Berlanga Decisions Angulo

Edgar Berlanga remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Alexis Angulo in a super middleweight bout at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.

Berlanga, 167.6 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 99-91 and 98-92 and is now 20-0. Angulo, 160.6 lbs of Pitai, COL is 27-3.

Henry Lebron Decisions Luis Lebron

Henry Lebron won a eight-round unanimous decision over Luis Lebron in a junior lightweight fight.

In round seven, Luis Lebron began to bleed from his mouth.

Henry Lebron, 130 lbs of Aguadilla, PR won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 and is now 16-0. Luis Lebron, 129.8 lbs of San Juan, PR is 18-4-1.

Victor Santillan won a eight-round unanimous decision over Carlos Caraballo in a junior featherweight bout,

In round two, Santillan was cut on his right eyelid from a headbutt.

Santillan, 119.6 of La Romana, DR won by scores of 78-74 twice and 77-75 and is now 12-0. Caraballo, 120.4 lbs of Guayanilla, PR is 15-2.

Dakota Linger shocked Josue Vargas with a second round stoppage in a scheduled eight-round junior welterweight bout.

Linger landed a hard combination that had Vargas in serious . Linger knocked Vargas between the ropes for a knockdown. Linger was relentless until the bout was stopped at 2:06.

Linger, 142.6 lbs of Buckhamon, WV is 13-5-2 with nine knockouts. Vargas, 142.6 lbs Aguadila, PR is 20-3,

Armani Almestica remained undefeated by stopping Eliseo Villalobos in the final round of their six-round lightweight bout.

In round one Almestica dropped Villalobos with a straight left.

In round six, Almestica continued to land clean shots, and the fight was stopped at 1:47.

Almestica, 134.2 lbs of Orlando, FL is 6-0 with six knockouts. Villalobos, 134.4 lbs of Simi Valley, CA is 2-3.

Orlando Gonzalez stopped Pablo Cruz in round five of their six-round featherweight bout.

In round five, Gonzalez landed a flurry in the corner that forced referee Danny Schivone to stop the bout at 1:00.

Gonzalez, 128 lbs of Agudilla, PR is now 18-1 with 11 knockouts. Cruz, 127.8 lbs of Houston, TX is 22-5-1.

Omar Rosario remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Julio Rosa in a junior welterweight bout.

Rosario, 140.6 lbs of Caguas, PR won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 and is now 7-0. Rosa, 139.6 lbs of Bayamon, PR is 4-1.

Frevian Gonzalez won a four-round unanimous decision over Refugio Montellano in a lightweight bout.

Gonzalez, 134.6 lbs of Cidra, PR won by scores of 40-36 on all cards, and is now 5-1. Montellano, 134.8 lbs of Dallas, TX is 2-1.

Christina Cruz won remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Maryguenn Vellinga in a flyweight bout.

In round four, Vellinga was cut badly on here forehead from a headbutt.

Cruz, 111.8 lbs of New York won by scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37 and is now 3-0. Vellinga, 110.6 lbs of Park City, UT is 3-3-2.




Manny Pacquiao can’t beat time or Yordenis Ugas

LAS VEGAS – Father Time came knocking Saturday night. He looked a lot like Yordenis Ugas.

Manny Pacquaio couldn’t stop him.

Pacquiao, still a timeless legend, finally ran into that inevitable moment. The clock said it’s time to move on, time to do something else. Maybe a campaign for the Filipino presidency will be his next fight. Maybe he can go on to be a 43-year-old President. Then, he would be a young man all over again. But at 42, he’s old and finished as a fighter.

There are no more opening bells left on his calendar. Just another birthday in December. Pacquiao would not say what he plans to do next. But he didn’t have to.

Ugas punches told him again and again throughout 12 rounds.  Nearly every round included signs that Pacquiao’s days as a fighter are over. Ugas scored a unanimous decision, 115-113 on one card and 116-112 on two.

Ugas’ power moved Pacquiao backwards and sideways. At times, he looked awkward in trying to stay away from the Cuban, who was a late stand-in for the younger, stronger Errol Spence Jr. Mostly, the Filipino Senator looked stationary, a target for Ugas, a welterweight who is a step or down the welterweight ladder from Spence and Terence Crawford.

“My legs were tired,’’ Pacquiao (62-8-2, 31 KOs) said after his first fight in 25 months. “I just couldn’t move.’’   

It didn’t take long to see that Pacquiao has only moved into middle age.

“Manny, Manny, Manny.” The chants were from a crowd that remembered a younger man. They started long before opening bell. They echoed through the jammed T-Mobile Arena, loud enough to be heard on the Vegas’ strip and maybe on the streets of Manila.

In the first round, Pacquaio predictably pursued early, backing up the bigger, broad-shouldered Ugas. There was some immediate uncertainty evident in Ugas body language. Pacquiao’s foot speed and punching angles have bewildered just about everyone he has faced for more than two decades. Initially, it looked as if Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) would be just another confused face. Pacquiao has seen a lot of them. Beaten most of them.

Near the end of those first three minutes, however, Ugas landed a big body shot. For a split second, it was almost like flipping as switch. Pacquiao froze. Those feet, ever fleet for so long, suddenly quit moving. Ugas a sent message, to both Pacquiao and himself. Pacquiao knew Ugas had the power to hurt him. Suddenly, Ugas was emboldened, knowing his size and strength were enough to offset Pacquiao’s diminished skillset.

For the rest of the bout, Pacquiao seemed to fight in desperate spurts. He’d rock Ugas, but never really hurt him. Ugas would respond, always countering with a big jab or an overhand right. Increasingly, the Cuban knew it was his fight. He’d smile at Pacquiao as if to say the fight and the 147-pound belt belonged to him.

“Most of all, I want to thank Manny Pacquiao,’’ Ugas said through a translator. “I want to thank him for what he has given me.’’

A gift from Father Time.

Guerrero scores dull decision over Victor Ortiz

It was a fight between ex-champions. Victor Ortiz-versus-Robert Guerrero might have worked Triller. But on a traditional boxing card featuring Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas, it just didn’t work.

There were boos throughout the 10 rounds.

There were cheers, but only in the end

Guerrero (37-6-1, 20 KOs) won, scoring a unanimous decision over Ortiz (32-7-3, 25 KOs) at T-Mobile Arena. In what looked to be a capacity crowd waiting for Pacquiao-Ugas, it was also unanimous, unanimously happy that it was finally over.

Mark Magsayo scores 10th-round KO

Call it a double down, two right hands that put Atizapan de Zaragosa onto the canvas and kept him there for a couple of scary moments in a devastating 10th-round knockout in a World Boxing Council featherweight eliminator Saturday on the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas card at T-Mobile.

Magsayo (23-0, 16 KOs), a Filipino who had Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach in his corner, ended any chance of an upset on the cards. Zaragosa (32-5-1, 28 KOs), of Mexico, surprised Magsayo, knocking him down in the fifth. In the end, however, Magsayo’s power said it once. Said it again. Said it all.  

Carlos Castro delivers dramatic KO of Escandon

In the first round, he survived. In the middle rounds, he had to be stubborn. Then, he had to be resilient. Then, he was sensational.

Phoenix featherweight Carlos Castro (27-0, 12 KOs)did it all Saturday night in his first pay-per-view appearance on the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas undercard at T-Mobile Arena.. First, he endured a bug punch. Then, he recovered.

Then, he won by knockout with a whirlwind of punches that left former contender Oscar Escandon exhausted, dazed and beaten.

At 1:08 of the 10th, it was official: Castro  was the KO winner and a proven contender at 126 pounds. 

Escandon (26-6, 18 KOs) rocked Castro in the closing seconds of the opening round. Then, it looked as if Castro was in for a long night. But he regained his footing and his wits. Then in a wild seventh, he gained momentum and kept it with a long jab and slick skillset. Escandon looked confused. He lunged and missed with a punch that sent him crashing onto the canvas like a kid doing a belly flop.

In the final round, Castro pursued and delivered a whirlwind-like finish with a beautiful succession of punches for a defining victory, the biggest thus far in his emerging career. 

-Mexican featherweight Angel Contreras (11-4-2, 6 KOs) upset any chance that John Dato (14-1-1, 9 KOs) might warm up the ring for fellow Filipino Manny Pacquiao in the final fight before the pay-per-view telecast for the Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas card. Contrerras beat Dato, handing him his first loss and flooring the Filipino in the third-round of an eight-round  unanimous decision.  

California lightweight Mikel Clements (1-0) leaped into his pro debut on a major card, lunging to land punches through four head-rocking rounds for a unanimous decision over Eliseo Villalobos (1-2) of Simi Valley, CA.

The Pacquiao-Ugas undercard resumed after a long break following the tripleheader beginning like a guy waking up from a nap. It was a yawner. Super-middleweights Burley Brooks (6-2-1, 5 KOs) of Dallas and Cameron Rivera (9-6-4 of Fife, WA fought to a dull draw. Neither could gain an edge or even momentum in the six-rounder. 

The Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas card started with a triple-header, an afternoon matinee, before the fans were allowed into T-Mobile Arena Saturday.

Behind closed doors and in front of empty seats, Mexican lightweight Jose Valenzuela (9-0, 6 KOs), drawing first blood in a one-sided assault for a fourth-round TKO of Donte Strayhorn (12-4, 4 KOs) of Cinicinnati.

In the second bout, power-forward-sized heavyweight prospect Steve Torres (5-0, 5 KOs) of Reading, PA, landed early and often, scoring a first-round TKO of Justin Rolfe (6-3-1, 4 KOs) of Fairfield, ME.

In the third bout, Detroit lightweight Frank Martin (14-0, 10 KOs) outscored, outpunched and overwhelmed Ryan Kielczweski (30-6, 11 KOs) enroute to a unanimous decision over the fighter from Quincy, MA.