Current WBO Featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson moved up in a weight to stop Felix Caraballo in a non-title junior lightweight bout at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The Top Rank promoted card was the 1st boxing event in the United States in almost three months due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
In round one, Stevenson was credited with a knockdown, when he landed a right hook to the body that saw Caraballo’s knee touch the ground.
Stevenson continued to batter Caraballo throughout the next several rounds, and in round six, Stevenson landed a perfect right to the body that sent Caraballo down and the fight was stopped at 1:31.
Stevenson, 130 lbs of Newark, NJ is 14-0 with eight knockouts. Caraballo, 130 lbs of Mayaguez, PR is 13-2-2.
“Everything about this fight week was different. After my last fight was canceled, I was happy to showcase my skills for all of the boxing fans,” Stevenson said. “He hit me with a couple shots, more than I’m used to, a couple jabs here and there. He was a tough guy, but I felt great in there after my training camp in Houston.”
Said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum: “What a magnificent performance by Shakur Stevenson. He keeps on getting better, and rest assured, he is a future pound-for-pound superstar.”
Prospect Jared Anderson remained perfect by stopping Johnne Langston in round three of a scheduled six-round heavyweight bout.
The two fought at a high-pace with Anderson landed a plethora of power punches. He distributed his punches nicely to the body and head. In round three, Anderson landed a hard left and right that forced Langston to slowly go to the canvas, and the fight was stopped at 1:55.
Anderson, 236 1/2 lbs of Toledo, OH is 4-0 with four knockouts. Langston, 218 1/4 lbs of Sarasota, FL is 8-3.
“He took some good shots. He was a tough opponent. I did what I wanted to. I did some stuff I didn’t want to do. I got caught with a good shot. It didn’t hurt me, but I definitely got caught with it,” Anderson said. “I know a different opponent could hurt me with a shot like that. We’ll go back to the drawing board and see what I did wrong.
“This wasn’t what I expected, but it was a great experience. I’m happy I got the opportunity to showcase my talents on ESPN at such a young age.”
Heavyweight Guido Vianello kept his perfect knockout record intact as he stopped Donald Haynesworth in the first round of their six-round
In round one, Vianello dropped Haynesworth with a hard right hand. Haynesworth got to his feet, but referee Jay Nady stopped the bout at 2:16.
Vianello, 239 1/4 lbs of Rome, ITA is 7-0 with seven knockouts. Haynesworth, 294 1/2 lbs of New Rochelle, NY is 16-4-1.
“It was an interesting experience. I spent three days relaxing in my hotel room, but everything went according to plan,” Vianello said. “I knew the right hand would be there, so I worked to set up that shot. I could not have asked for anything more.”
Quintavious Cash won a six-round technical unanimous decision over Calvin Metcalf in a middleweight fight.
In round three Metcalf was cut on the forehead from a legal punch. Replays showed it was from a clash of heads. After replay review, the cut was ruled a clash of heads. Later, the cut opened worse around the left eye, and the fight was stopped before the end of the fight.
Cash, 160 1/2 lbs of Las Vegas, NV won by scores of 60-54, 60-55 and 59-55 to raise his mark to 12-2. Metcalf, 158 1/4 lbs of Kansas City, MO is 10-4-1.
Two-Time Olympic Gold Medal winner, Robeisy Ramirez stopped Yeuri Andujar in round one of their six-round featherweight bout.
Ramirez dropped Andujar with a straight left that was followed by an uppercut. With Andujar hurt, Ramirez finished the fight with a hard three-punch combination that dropped and stopped Andujar at 54 seconds.
Ramirez, 126 lbs of Cienfugos, CUB is 3-1 with three knockoutsl Andujar, 125.5 lbs of San Cristobal, DR is 5-4.
“It was an honor to be the first fight back, and I am proud of the performance I gave tonight. My pro debut is long behind me, and I am progressing with every fight. I hope to return shortly,” Ramirez said. “I have a great trainer in Ismael Salas, who continues to add dimensions to my game. He is the man to lead me to a world title.”
Photos by Mikey Williams / Top Rank
