Vergil Ortiz Jr. Stops McKinson in 9!

Vergil Ortiz Jr. came off almost a year layoff to keep his perfect knockout streak intact as he stopped Michael McKinson in round nine of their welterweight bout at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

In round one, Ortiz was cut around the left eye from an accidental headbutt

In round eight, Ortiz landed a hard left hook to the body that dropped McKinson  In the opening seconds of round nine, Ortiz landed a big left to the body.  McKinson was hurt and the corner waved the towel and the fight was stopped at 27 seconds.

Ortiz, 146.6 lbs of Grand Prairie, Texas is 19-0 with 19 knockouts.  McKinson, 146.8 lbs of Portsmouth, ENG is 22-1.

“It wasn’t my best performance. The first seven rounds, I didn’t really do anything good. I should have listened to my corner in the opening rounds,” said Ortiz, Jr. “Once I listened to them, we were able to get the job done. I am ready to fight anyone. I stay training. I’ll probably be ready for a run by tomorrow.” 
 
“I am proud to represent my country and my hometown of Portsmouth,” said McKinson. “Not a lot of fighters were lining up to fight Vergil, and I am proud of being able to show that I can fight at this level. When I entered the ring, there were a lot of boos, but I must have done something right to be walking out with cheers for my performance.

Marlen Esparza Decisions Guzman; Retains Flyweight Titles

Marlen Esparza defended WBA/WBC Flyweight titles with a 10-round unanimous decision over Eva Guzman.

In round six, Esparza was cut on the side of her left eye. Esparza was very pinpoint on her punches and won by scores of 98-92 twice and 99-91.

Esparza, 111.8 lbs of Houston, Texas is 13-1.  Guzman, 109 lbs of Marcay, VEN is 19-2.

Blair Cobbs Drops Hooker 3 times; Wins Decision

Blair Cobbs won a 10-round unanimous decision over former world champion Maurice Hooker in a welterweight bout.

In round one, Cobbs dropped Hooker with a huge three-punch combination that was highlighted overhand right. In round two, Cobbs dumped Hooker again with hard straight left.  Late in the round, it was another straight left that put Hooker down again,

In round six, Cobbs was cut around the right eye from an accidental headbutt.

Cobbs, 146 lbs of Philadelphia, PA won by scores of 97-90 twice and 96-91 and is now 16-1-1.  Hooker who came in over the contracted weight, weighed in at 150 lbs and Dallas, Texas native is now 27-3-3.

“This wasn’t an easy fight, it was a tougher fight than my last one, and this victory for sure has put me in the top ten rankings,” said Blair Cobbs. “I fought a tougher, heavier fighter. He could box and had an extremely long reach, but today I showed that I can go into deep waters, box, and give fans a show. I want to thank god for this performance, there is nothing stronger and greater than god. Today, I showed that I have more to give to the sport of boxing, that even through adversity Blair ‘The Flair’ will come out on top.” 

Melikuziev stops Janjanin in 3

Hard punching Bektemir Melikuziev stopped Sladan Janjanin in round three of a scheduled 10-round light heavyweight bout

In the first 30 seconds, Melikuziev landed a vicious left to the body that put Janjanin down in a lot of pain. In round two, Melikuziev landed some hard shots to the head that sent Janjanin down for a second time.  In round three, it was another vicious left to the body that sent Janjanin to the deck.  The fight was finally stopped when Melikuziev continued to land thudding punches and the fight ended at 2:18.

Melikuziev, 171 lbs of Indio, CA is 10-1 with eight knockouts.  Janjanin, 168 lbs of Boston, MA is 32-13.

“I didn’t know my opponent until recently so we trained to have a good camp and a preparation,” said Bektemir Melikuziev. “After I dropped him with the body shot I was hoping he would keep going, we didn’t come here to end it one punch. We want to make sure we get some rounds in to gain some experience. But he was an awkward fighter, very uncomfortable but I think my training really showed off today.” 

19 year-old Floyd Schofield remained undefeated by taking out Rodrigo Guerrero in round six of their eight-round lightweight bout.

In round three, Schofield landed a right hand that put Guerrero on the canvas for a knockdown. Schofield dropped Guerrero for a second time in round four, and the bout was stopped after round five. The official time was 10 seconds of round six.

Schofield, 133.8 lbs from Austin, TX is now 11-0 with nine knockouts. Guerrero, 134.6 lbs of Mexico City, MEX is 26-15-2.

Alex Martin brushed himself from a first round knockdown to win a 10-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Hank Lundy in a junior welterweight bout.

In round one, Lundy dropped Martin with an overhand left.

Martin, 140 lbs of Chicago, IL won by scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice and is now 18-4. Lundy, 138.4 lbs of Philadelphia, PA is 31-11-1.

Carlos Nava remained undefeated with a fourth round stoppage over Rodolfo Hernandez in a scheduled eight-round super lightweight bout.

In round two, Nava dropped Ramirez with a big right hand. In round four, Nava delivered punishment and landed a flurry of punches and the bout was stopped at 36 seconds.

Nava, 138.8 lbs of Pasadena, TX is 9-0 with six knockouts. Hernandez, 135 lbs of Mexico City is 30-11-1.

Figo Ramirez won a four-round unanimous decision over Francisco Bonilla in a bantamweight contest.

In round two, Ramirez was deducted a point for a low blow.

Ramirez, 117.4 lbs of Dallas, TX won by scores of 39-36 on all cards and is now 2-0. Bonilla, 117 lbs of Chihuahua, MEX is now 6-14-3.

Rohan Polanco stopped Dedrick Bell in round two of their eight-round welterweight bout.

Polanco landed a devastating left to the Solar Plexus that sent Bell down for the count.

Polanco, 147 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is now 8-0 with five knockouts. Bell, 146.8 lbs of Memphis, TN is 31-33-1.




MARLEN ESPARZA TO DEFEND HER THREE WORLD TITLES FOR THE FIRST TIME AGAINST MANDATORY EVA GUZMAN ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, AT DICKIES ARENA IN FORT WORTH, TX

FORT WORTH, TX (July 26, 2022): Newly crowned WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine Flyweight World Champion Marlen Esparza (12-1, 1 KOs) of Houston, TX, is set to defend her three world titles for the first time against her mandatory, former WBA Interim Flyweight World Champion Eva “La Ley” Guzman (19-1, 11KOs) from Maracay, Venezuela on Saturday, August 6 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX. The 10-round flyweight event will serve as the co-main event for Vergil Ortiz, Jr. vs. Michael Mckinson.

Also, on the card, Dallas, TX fan favorite Maurice “Might Mo” Hooker (27-2-3, 18 KOs) will face Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (15-1-1, 10 KOs) of Philadelphia, PA, in a 10-round welterweight fight. Opening the DAZN stream, Bektemir “The Bully” Melikuziev (9-1, 7 KOs) of Indio, CA, will take on Sladan “The Miner” Janjanin (32-10, 24 KOs) of Boston, MA in an 8-round super middleweight event. All fights will stream live worldwide, exclusively on DAZN starting at 5:00 p.m. PT / 7:00 p.m. CT / 8:00 p.m. ET. 

Tickets for Ortiz Jr. vs. McKinson are on sale now and are priced at $275, $137.50, $82.50 and $44 not including applicable service charges. Tickets will be available for purchase online at Ticketmaster.com, DickiesArena.com and GoldenBoyPromotions.com

Also on the card and part of The Golden Boy Fight Night: Ortiz Jr. vs. McKinson Prelims on DAZN and the Golden Boy Boxing YouTube page, Alex “Chi Town Heat” Martin (17-4, 6 KOs) returns to the ring against the battle-tested warrior Henry “Hank” Lundy (31-10-1, 14 KOs). The 10-round super lightweight fight will be part of the preliminary bouts ahead of the DAZN broadcast hosted by Golden Fight Night’s Beto Duran and Texas rising boxing star Alex Rincon. Additional fights on the card will be announced shortly. 

“I am ready for Eva Guzman. Mandatory defense or title fight, all fights are serious business for me!” said Marlen Esparza. 

“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for to prove I am the best,” said Eva Guzman. “After this victory, the whole world will know I am the most dangerous fighter at 112lbs.” 

“Im ready to show the world I’m still a warrior,” said Maurice Hooker. “I’m ready to give them a fight they will always remember.”

“Blair the Flair is saying absolutely nothing. See you August 6,” said Blair Cobbs. 

“It’s been a long time in training camp, the opponents pulled out, the dates rescheduled, so I am happy to finally have a fight and step back in the ring on August 6 on a big Golden Boy show,” said Bektemir Melikuziev. 

Marlen Esparza was born to make history in boxing. Born in Houston, Texas, Marlen Esparza began her boxing career at 12 years old after growing up in a household that loved the sport. In May 2012, Esparza became the first American woman to qualify to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London, the first year that women’s boxing made its debut as an Olympic event. She would win the bronze medal in the women’s flyweight division. In 2017, Esparza became the first female fighter signed by Golden Boy Promotions. 

In 2021, Esparza had a successful year, with an unanimous decision victory against Ibeth Zamora Silva for the WBC Flyweight World Championship and successfully defended her new world championship title against former world champion Anabel “Avispa” Ortiz. On April 9, as part of the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe, Esparza faced her toughest challenge to date, taking on five-division world champion Naoko Fujioka. The fight pitted the #1 vs. #2 in the female flyweight division, granting them the honor of fighting for the first-ever Ring Magazine Female Flyweight World Championship. After 10-rounds of non-stop action from two of the mightiest female fighters in the flyweight division, the judges ruled in favor of Esparza unanimously, crowning her the new WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine World Champion. 

An accomplished fighter since her professional debut in 2015, Eva Guzman has rapidly risen the ranks to a world championship by defeating some of the toughest fighters in the division. Her first big test came in 2018 when she faced Yaditza Perez for the IBA World Minimumweight World Championship. In 2021, she earned the most significant accomplishment in her career thus far, moving up in weight and fighting in Mexico for the first time against Isabel Millan to claim the crown as the WBA’s newest Interim Flyweight World Champion. The new title had also earned her the honor of becoming the new mandatory to fight Marlen Esparza for the WBA Flyweight World Championship, something she has dreamed of becoming since her professional debut. 

Ortiz Jr. vs. McKinson is a 12-round welterweight fight presented by Golden Boy in association with Matchroom Boxing. The event is sponsored by Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle” and “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts.” The fight will take place on Saturday, August 6 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX, and will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #OrtizMcKinson