Sampson Boxing proudly announces the signing of streaking welterweight prospect Nicklaus “La Bestia” Flaz to a promotional contract.

Since suffering his second career defeat, a shock first-round knockout in October 2020, Flaz (12-2, 8 KOs), from Vega Alta, Puerto Rico, has gone on a tear, scoring three impressive upset victories; knocking out an established durable veteran and taking the undefeated 0 records from two promising up-and-comers along the way.

The 28-year-old Flaz started his remarkable winning streak by scoring a majority eight-round decision over then 13-0 Brian Ceballo in October 2022. Next came another eight-round majority decision over then 10-0 Jahi Tucker in July 2023.

But Flaz really got the boxing world talking last Wednesday (March 13) by becoming the first to knock out capable veteran Luke Santamaria in the co-main event of a globally streamed ProBoxTV event in Plant City, Florida.

Santamaria had previously beaten the likes of then 22-1 Mykal Fox, former world champion Devon Alexander and held the WBC Continental Americas Welterweight Championship with a victory over former world-title challenger Abel Ramos in February 2022.

Looking like a reborn version of himself, Flaz used his power and speed to drop Santamaria three times before getting the sixth-round stoppage.

Flaz, who started boxing at age 16 and won 88 of his 95 amateur fights including two consecutive national titles, says he’s finally got everything he needs in place to become a serious player in the stacked 147-lb division.

“I feel great,” said Flaz of signing with Lewkowicz. “He was the promoter I wanted from the start of my career. He can take me to the next level and keep me as active as I need to be to be at my best.”

Flaz adds that since losing by KO (to Janelson Bocachica), he has rededicated himself to training with head trainer David Oyola and assistant trainer/manager Belvin García in his native Puerto Rico and made tremendous gains in every aspect of his game. The hard work was on full display against Santamaria, as Flaz dictated every aspect of the fight against a tough and well-respected veteran.

“I don’t feel like boxing is a job,” said the confident Flaz. “It’s my passion and I love it. I’m ready to start climbing the rankings and get to the world championship and I have the team in place to do it.

“Losing may have helped him,” said Lewkowicz of his latest signee Flaz. “He was over-confident, and it cost him. Now he doesn’t take anyone lightly and puts in the work it takes to become a champion. I am very happy to be part of his team and will be working hard to help him realize his boxing dreams.”

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About Sampson Boxing

Sampson Boxing has promotional partners all over North and South America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Central America. Sampson Boxing events have been televised on such premiere networks as HBO, Showtime, ESPN, ESPN+, DAZN, VS., FOX, Fox Sports and several international networks. For more information, visit sampsonboxing.com.

Jared Anderson went the distance for the first time and won a 10-round unanimous decision over former IBF Heavyweight champion Charles Martin at The Huntington Center in Anderson’s hometown of Toledo, Ohio.

At the end of round three, Anderson dropped Martin by flinging a left from the southpaw stance that hit the top of Martin’s head. Anderson continued to pound away and rock Martin. In round five, Martin hurt Anderson with some hard left hands.

In round nine, the mouth of Martin began to bleed. Anderson was able to dominate the second half of the fight alternating from orthodox to southpaw, landing jabs and some solid punches to the jaw. Martin tried to make a last second stand as he landed a perfect left to the jaw that sent Anderson back, but time ran out.

Anderson landed 157 of 369 punches; Martin was 85 of 324.

Anderson, 243.4 lbs of Toledo, OH won by scores of 98-91 and 99-90 twice and is now 15-0. Martin, 259.5 lbs of St. Louis, MO is 29-4-1.

Anderson said, “It felt great. I had my team with me. I got my family with me. I got Toledo with me. They showed up and they’re in the building. They were with me the entire 10 rounds. I heard them all the way through. I’m grateful for my opponent. He took the fight on short notice. He came and performed really good. I think we put on a hell of a show for Toledo.

“I wanted to go the distance. It was my first time. I just wanted to make sure that I could go the distance and especially be able to withstand power the whole 10 rounds. He had power until the last round, and I was happy to get the rounds in.

“I think I took his best shots very well. I don’t think there was a time in the fight where I looked unsteady or where I couldn’t hold my own. Did feel like he got me with a good shot and stunned me? No. But do I feel like he got me with a good shot and made me aware? Yes, so I had to readjust and get back to the game plan.”

Martin said, “I took the fight on 11 days’ notice. I did the best I could. He’s a real champion. He’ll be making his way to the top soon. I’m proud of him.

“He’s really good. He’s a crafty boxer. Usually, when I catch somebody and hurt them, I can finish them. If they don’t fall, usually I can follow up and put them away. But he is like a little middleweight. He is crafty. He was able to get out even when he was rocked. He was able to maneuver and get out the way. He’s going to be a champion.

Makhmudov Stops Akepejiori in 2

In a battle of heavyweight sluggers, Arslenbek Makhmudov stopped Raphael Akepejiori in round two of their 10-round bout.

In round one, Makhmudov came out fast and dropped Akepejiori with a perfect right uppercut. At the end of the round, Makhmudov dropped Akepejiori again with a left hook while Akepejiori’s right hand was caught in the ropes. In round two, Makhmudov landed several devastating uppercuts that wobbled Akepejiori and then sent up down with a hard right. Akepejiori got to his feet, but the fight was waved of at 1:43.

Makhmudov, 263.4 lbs of Montreal, CAN is now 17-0 with 16 knockouts. Akepejiori, 255.5 lbs of Lagos, NIG is 15-1.

Abdullah Mason stopped Alex de Oliveira in round two of their six-round lightweight bout.

In round two, Mason landed three fast and hard left hands that put de Oliveira down and the fight was stopped at 2:18.

Mason, 135.2 lbs of Cleveland is 9-0 with eight knockouts. de Oliveira, 135.8 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is now 20-5.

Mason said, “It was amazing. I felt amazing. I felt great in this camp. Right now, there is no cap on my ceiling. I’m just focused, and I’m going hard.”

2020 United State Olympian Tiger Johnson remained undefeated with a eight-round unanimous decision over Jonathan Montrel in a junior welterweight bout.

In round three, the left eye of Montrel began to swell.

The eye continued to worsen as the doctor checked on it before round seven commenced. The right side of Montrel’s forehead became a bloody mess in round seven.

Johnson, 141.2 lbs of Cleveland, OH won by scores of 80-72 on all cards and is now 9-0. Montrel, 140.6 lbs of New Orleans is now 15-2.

Dante Benjamin Jr. remained undefeated by stopping Mirandy Zola in round one of their six-round light heavyweight bout.

In round one, Benjamin landed a big left hand that was followed by a right to the chin that put Zola on his back. Benjamin came forward and landed a big right that snapped Zola’s head back and the bout was stopped at 1:56.

Benjamin, 173.3 lbs of Cleveland is 7-0 with six knockouts. Zola, 173.9 lbs of Columbus, OH is 4-3.

DeAndre Ware won a six-round unanimous decision over DeCarlo Perez in a super middleweight bout.

Ware, 167.9 lbs of Toledo, OH won by scores of 59-55 twice and 58-56 and is now 16-4-2. Perez, 167.5 lbs of Atlantic City, NJ is 19-9-1,

Rance Ward scored a six-round majority decision over previously undefeated Husan Al Mashhadi in a junior middleweight bout.

Ward, 153.6 lbs of Houma, LA won by scores of 59-55, 58-56 and 57-57 and is now 8-5-1. Al Mashhadi, 151.2 lbs od Dearborn Heights, MI is 6-1.

Tyler McCreary came back after a two-year layoff with a six-round unanimous decision over Deivi Julio in a junior lightweight bout.

In round two, Julio was docked a point for holding.

McCreary, 131 lbs of Toledo, OH won by scores of 59-54 and 57-56 twice and is now 18-2-1. Julio, 130.9 lbs of Monteria, COL is 26-14.

Nicklaus Flaz upset previously undefeated Jahi Tucker via eight-round majority decision in a junior middleweight bout,

Flaz was cut on his right eyebrow in the final round.

Flaz, 151.2 lbs of Bayamon, PR won by scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 76-76 and is now 11-2. Tucker, 151.8 lbs of Deer Park, NY is 10-1.

NEW YORK (October 26, 2022) -TONIGHT, undefeated welterweight Brian Ceballo takes on Nicklaus Flaz as part of the WBO Convention tonight in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Also on the card, will be the professional debut of welterweight Willito Ortiz 

Ceballo and Ortiz are managed by Split-T Management. 

Ceballo of New York is 13-0 with seven knockouts. The 28 year-old Ceballo is a four-year professional and is a former WBO Intercontinental champion. Ceballo has been matched tough and has wins over Luis Alberto Lopez Longoria (1-0), Bakhtiyar Eyubov (14-0-1), Ramal Amanov (16-0), Larry Gomez (10-1) and his last outing when stopped Gerald Sherrell in six-rounds on May 14th in Newark, New Jersey.

Flaz of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico is 9-2 with seven knockouts. The 26 year-old Flaz has a win over previously undefeated Sagadat Rakmankul (3-0). He is coming off a defeat to Janelson Bocachica on October 7, 2020.

Ceballo weighed 150.8 lbs. Flaz was 149 lbs.

Ceballo is promoted by 360 Promotions.

Ortiz will make his pro debut against fellow debutant Brian Rodriguez in a bout scheduled for four-rounds.

Ortiz dominated the opposition since stepping onto the amateur circuit – compiling a total record of 48-4 and winning four National Championships in a row (2019-2022). As a member of Team Puerto Rico, Ortiz amassed multiple international accolades including a Gold Medal at the 2019 Cinturon de Oro Tournament in Ecuador, a Bronze Medal at the 2021 Pan-Am Games in Colombia, and a Silver Medal at the 2022 Copa Independencia Tournament in the Dominican Republic.

Ortiz weighed 142 lbs. Rodriguez was 140 lbs.

The fights will be streamed live on Pro Box TV at 8 PM ET.

Charles Conwell remained undefeated by stopping Wendy Toussaint in round nine of their scheduled 10-round junior middleweight bout at The Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Conwell caught Toussaint with a vicious uppercut that may have broken Toussaint’s nose in the 9th round that made him take a knee for the 10-count at 2:42.

Conwell, 154 lbs of Cleveland is now 13-0 with 10 knockouts. Toussaint, 153 lbs of Huntington, NY is 12-1.

“I think this was a good fight for my first fight back, getting the ring rust off, but at the end of the day we got the job done,” said Conwell, a 2016 U.S. Olympian. “The game plan going in was to break him down round by round, go to the body until we got him to where we wanted him. I give my performance a C-plus, there were a lot of things I could have done better. I’m going to get back in the gym and continue to work hard to become the champion I know I can be. I’ll fight anybody next, but I really want an ex-world champion or ex-title challenger so I can get the championship rounds under my belt. Then it’s on to a world title.”

Bocachica stops Flaz in 1

Janelson Figueroa Bocachica stopped Nicklaus Flaz in round one of their scheduled eight-round welterweight bout.

In the opening round, Bocachica dropped Flaz with a perfect left hook to the chin. Later in the round, it was another hard left hook that put Flaz down again. Three more hard punches later, Flaz went down, and the fight was stopped at 2:43.

Bocachica, 146 1/2 lbs of Detroit is now 16-0 with 11 knockouts. Flaz, 146 1/2 lbs of Puerto Rico is 9-2.

“I came in and they said he wanted to brawl, and as soon as he did, the fight was over,” said Bocachica, a Detroit native, who like Flaz is of Puerto Rican descent. “The game plan was to showcase my boxing. I didn’t get to do that but I’m happy either way. I’m not shy calling out guys, but I’m trying to be respectful to the best in my division. I’m here, so bring them on. One-hundred forty-seven [pounds] is mine. It was easier than I thought, I’m not going to lie. But I didn’t think it was going to be hard.”

Lee takes out Williams in 1st

Brandun Lee remained perfect by dismantling Jimmy Williams in the opening round their eight-round welterweight bout.

In round one. Lee dropped Williams with a combination that was followed up by a left. Seconds later it was a right hand that sent Williams to the canvas. Then it was a huge right that sent Williams viciously down over the bottrom rope, and the fight was stopped at 1:34.

Lee, 144 lbs of La Quinta, CA is 20-0 with 18 knockouts. Williams, 143 3/4 lbs of New Haven, CT is 16-4-2.

“I’m blessed with the natural power and that’s what the fans saw from me tonight – I’m here to entertain the fans and seek and destroy,” said the 21-year-old Lee. “The game plan was to go in there and do what I do best, which is to destruct anything that is in my way. When I fought last fall on SHOWTIME for the first time in Texas I felt like we rushed it too much. And back in March on SHOWTIME I felt like we waited too long. So I think this fight was perfect. We hit it right on the money, not too fast and not too slow.”