fight was stopped.

Rodriguez, 108 lbs of Caguas, PR is now 24-3-1 with 14 knockouts. Torres, 108 lbs of Mexico is 26-19.

In a battle of undefeated super featherweights, Otar Eranoyan won a 10-round unanimous decision over Juan Argel.

In round four, Eranosyan was cut around his right eye. That did not deter Eranosyan as he won by scores of 100-90 twice and 99-91, and is now 8-0. Argel is 8-1.

Congratulations to 15rounds.com own Norm Frauenheim for placing 1st place in the BWAA Writing Awards in the column category.

Frauenheim’s winning entry, Defiance not enough to keep coronavirus off an island or the UFC on ESPN, Dana White taps out beat all other submissions in the category.

Well deserved for a great writer and better person.

Congrats Norm

Brandon Figueroa stopped Luis Nery in round seven to add the WBC Super Bantamweight title to add to his WBA belt at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

It was a rugged fight with the fight being mostly contested on the inside. Nery got the better of most of the first part of the fight. The tide began to turn at the end of round six with Figueroa landing power shots on the inside. In round seven he continued the accuracy until he landed perfect left to the solar plexus that sent Nery down for the count at 2:!8.

Figueroa, 121.2 lbs of Weslaco, TX is now 22-0-1 with 17 knockouts. Nery, 122 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 31-1.

Brandon Figueroa

“It feels amazing, this is a dream come true. I know everyone doubted me, but here I am with the belt. It’s all thanks to hard work and dedication.

“You saw tonight what I can do. I brought it to him and the hard work paid off. We did our homework. We did a great job in the gym and just took it to him.

“The plan was to break him. Joel Diaz told me to pressure him and that he wouldn’t last. That’s exactly what happened.

“I knew he was getting tired, he was trying to box me. I saw him breathing heavy. My team just said it was time to go get him.

“We’ve been waiting for this fight against and it’s finally gonna happen. I knew I had to get through Luis Nery first. Everything has it’s time. I envisioned that I was going to beat Nery and now I see myself beating Fulton. I know he’s coming with everything he’s got and that we’re gonna give the fans a hell of a show.”

Stephen Fulton

“Hell of a performance by Brandon tonight. That’s what I predicted would happen. This is my time now though. I’ve been waiting for this moment to finally fight Brandon.

“I knew that Brandon would fight how he always fights. I’m just ready for my time against him. We’re going to put on a hell of a performance. Congratulations to him tonight, but I’m coming next.”

Roman decisions Espinoza

Former unified world champion Danny Roman won a 10-round unanimous decision over Ricardo Espinoza in a super bantamweight fight

It was a spirited battle that was fought at close quarters throughout. In round eight, Espinoza began bleeding from his face.

Roman landed of 220 of 756 punches; Espinoza was 190 of 724.

Roman, 122 lbs of Los Angeles won by scores of 98-92 twice and 97-93 and is now 29-3-1. Espinoza, 121.6 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 25-4.

Danny Roman:

“This win is a step closer to getting back on top and getting a world title once again. I knew he was a tough fighter who hit hard, so I had to fight smart and make adjustments.

“I started to get my distance and started fighting my fight and controlling the ring. Once I did that, everything started to fall into place. I was surprised he went the distance, but he has a lot of heart. He’s a tough fighter.

“I’m the mandatory, so I want a title shot now. I want the winner of the main event.

“I won the mandatory for the WBC belt in September against Payano. I am the mandatory to fight the champion. I had a great fight tonight and I believe deserve the chance.

“I still got it, I am still up there. I am just waiting to get back on top.

On Murodjon Akhmadaliev: “I still want the rematch. I still have unfinished business in MJ. I don’t know what he’s got scheduled but I will take that fight.

“He was bleeding, he was hurt. But he came to fight. He came to die in the ring. He has a lot of guts. But it was my night.” 

“He was open for those uppercuts. I adjusted to his fighting style, he was more aggressive than I thought he would be. But then when I adjusted, those uppercuts were there for me all night.”

“The guy hits hard. He is a strong fighter. But you know what? I was more resistant and I took his shots. He wasn’t able to take my shots.”

Ricardo Espinoza:

“I felt good overall. I could have pressured him a bit more, close his angles, but it was a good fight.

“Now I want to rest and look forward to my next fight. You win some, you lose some, and tonight I lost.

“Danny is a tough fighter who withstood a lot of shots to the head, a quality opponent.”

Martinez Decisions Burgos

Xavier Martinez remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over three-time world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos in a junior lightweight bout.

Martinez landed 329 of 891 punches; Burgos was 261 of 830.

Martinez, 131.6 lbs of Sacramento, CA won by scores of 99-91 on all cards and is now 17-0. Burgos, 131.8 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 34-5-2.

Xavier Martinez:

“I wasn’t surprised he came forward. He’s a tough competitor. I thank him for taking the fight, he was tough as hell. These kind of fights are going to help me get better.

“It was a fun fight. I know the fans enjoyed the fight. I thought I could have done better, but I was landing clean, hard shots throughout. Even when he was throwing, I was slipping a lot of them and catching him. I showed I can hang in there with tough fighters.

“I could have boxed him more but I wanted to give the fans action. There’s nothing to complain about – I got the victory. I made it tougher on myself but I will learn from it. It’s back to the drawing board but it’s a great victory.

“I fought two very experienced fighters back to back. I like these fights and I won’t complain. Whatever my team has in store for me, I will take it.

“It wasn’t that close. I could give him a round or two. There was a round or two where I stepped back too much. Even when he was throwing, I was catching and slipping.

“I do have a rivalry with Chris Colbert. That’s not a secret, everyone knows that. If we can make that happen, that would be cool. That would be a really fun fight for both of us. He’s a boxer, I come forward. We will cause a lot of fireworks with that one.”

Juan Carlos Burgos:

“I am happy and excited to put on a good show. All in all, I am just glad that the fans enjoyed the fight.

“He was a great opponent. Many people don’t know that I was brought in on late notice. Just two weeks in advance. That’s not an excuse but just the reality. Martinez fought a hell of a fight. He is definitely one of the best opponents I have ever faced.

On the scorecards: “I was shocked. I was surprised. I did not think I only won one round. The public opinion and the fact that the fans were booing is what I take with me today. The fans spoke louder than the cards. I am glad to have given them an exciting fight.”

Joshua Buatsi stopped Daniel Dos Santos in round four of their scheduled 10-round light heavyweight at The Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

In round four, Buatsi landed a devastating overhand right to the face of Dos Santos, who like a ton of bricks, and the fight was over at 2:44.

Buatsi, 174 lbs of Croydon, ENG is 14-0 with 12 knockouts. Dos Santos, 174.1 lbs of Point-Sainte-Maxence, FRA is 15-1.

“I hope he’s okay,” Buatsi told Matchroom. “We’ve seen this happen to many fighters. You box someone they say you’re levels above and it’s a banana skin situation. I’m glad I handled it. The most important thing is I hope he’s okay. We’ve seen these type of fighters come and cause upsets recently and I was adamant it wasn’t going to happen to me. I’m glad it went well.

“I remain optimistic all of the time in the moves that I make and this is one of them. We will have a week or so off and then we’re back in the gym to keep building. Going in we had little footage of him. Usually you can watch who you’re going to fight to get a feel. He looked very good in the one bit of footage we had of him. I had to learn round by round what he was like.

“Virgil gave me the perfect instructions and I followed them. I haven’t got here by being given it. The little that I’ve earnt, I had to work hard for it. I thank god for everything that we’ve got but I work hard for it. When I step in that ring it’s a dog mentality. This is a fight. I’m here to take everything. We’re here to win but we’re not here to hurt anyone. The time that we’re in the ring, yes, we want to win, and we want to entertain. We’re not here to hurt anyone in the long-term.”

Richards Decisons De Carolis

Lerrone Richards won an easy 12-round unanimous decision over Giovanni De Caolins in a super middleweight.

Richards, 167 lbs of New Malden, ENG won by scores of 120-108 twice and 119-109, and is now 15-0. De Carolis, 167.4 lbs of Vitebo, ITA is 28-10-1.

“I said I was going to conquer Europe, and I’ve done it,” Richards told Matchroom. “I’m very pleased and I’m very happy. I wanted this so bad to complete the collection. British, Commonwealth and now the European Super-Middleweight Champion. I’m very happy.

“It’s all of the drilling and all of the work in the gym. I’d like to thank my team – Dave Coldwell, Danny Wilson and my nutritionist Lee for getting me in the best shape possible for this fight. I’m going to be very difficult to beat. I said this from the start. It’s all about the skills, and I have them in abundance. I showcased a little bit of that tonight.

“There were points in the fight where I decided to sit in the pocket and work with him. I could have gone up the gears a little bit more tonight. I felt like what I was doing was enough. My team are very happy with my performance.

“I started from the bottom and worked my way up – I backed myself. There’s something to learn at every level. We’ll see what the team says the best options are for me. The next step now is fringe world level.”

Jason Cunningham dropped Gamal Yafai three-times en-route to a 12-round unanimous decision in a super bantamweight bout.

In round two, Cinningham dropped Yafai with a straight left. In round four, Cunningham dropped Yafai with a counter left. In round six, Cunningham dropped Yafai.

Yafai rallied down the stretch and hurt Cunningham down the stretch, but it was too little-too late as Cunningham won by scores of 115-110 and 114-111 twice.

Cunningham, 121.8 lbs of Doncaster, ENG is 29-6. Yafai, 121. lbs of Birmingham, ENG is 18-2.

Cunningham avenged a loss to Gamal’s brother Khalid.

“We’re buzzing,” said Cunningham. “We’re from a little town called Doncaster. We’ve got a British, European and World Champion – that’s some doing that. In at three weeks’ notice – I won my second Commonwealth Title at three weeks’ notice. They tried catching me out tonight, I don’t care what anyone says – that’s what they’ve done. 

“I’ve stayed prepared, stayed disciplined and dedicated. This is what happens when you stick to it. I was in this venue last time I had a big fight against Michael Conlan. I pushed Michael Conlan hard. I had to grit in late on tonight – he hurt me a few times to the body. I’ll never quit. It’s my boxing ability that sets me above the rest. I’m an awkward tall southpaw.

“I said I knew I had the tools to do it. I said I’d have done a better job if I had more notice but to be fair, I dropped him three times and it was quite comfortable really. I knew to keep calm and carry on what I was doing. I stuck to it and this is my reward. I made a lot of people in Doncaster a lot of money tonight.

“I showed my class, I was levels above him in terms of boxing ability. Usually you get a good ten weeks’ notice for a European Title fight – it was the biggest fight of my life. I’ve been out of the ring since February last year. Tonight was just my night, I knew I was all wrong for him.”

Tommy McCarthy stopped Alezandru Jur in round six of a scheduled 12-round cruiserweight bout,

In round four, McCarthy dropped Jur with a left to the body. Two rounds later, it was another left to the body, but this time Jur was down for the count of 10 at 2:09.

McCarthy, 199.4 lbs of Belfast, NI is 18-2 with nine knockouts. Jur, 198.7 lbs of Ordea, ROM is 19-5.

“I’m delighted,” McCarthy told Matchroom. “I got a few rounds in and a stoppage. I got everything that I wanted. We prepared for Jur to give me a good test. I don’t think he expected me to come out the way that I did. It threw him off a bit. I can’t complain.

“I thought it was all over after the first knockdown. Feinted to the head, left hook to the body and he went over. He went into survival mode after that. It was the same again with the next one. I’ve been working hard with my team all through camp. We’ve been doing all sorts of drills. We’ve been working on being explosive. The S and C training was all focused on me being explosive. I’m a hard puncher.

“Everything was perfect this camp – no injuries. I was driving them shots through him, it was great. The pandemic has been great for me, I’ve kept my head down, stayed in the gym and worked on my whole game. I hope everybody is buzzing back home in Belfast.

“I’ve got no problem fighting Chris Billam-Smith, it’s easy work. If this is the hurdle that I have to jump over for a World Title fight, then so be it. Chris Billam-Smith, stop Tweeting about me, stop talking about me – we’ll see you at Fight Camp.”

Dalton Smith remained undefeated with a beatdown sixth round stoppage over Lee Appleyard in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.

Smith dominated throughout until the fight was stopped at 2:44

Smith, 139.9 lbs of Sheffield, ENG is 8-0 with seven knockouts. Aplleyard, 139.1 lbs of Rotherham, ENG is 16-6-1.

“I’ve got my first professional Title,” said Smith. “I’ve dreamt about this since I was a little boy. I’m English Champion! It’s the starting block for me. When the fight first got announced, I thought, ‘it’s just an English Title’, but now I’ve got it it’s like, ‘wow, I’m a professional Champion now’. It feels good.

“All credit to Lee – he’s one tough kid. I was prepared for a fast-paced ten rounds tonight, but he was just taking a few too many shots in there. I’m good friends with Lee out of the ring. When you go in there it’s just business. I could see his face was getting bust up pretty bad. I kind of felt sorry for him in a way. I’ve got respect for him. I knew eventually the shots would come and I knew he wasn’t going to last long.

“I’m happy with my performance. You want to win in style. The knockouts are good. We want to win but we don’t want anyone to come out of there hurt. People forget that was my eighth pro fight there. Lee is an experienced guy and he’s been in with some top kids. He’s been those championship rounds.

“I’m taking my time, I’m 24. I’ve got one shot at boxing; I want to make sure that I do it right. I’m not in there with no mugs – they’re real contenders. That was a good step up and I proved what I’m about. I’m not a championship round fighter yet. Kay Prosper just boxed for the European Title – they’re the type of fights that I want. I want to get those championship rounds in, I’m in a tough division. Maybe I’ll get over to the States in my next fight, get a bit of experience over there. I’d love to do that.”

Solomon Dacres made a successful pro debut with an easy six-round unanimous decision over Mladen Manev in a heavyweight bout.

Dacres, 221.1 lbs of Birmingham, ENG won by a 60-54 score and is 1-0. Manev, 233 lbs of Sofia BUL is 3-9.

“It was good to get six rounds under my belt,” Dacres told Matchroom. “I know a lot of people like to get the big Heavyweights that get them out of there in one round, but you don’t learn much from that. I got to show my skills. I didn’t just go for all power. I’ve got plenty more in the tank, so it was good to get the rounds in.

“I showed my hand speed at times. I showed I can box. I didn’t rush it. I’ve varied the power up. It’s all building up. We’re training to be a twelve-round fighter, not just a one or two round knockout artist. You don’t gain much from getting someone that is going to fall over after a round. Six tough rounds, I got to go through the gears, show a bit of what I’m about and learn a little bit as well.

“I was pretty relaxed to be honest. I’ve had plenty of amateur fights. I know that I prepared very hard. It felt good to get in there. Hard work is at the route of it all. If you put that hard work and dedication in, the sky is the limit. I’ll keep putting my head down in the gym and performing in the ring.”

Jair Valtierra stopped Emanuel Lopez in round three of a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout at Auditorro Blackberry in Mexico City.

Valtierra landed a left to the body that sent Lopez down to a knee for the 10-count.

Valtierra is now `15-0 with eight knockouts. Lopez is 30-13-1.

Jonathan Ramirez stopped Jose Carillo in round four of their six-round junior lightweight fight.

Ramirez is now 1-4-1.

Axel Rai Miranda stopped Jesus Tampa in the opening round of debuting flyweights.

Rashiem Jefferson Jr. remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Diuhl Olguin in a featherweight in front of a near (Covid-Restricted) capacity at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

Jefferson, 127 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 and is now 6-0. Olguin, 129 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 15-17-4.

Edgar Cortes took a split decision from previously undefeated Alexander Castellano in bantamweight contest.

Cortes, 117.9 lbs of Millville, NJ won by scores of 58-56 twice, while Castellano took card by a 58-56 tally.

Cortes is now 8-6-1. Castellano, 119.6 lbs of Tonawanda, NY is now 4-1.

Shinard Bunch obliterated Diego Vicente Perez in 34 seconds of their six-round junior welterweight bout.

Seconds into the bout, Bunch landed a jab to the body the sent Perez to the canvas. Perez got to his feet, but not for long as Bunch landed an overhand right that sent Perez to the deck, and the fight was stopped at 34 seconds.

Bunch, 142.2 lbs of Trenton, NJ is now 15-1 with 13 knockouts. Perez, 142.7 lbs of Buenos Aries, ARG is 13-13-1.

Donald Smith needed just 60 seconds to take out Jonathan Lecona Ra:mos in their six-round featherweight bout.

Smith landed a body shot that sent Lecona down for the 10-count at 1:00.

Smith, 127.2 lbs of Philadelphia is now 12-1 with eight knockouts. Ramos, 127.3 lbs of Mexico City is 18-30-5.

Rasheen Brown remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Nathan Benichou in a scheduled four-round junior lightweight fight.

The time of the stoppage was 1:38 for Brown, 129 lbs of Philadelphia who is now 8-0 with five knockouts. Benichou, 129.8 lbs of Puebla, MEX is 2-4.

Tahmir Smalls stopped David Veras Pena in the opening round of their four-round welterweight bout.

Smalls hurt Pena with a chopping right. He followed up with a hard flurry and the fight was stopped at 1:42.

Christian Bermudez stopped Joseph Santana in round two of a scheduled four-round junior welterweight bout.

Bermudez dropped Santana in round two, and the bout was stopped at 31 seconds.

Bermudez, 141.3 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 2-0 with two knockouts. Santana, 135.2 lbs of Providence, RI is 0-4.

Canelo Alvarez looked befuddled at times, but he turned it on in round eight, and stopped Billy Joe Saunders after that frame to retain the WBA/WBC and win the WBO Super Middleweight title from Billy Joe Saunders in front of an American indoor record of 73, 126 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Alvarez came out landing thudding power shots against the slick jabbing Saunders. Saunders found a rhythm in the middle frames as he was able to get his jab and uppercuts working he began to give the Mexican icon problems.

With the fight seemingly close, Alvarez stepped on the gas in round eight, as he got back to landing hard punches, which included a uppercut that caused the right eye to close. After the round, Saunders was distressed by the eye and his corner pulled the plug on the fight.

Alvarez, 167.4 lbs of Guasalajara, Mexico now owns three of the four recognized titles and will to become undisputed with a proposed Fall showdown with Caleb Plant. Alvarez is now 56-1-2 with 38 knockouts. Saunders, 167.8 lbs of Hatfield, UK is 30-1.

Soto stops Takayama; Retains Light Flyweight title

Elwin Soto made the third defense of the WBO Light Flyweight title with a controversial ninth-round stoppage of former world champion Katsunari Takayama.

Soto dominated by landing the harder punches; Takayama kept himself in the bout by landing some nice flurries throughout.

In round nine, Soto was landing some good power shots, but Takayama was throwing back, but for some reason, referee Laurence Cole stepped in and stopped the bout with both guys in mid-flurry at 2:44.

Soto, 107.8 lbs of Baja California, MEX is 19-1 with 13 knockouts. Takayama, 107.6 lbs of Osake, JAP is 32-9.

Cissokho survives knockdown; Decisions Conway

Souleymane Cissokho won a 10-round split decision over Kieron Conway in a super welterweight fight.

In round four, Conway began leaking blood from his nose.

In round nine, Conway dropped Cissokho with hard uppercut to the face.

Cissokho landed 115 of 539 punches; Conway was 84 of 403.

Cissokho won by scores of 96-93 and 95-94 while Conway somehow got a card 97-92.

Cissokho, 153.6 lbs of Bagnolet, FRA is now 13-0. Conway, 154 lbs of Northampton, UK is 16-2.

Sanchez wins Technical Decision over Aguilera

Frank Sanchez remained undefeated with a technical unanimous decision over Nagy Aguilera when Aguilera could not continue after getting hit behind the head in the 6th round of their 10-round heavyweight bout.

Sanchez dominated the fight, and in round six, Sanchez landed a shot that scraped the back of Aguilera’s head that sent him down. He could not continue and the fight went to the judges scorecards, which all read 60-54 in favor of Sanchez.

Sanchez landed 81 of 240 punches; Aguilera was 32 of 181.

Sanchez, 237 lbs of Guantanamo, CUB is 18-0. Aguilera, 238.2 lbs of Houston, TX is 21-11.

Marc Castro remained undefeated with a fourth round stoppage over Irving Castillo in a lightweight bout.

In round one, Castillo began to bleed from the nose. In round four, Castro dropped Castillo, and the fight was stopped at 2:04.

Castro, 132 1/4 lbs is 3-0 with three knockouts. Castillo is 9-2.

Keyshawn Davis remained perfect with a six-round unanimous decision over Jose Antonio Meza in a junior welterweight bout.

Davis, 138 lbs of Norfolk, VA won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 3-0. Meza, 138 lbs of Gomez Palico, MEX is 6-5.

Christian Gomez Duran stopped Xavier Wilson in round two of their scheduled eight-round welterweight bout.

Duran dropped Wilson with a hard over rand fight and the fight was stopped.

Duran, 147 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 20-2-1 with 18 knockouts. Wilson, 147.8 lbs of San Antonio, TX is 11-3-1.

Kelvin Davis survived a last minute knockdown, but still hung on to win a four-round unanimous decision over Jan Marsalek in a welterweight bout.

Davis was breezing along until he ate a overhand right that sent him to the canvas. Davis was hurt, but time ran out for Marsalek.

Davis, 143.8 lbs of Norfolk, VA won by scores of 38-37 on all cards, and is now 2-0. Marsalek, 144.4 lbs of Czech Reoublic is 8-3.

George Acosta won a 10-round unanimous decision over Gadwin Rosa in a junior lightweight contest.

Acosta, 128 lbs of Sinaloa, MEX won by scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 and is now 12-1. Rosa, 130 lbs of Vieques, PR is 11-2.

Pedro Salome won a four-round split decision over Hector Bayanilla in a super bantamweight contest.

Salome won two cards 39-37; Bayanilla won a card 39-37.

Salome, 123 lbs of Los Angeles is 3-0-1. Bayanilla, 123 lbs of Ponce, PR is 2-1-1.

According to various reports, Lightweight contender Felix Verdejo turned himself into FBI after the body of 27 year-old Keishla Rodriguez was found.

A criminal complaint filed by the FBI accuses Verdejo of punching Rodriguez in the face and injecting her with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance bought at a public housing complex. It alleges that he then bound her arms and feet with wire and tied a heavy block to her before throwing her off a bridge at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

The complaint states that Verdejo then shot at Rodriguez’s body as he stood on the bridge. The complaint says a witness it did not identify helped Verdejo kidnap and kill Rodriguez.

The formal charges have not been announced as of this writing.

Rodriguez was allegedly pregnant with Verdejo’s child. The mother of Rodriguez stated that her daughter was about to see Verdejo, who coming over to see the results of the pregnancy test.

“I told her, be careful, because he had already threatened her” and told her not to have the baby, mentioning his career and family, Kelia Ortiz said.