David Morrell Jr. defended the WBA Super Middleweight title with a vicious first round stoppage over Mario Cazares at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Morrell landed a straight left that stunned Cazares and that was quickly followed by another straight left that plummeted Cazares under the bottom ropes and the fight was immediately stopped at 2:32.

Morrell, 167 1/2 lbs of Minneapolis is 5-0 with four knockouts. Cazares, 166 1/2 lbs of Culican, MEX is 12-1.

“I didn’t expect that to end so quickly,” said Morrell. “I thought it would be more like a five or six round fight. However, once Cazares stepped in the ring, I noticed that he was not ready to fight on my level. He wasn’t ready for this kind of test or this level of fight.”

On the devastating knockout, Morrell said, “When I saw the opening, I took him out. When I hit him, I saw his legs wobble and I knew he was gone, completely out.”

“I’m ready for anyone at 168 pounds and now the world can see it,” continued Morrell. “I would love to fight Caleb Plant. I’m ready to fight Plant. He’s an excellent boxer, but I’m ready to go.”

Glanton Decisions Apochi in a war

In a 10-round cruiserweight war, Brandon Glanton won a 10-round split decision over Efe Apochi in a battle of undefeated fighters.

The two traded hard and thudding power shots from bell to bell. Each guy took the lead in various times of the bout. In round six, Glanton landed a hard left and right on the ropes that badly hurt Apochi for a knockdown. That proved to be the difference as Glanton took card by a 95-94 score. Apochi took a card 96-93.

Glanton was 187 of 654 punches; Apochi was 183 of 721.

Glanton is now 14-0. Apochi is 11-1.

“I knew it was a close fight because at the very end he didn’t hurt me, but I staggered,” said Glanton. “We always talk about balance in the gym, though. I got the split decision because balance is something that we constantly work on. He didn’t hurt me, that’s why I was able to keep fighting.

“Thank God the judges saw it the right way,” continued Glanton. “That knockdown is something we worked on in the gym. I hope the boxing world sees what my coach is doing. The small details, the intricate things, make the difference in a fight like this. All the little details that he schools me on is what he told me would be the difference in this fight, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t.”

“What can I say?” asked Apochi. “I thought I won the fight. I used my jab, showed some heart, had some good movement in there, but I’m not the judges. I don’t know what they saw, but I thought that I did what I had to do. He’s a tough guy. I won’t take anything away from him. He took some tough shots and he was still there.”

On the possibility of a rematch, Glanton said, “If they want the rematch, then I’ll do it again. I think I’ve proven what I needed to prove, but it’s easier the second time.”

“Of course, I want a rematch with Glanton,” continued Apochi. “I want a rematch with him right now!”

All Rivera Decisions Juarez

All Rivera scored a 10-round majority decision over previously undefeated Omar Juarez in a junior welterweight bout.

It was an action packed fight that was fought at close quarters. Rivera won the fight on the strength of a 9th round knockdown as he won by scores of 95-93, 95-94 and 95-95.

Rivera, 142 1/2 lbs of Bobon, PHL is 22-5. Juarez, 142 1/2 lbs of Brownsville, TX is 11-1.

Rivera landed 123 of 428 punches; Juarez was 152 of 354.

“I was confident that I was going to get the decision,” said Rivera. “I was blocking a lot of the shots that Juárez was throwing. I was landing the more powerful punches. Juárez was doing good work in there, but we were landing the more effective shots. I feel like when I hurt him I maybe could have done a little more to get him out of there early and avoid the decision. But he’s a stronger fighter and I respect his talent.”

Juárez said, “I honestly thought that I did enough to get the win. I did get knocked down. There was one round where I stayed in there and took a couple hits, but I felt like I was the smarter fighter in there. I adjusted well and I thought I did well over all. Almost all of the greats have losses and I know I’m going to be great one day. I just have to fight through this adversity.”

On their professional experience levels, Rivera said, “I’ve been in the ring 27 times now professionally, and I think Juárez is still a kid who’s developing his skills. I’ve fought some of the best fighters around. I’ve won belts. So, I definitely think my experience played a difference tonight.”

“He was the better man today,” Juárez concluded. “I’m not going to take anything away from him. He’s a hard fighter. He’s from the Philippines, which has a lot of strong fighters. I respect him a lot, but I’ll be back.”

When asked about the knockdown, Rivera said, “We actually worked on that shot in camp. We also worked on the follow-up sequence. So, when it landed my corner wanted me to take it to the body to finish him, but he’s a tough fighter.

“I’m here for any 140-pound fighter that wants to step in there with me,” concluded Rivera.

Nathaniel Gallimore won a 10-round majority decision over previously undefeated Leon Lawson III in a junior middleweight bout.

Gallimore landed 78 of 356 punches; Lawson 66 of 302.

Gallimore, 153 1/4 lbs of Chicago, IL won by scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95 and is now 22-5-1. Lawson, 153 1/4 lbs of Flint. MI is 14-1.

Atif Oberlton remained undefeated by stopping Jasper McCargo in round five of a scheduled eight-round light heavyweight bout.

In round four, Oberlton, landed a two lefts that were followed by a cleanup right hook that dropped McCargo.

In round five, it was a hard left hand to the body that dropped McCargo in the corner, and the fight was stopped at 44 seconds.

Oberlton, 175 lbs of Philadelphia is 3-0 with three knockouts. McCargo, 177 lbs of Richmond, VA is 4-2-2.

Travon Marshall won an entertaining four-round unanimous decision over Ruben Torres in a super welterweight contest.

In round two, Marshall dropped Torres with a left hook.

Marshall landed 70 of 210 punches; Torres was 48 of 219.

Marshall, 153 3/4 lbs of Landover, MD won by scores of 40-35 on all cards, and is now 2-0. Torres, 151 3/4 lbs of Sacramento, CA is 4-2.

Chordale Booker won an 10-round unanimous decision over Wale Omotoso in a junior middleweight bout.

Booker, 154 lbs of Stamford, CT won by scores of 100-90 on all cards and is now 15-0. Omotoso, 153 lbs of Lagos, NIG is 27-4.

Ahmed Elbiali stopped Marlos Simoes in round two of a scheduled 10-round light heavyweight bout.

Elbiali dropped Simoes with a hard right hand in the 2nd frame, and Simoes could not beat the count at 1:12.

Elbiali, 176 lbs of Cairo, EGY is 19-1 with 16 knockouts. Simoes, 174.2 lbs of Brazil is 13-2-2.

Efe Apochi stopped Earl Newman in round seven in a scheduled eight-round cruiserweight war

In round two, Apochi hammered Newman with several shots that rocked Newman all over the ring. Apochi hurt Newman several times over the next few rounds. Each time when it looked like the referee would stop the bout, Newman would come back and land some hard power shots of his own.

In round seven, Apochi landed a hard right hand that rocked and dropped Newman and the fight was stopped at 2:12.

Apochi, 198 lbs of Nigeria is 8-0 with all wins coming early. Newman, 202.1 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 10-2-1.

Amon Rashidi kept his perfect knockout streak intact with a final round stoppage in his four-round junior middleweight bout with Juan Jesus Garces.

In the final round, Rashidi landed a shot on the side of the head that sent Garces down for the count at 2:12.

Rashidi, 149.6 lbs of Dallas, TX is 7-0 with seven knockouts. Garces, 153 lbs of Mexico is 19-25.

Habib Ahmed won a eight-round unanimous decision over Juan De Angel in a middleweight bout.

Ahmed, 159.6 lbs of Accra, GHA won by scores of 80-72 on all cards, and is now 27-1-1. De Angel, 162 lbs of Barranquilla, COL is 23-11-1.

Shawn Simpson remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Sergio Quiroz in a bantamweight bout.

Simpson, 118 lbs of Chicago won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 10-0. Quiroz, 117.8 lbs of Los Angeles is 6-2.

BILOXI, MS. (May 6, 2019) – Light heavyweight contender Ahmed Elbiali will battle Marlos Simões in a 10-round showdown as part of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes action Saturday, May 25 from Beau Rivage Resort Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Elbiali will replace the previously scheduled bout featuring Eimantas Stanionis, as Stanionis was forced to withdraw because of a hand injury suffered in training.

PBC on FS1 and FOX Deportes begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and is headlined by former super welterweight champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout returning to the ring to take on former title challenger Terrell Gausha in a 10-round super welterweight battle.

PBC Prelims on FS2 and FOX Deportes will begin at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and be headlined by Puerto Rican Olympian Carlos Negron taking on Daniel Martz in an eight or 10-round heavyweight match and top prospect Amon Rashidi competing in a four or six-round welterweight attraction. Prelims will also feature in the opening bout hard hitting cruiserweights as undefeated Efe Apochi steps in against Earl Newman for an eight round matchup.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Beau Rivage Theatre box office and through Ticketmaster.

The 28-year-old Elbiali (18-1, 15 KOs) is coming off an exciting third round knockout victory over Allan Green on Jan. 13 on FS1. Elbiali, an Egyptian-American who lives in Miami, Florida, knocked down Green in all three rounds before scoring the victory. It was his second straight victory by knockout – the other coming against Zoltan Sera last June 10 – since losing the first fight of his career against former world champion Jean Pascal in 2017. Simões (13-1-2, 5 KOs) is coming a stoppage victory over Jefferson Luis De Sousa in December. The 30-year-old of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil suffered the only loss of his career against Manuel Ceballos last June.

After representing his native Puerto Rico at the 2008 Olympics, Negron (20-2, 16 KOs) was unbeaten in his first 13 pro fights. Now residing in Miami, the 32-year-old carried a seven-fight winning streak before losing to Dominic Breazeale in December on FOX. He will look to bounce back in his 2019 debut on May 25. Negron will face Clarksburg, West Virginia’s Martz (18-6-1, 15 KOs), who enters this contest the winner of his last two and three of his last four outings. The 28-year-old lost to Luis Ortiz in December 2017 on FS1.

Rashidi (6-0, 4 KOs), who was born in Dallas, Texas and now lives in Desoto, is coming off an exciting TKO victory over Gabriel Gutierrez at AT&T Stadium on March 16. The 26-year-old is unbeaten since turning pro in 2015 and has scored knockouts in three of his last four fights.

An accomplished amateur from Nigeria, Apochi (7-0, 7 KOs) turned pro in the U.S. in 2017 and has racked up knockouts in each fight since. The 31-year-old trains in Houston and scored more four knockouts in 2018 before making his 2019 debut in February and stopping Raymond Ochieng.

A former New York Golden Gloves Champion, Newman (10-1-1, 7 KOs) will look to rebound from a decision loss to Lionell Thompson that came after fighting Paul Parker to a draw on FS1 in 2017. The 27-year-old from Brooklyn was unbeaten in his first 10 pro fights after turning pro in 2014.

In non-televised action Ghanaian super middleweight Habib Ahmed (26-1-1, 18 KOs) meets Colombia’s Juan De Angel (21-10-1, 19 KOs) in an eight round bout, Orlando’s Antonio Tarver, Jr. (5-0, 4 KOs) battles Milwaukee’s Thomas Hill (8-2, 1 KO) in an eight round middleweight match and Burlington, North Carolina welterweight Willie Jones (7-1, 4 KOs) takes on Garden Grove, California’s Lucas Santa Maria (9-1, 7 KOs) in an eight-round attraction.

Also in action are undefeated Atlanta light heavyweight Brandon Glanton (8-0, 7 KOs) in a six round match and Chicago’s Shawn Simpson (9-0, 3 KOs) looking to keep his unbeaten streak alive in a six or eight round bantamweight bout. A duo of undefeated Dallas, Texas boxers battle in separate bouts as Burley Brooks (2-0, 2 KOs) fights in a four-round super middleweight match and Fernando Garcia (12-0, 7 KOs) fights in an eight-round featherweight bout.

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Fans can live stream the fights on the FOX Sports app, available in English or Spanish through the FOX, FS1 or FOX Deportes feeds. The fights are available on desktop at FOXSports.com and through the app store, or connected devices including Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Xbox One and Roku.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @TGBPromotions, and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

MINNEAPOLIS (February 6, 2019) – Once-beaten contenders Marcos Hernandez and Jeison Rosario will rematch in a 10-round welterweight attraction as part of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes Saturday, February 23 from The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The main card begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and is headlined by former super middleweight world champion Anthony Dirrell taking on top contender Avni Yildirim for the vacant WBC Super Middleweight Championship.

FS2 PBC FIGHT NIGHT PRELIMS will begin at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and feature unbeaten cruiserweight Efe Apochi (6-0, 6 KOs) in an eight-round fight against once-beaten Earl Newman (10-1-1, 7 KOs), plus lightweight prospect Justin Pauldo (11-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round fight against unbeaten Donovan Estrella (13-0, 4 KOs), and undefeated 20-year-old prospect Money Powell IV (8-0, 4 KOs) facing Javier Frazier (8-8-1, 4 KOs) in a four or six-round middleweight bout.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Warriors Boxing and TGB Promotions, are on sale now, and can be purchased at the Armory at http://ArmoryMN.com/ and through Ticketmaster.

Non-televised action will also feature Bryant Perrella (15-2, 13 KOs) taking on Breidis Prescott (31-15, 22 KOs) in eight-rounds of welterweight action.

Hernandez (13-1-1, 3 KOs) and Rosario (17-1-1, 12 KOs) will rematch after fighting to a split-draw in their six-round bout last February. Hernandez is fresh off of wins over Quantavious Cash and Danny Valdivia on the reboot of “The Contender” series and is unbeaten in his last five fights. The 25-year-old from Fresno, California owns victories over then-unbeaten fighters in Kevin Newman and Thomas Hill.

Rosario has picked up three victories since the draw against Hernandez, including decision wins over Justin DeLoach and Jamontay Clark, plus a knockout of Juan Carlos Rodriguez Patino in November. The 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic is unbeaten since suffering his only loss to Nathaniel Gallimore in 2017.

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ABOUT DIRRELL VS. YILDIRIM
Dirrell vs. Yildirim will see former super middleweight world champion Anthony Dirrell face top contender Avni Yildirim for the vacant WBC Super Middleweight World Championship in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes on Saturday, February 23 from The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Coverage begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and features welterweight championship contender Jamal James fighting in his hometown for a third straight time against Janer González in a special 10-round attraction in the co-feature.

Fans can live stream the fights on the FOX Sports app, available in English or Spanish through the FOX, FS1, FS2 or FOX Deportes feeds. The fights are available on desktop at FOXSports.com and through the app store, or connected devices including Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Xbox One and Roku.