Rojas stops Marrero in 7


LAS VEGAS–Jesus Rojas scored a sensational 7th round stoppage over Claudio Marrero to retain his WBA Interim featherweight title at the Marquee Ballroom inside the MGM Grand.

It was an action filled fight with Rojas getting the better of the exchanges with powerful combinations on the inside.

In round seven, Rojas landed a booming left hook in the corner that sent Marrero to his back. Marrero looked like he wanted to beat the count, but he stayed on his knees and was counted out at 2:59.

Rojas of Caguas, PR is 26-1-2 with 19 knockouts. Marrero of Santo Domingo, DR is now 22-2.

“I’m super happy and super emotional,” said Jesus Rojas. “I want to thank Roberto Diaz and the entire Golden Boy team, my family and my kids. This is the joy of many years of sacrifice and many fights that have been taken from me. I promised my father that I would get a title one day, and even though he is no longer with, my promise to him is complete. We knew that he [Marrero] was going to be aggressive and we purposely worked on our counterpunching, and that was what did the trick.”

Ryan Garcia needed just 30 seconds to destroy Miguel Carrizoza in their scheduled ten-round super featherweight bout.

In the opening seconds Garcia floored Carrizoza with a straight right. Carrizoza got to his feet but ate a perfect left hook to the head and the fight was stopped.

Garcia of Victorville, CA is 11-0 with ten knockouts. Carrizoza of Nogales, MEX is 10-3.

“I am just happy!,” shouted Ryan Garcia. “When I took the fight, I actually thought it might be a bit challenging since he had never gotten knocked out. Within seconds of the bout starting, I realized that the guy wasn’t going to touch me. Hopefully now with this title I’ll be able to take on some even tougher fights!”

Damon Allen remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Jayro Duran in a

In round two, Allen was deducted a point for hitting low.

That was the only blemish for Allen, of Philadelphia took every round and won by scores of 79-72 on all cards to raise his mark to 13-0-1. Duran of San Pedro sula, HON is 10-3.

“This is just another win to add to my record,” said Damon Allen. “I brought the most ring savviness, power, and control into the fight. I felt like the referee kept interrupting my rhythm, and kept calling my body shots low blows and I still lost a point for it. This is my third fight this year, so I hope I get to fight again in December for a title.”

Horacio Garcia stopped Duhul Olguin in round four of their scheduled eight-round super bantamweight bout.

In the fourth round, Garcia dropped Olguin with a hard right hand. Garcia finished off Olguin with a hard left hook that was punctuated with a left to the head. Olguin fell to the canvas as referee Robert Byrd stopped the bout at 44 seconds.

Garcia of Guadalajara, Mexico is now 33-3-1 with 23 knockouts. Olguin of Guadalajara, Mexico is now 11-8-2.

“I’m very happy,” said Horacio Garcia. “I’m very grateful for all the people, the fans who support the Mexican fighters, Golden Boy Promotions, and my team. I really wanted to fight him [Garcia] again because I know that the first time there were things that happened that didn’t allow me to go into that fight well. But today the hard work was carried out well.”

Alexis Salazar won a six-round unanimous decision over Even Torres in a middleweight bout.

Salazar of Tiaquepaque, MEX won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 and is now 12-3. Torres of El Paso, TX is 6-5.

“My performance was okay tonight – I wasn’t as explosive as I wanted to be,” said Alexis Salazar. “I wish I would have paid more attention to my corner, I could have gotten the knockout. My opponent was able to put a lot of pressure, and he never got tired. Training with Canelo was such a privilege – I was able to learn what it takes to be a champion.”