In a back in forth war, Yuandle Evans won a ten-round split decision over previously undefeated Luis Rosa in a featherweight bout at Masonic Temple & Performing Arts Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
The two trades hard shots on the inside throughout the ten round affair with each guy taking turns controlling the action.
Evans, 125.5 lbs of Cleveland took two cards by 97-93 and 96-94 tallies. Rosa, 125 lbs of New Haven, CT via Caguas, PR took a card 96-94.
Evans is now 20-1. Rosa is now 20-1-1-1.
“I’m tired but I’m feeling great,” Evans said. “My performance was great. I’ve never felt myself pushed that hard. He’s a tough Puerto Rican. He’s a very tough fighter. The crowd really propelled me to victory tonight, and I’m grateful for that.”
“I thought I won the fight, he won maybe three or four rounds,” a disappointed Rosa said after the fight. “I won the fight 6-4, 7-3 at least. I won mostly all of the beginning rounds and I gave him a few after the first six. Four rounds is the most I give him, and that’s being nice. I feel like the judges were swayed by the hometown crowd.”
Evans is ready for his next challenge. “I want Gary Russell, I want [Carl] Frampton, I want [Leo] Santa Cruz,” said Evans, who had famed trained Barry Hunter in his corner. “I’m nothing but a contract killer. I’m a contract killer and I want one of those top five guys.”
Radzhab Butaev won an eight-round unanimous decision over Janer Gonzalez in a welterweight bout.
Butaev, 146 lbs of Los Angeles via Russia won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75 and is now 8-0. Gonzalez of Colombia is 19-1-1.
“I felt like I controlled the whole fight, but he was more durable than I expected,” said Butaev through a translator. “Gonzalez landed good shots but he couldn’t finish me.”
Junior Fa stopped Fred Latham in the first round of their scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.
Fa rocked Latham with a hard right hand, and then he unloaded a barrage of punches in the corner and the fight was stopped at 1:07.
Fa, 262 lbs of Auckland, NZ is 13-0 with eight knockouts. Latham, 261 lbs of Pittsburgh, PA is 9-1-2-1.
“I was actually going to keep on going, continue fighting but then he dropped. He was out of it. The ref pulled me back,” said Fa, who earned a first-round knockout for the sixth time of his career.
“I’m hoping for a chance to get in to the top 15,” said Fa, who beat WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker twice in the amateurs. “This fight gave me more confidence in my ability and power, and I think confidence is a great thing.”
2016 U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell went the distance for the first time, but easily won a six-round unanimous decision over Roque Zapta in a junior middleweight bout.
In round three, Conwell dropped Zapata twice. First with a counter right hand and then with a left hook to the body. In round four, Zapata was cut over the right eye. In round five, it was a left hook to the body that sent Zapata down for a 3rd time.
Conwell, 153 lbs of Cleveland won by scores of 60-51 on two cards while a 3rd card read 60-53, and is now 6-0. Zapata, 155 lbs of Culpepper, VA via Panama City, PAN is 4-2-3.
“My game plan was to throw some jabs and go to the body, and I think I accomplished that. My jab was key tonight. I ended up dropping him three times,” said Conwell, who averaged 77 punches per round, but gave himself just a B-minus. “I would love to keep fighting on television. I want to showcase my skills.”
Zapata was impressed by his opponent’s talent. “I survived, so I’m happy,” he said. “I went the distance with an Olympian and that was the plan. I should’ve done better and cut my angles more instead of standing right in front of him, but I’m proud I went the full distance.”
