WBO number-one ranked welterweight Alexis Rocha stopped Anthony Young in round five of a scheduled 12-round bout at The Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.

In round five, Rocha dropped Young with a left. Young got to his feet, but was wobbly and the fight was stopped at 2:15.

Rocha, 146.6 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is 23-1 with 15 knockouts. Young, 146.4 lbs of Atlantic City, NJ is 24-3.

“I knew he was going to come in with the same energy he did when he fought Sadam Ali, and I was ready for that,” said Alexis Rocha. “I want the winner of the Spence-Crawford fight, and I am confident with the help of my amazing promoter, Golden Boy and Oscar De La Hoya, we’ll make it happen.”

Oscar Duarte stopped D’Angelo Keyes after round seven of their 10-round lightweight bout.

In round three, Duarte put Keyes down with a right hand along the ropes.

In round seven, Duarte scored another knockdown with a left hand to the forehead. Keyes showed toughness, but he took a lot of punches and the doctor stopped the bout after round seven.

Duarte, 135 lbs of Parral, MEX is now 26-1-1 with 21 knockouts. Keyes, 134.3 lbs of Houston, TX is 17-3.

“This was an amazing fight, with a great rival who was incredibly tough and very prepared,” said Oscar Duarte. “From the beginning, our plan was to break him down little by little. As I said in previous interviews, I wasn’t going to go looking for the knockout, I just knew it was going to happen naturally just based on how well I had prepared and how I have matured physically and mentally. I would love a fight against William Zepeda.”

Oscar Collazo won the WBO Minimumweight world title with a stoppage of Melvin Jerusalem after round seven.

Jerusalem started well, but Collazo came on and dropped Jerusalem with body shots in round seven. The fight was stopped in the corner following the round.

Collazo, 105 lbs of Villalba, PR is now 7-0 with five knockouts. Jerusalem, 104.6 lbs of Santos City, PHL is 20-3.

“We knew we had a solid challenge ahead of us, but thanks to my corner, they helped me stay calm throughout the fight,” said Oscar Collazo. “I knew I had to establish the pace with my jab, and by the fourth or fifth round we started to hit the body and he didn’t like it. We chopped the tree and we made history for Villalba. I will see you all in Puerto Rico in August, where I will make my first title defense.”

World ranked super flyweight John Ramirez had to eek out a 10-round split decision over Fernando Diaz.

Ramirez, 114.5 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won two cards 96-94, while Diaz took a card 96-94 and sis now 12-0.

Diaz, 114.8 lbs of Riverside, CA is 12-4-1.

Eric Priest remained undefeated with a eight-round unanimous decision over Ricardo Villalba in a middleweight bout.

Priest, 159.8 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won by scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73 and is now 10-0. Villalba, 160 lbs of Buenos Aries, ARG is 20-9-1.

In round five, Villaalba started to bleed from the bridge of his nose.

Johnny Canas made a successful pro debut with four-round unanimous decision over Jose Alvarado in a super lightweight bout.

Canas, 136.4 lbs of Santa Ana, CA won by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice and is now 1-0. Alvarado, 138 lbs of Puebla, MEX is 1-8.

Leonardo Sanchez stopped Uhlices Reyes in round two of their four-round super featherweight fight featuring undefeated boxers.

In round one, Sanchez dropped Reyes with a left to the body. In round two, Sanchez put Reyes down with a straight left hand. Sanchez landed a big left that sent Reyes backing up across the ring. He followed up with a flurry that sent Reyes down again and the fight was stopped at 1:01.

Sanchez, 130 lbs of Cathedral City, CA is 5-0 with four knockouts. Reyes, 129 lbs of Omaha, NEB is 1-1.

LOS ANGELES (May 22, 2023) – Fast rising, undefeated super flyweight John “Scrappy” Ramirez (11-0, 8 KOs), boxing’s 115-pound version of a Human Highlight Film, returns to action this Saturday night against Fernando “Leoncito” Diaz (12-3-1, 4 KOs) in a 10-round match to open the DAZN stream, starting at 9 pm. ET / 6 p.m. PT, live from Fantasy Spring Resort Casino in Indio, California.

The 26-year-old Ramirez, fighting out of South-Central Los Angeles, will make his first World Boxing Continental title defense Saturday on the Alexis Rocha vs. Anthony Young-headlined card, presented by Golden Boy Promotions.

In his last action, “Scrappy” convincingly won a 10-round unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 99-91) over Luis Villa Padilla (15-3-2) this past February for the then vacant WBC Continental crown. Ramirez captured the NABA crown a year ago, registering a 2022 Knockout of the Year-caliber performance against Jan Salvatierra (8-1), who lasted only 2:25 in the opening round, punched through the ropes and literally out of the ring. His NABA title is not on the line versus Diaz.

“Scrappy” was arguably the most active fighter during the COVID-19 pandemic and he enjoys being on the fast track. “I like fighting often because the more fights for me,” promotional free agent Ramirez said, “I’m only getting better. I’ve been learning more knowledge about boxing and gaining experience. I’m improving overall in this game, learning whatever I can to gain knowledge and experience. I ask questions all the time. I speak to ‘Zurdo’ (former world super middleweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez) on a daily basis at Brickhouse (Boxing Club in North Hollywood, CA). Deontay Wilder and Regis Prograis when they are training there, too. And BHOP (Bernard Hopkins) and Oscar (de la Hoya).

“After my last two fights, I’ve gone to training camps on the East Coast. I went to camp in the Pennsylvania woods to help get (Junto) Nakatani ready for his title fight (vacant World Boxing Organization World  Super Flyweight) against (Andrew) Maloney). I was out there chopping wood and staying in top condition. I really worked on movement. I like working with fighters who have different mechanics to pick up and add to my toolbox. I sparred at a higher level for this fight and really learned a lot from Nakatani.” (Nakatani (25-0, 19 KOs) brutally stopped Maloney (25-3, 16 KOs) in the 12^th round.)

Rated No. 2 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), Scrappy” accepted an offer five months ago to face veteran Thai boxer Sirichai Thaiyen (64-4, 42 KOs), rated No, 3 (the No. 1 spot is open), in a WBA Title Eliminator to determine the mandatory challenger for WBA Super Flyweight World Champion Joshua “El Profesor” Franco (18-1-3, 8 KOs). There hasn’t been any movement yet to secure this fight.

“That’s out of my control,” Ramirez noted. “My job is to stay ready and be prepared for when the eliminator happens. Until then I’ll keep learning and improving.”

Diaz, 23, won his World Boxing Council (WBC) USA Flyweight title on February 5, 2022, when he took a 10-round unanimous decision from previously undefeated Lorenzo Smith (10-0). Representing Riverside, California, Diaz also knocked out (6^th round) another unbeaten challenger, Salvatierra (7-0), who is the only common opponent for Diaz and Ramirez.

“I don’t think he (Diaz) is on my level,” Ramirez claimed, “but this kid is looking for his opportunity. He’s lost three fights because he’s taken big fights. He thinks I’m his opportunity. He is in between my mission and goals. I’m going to take him out! I learned a lot in my last fight by going 10 rounds. I need to be patient. I’m an entertainer who is always looking to get an opportunity to take out my opponent, but early in my last fight I was looking for a knockout and got away from the game plan. If the knockout comes, it comes, but I need to be more patient. I want to impose my will but be patient. I’m going to follow the process to be patient.

“It’s good to be fighting on DAZN again. It’s not my first rodeo, though. This will be my third straight fight on DAZN. I’m a little upset I’m not in the main event like in my last fight; I’m taking it personal, nothing against the promoters. I understand but now I’m always aiming to be in the main event. I know that I have to earn my stripes, and that this fight is another chance for me to showcase my skills. I appreciate fighting on DAZN and my fan base has really grown fast because of the exposure I’ve had fighting on DAZN.”

“Scrappy” Ramirez is working with 3 Point Management (3 PM), a growing company based in Los Angeles that has a growing stable of gifted boxers including former world super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs), light heavyweight Kareem Hackett (10-0, 5 KOs), super middleweight Cem “Champ” Kilic (17-1, 11 KOs), and heavyweights Darius “DFG “ Fulghum (4-0, 4 KOs) and Zach Spiller (3-0, 2 KOs).

INFORMATION:

Facebook: /JohnRamirez

Instagram: @Scrappyboxing

NEW YORK–In a war, Amanda Serrano became the undisputed featherweight champion with a 10-round unanimous decision in front of a capacity crowd at The Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden

The two fighters stood toe to toe with Cruz having early success as she dug her feet in and came forward throwing and landing punches in bunches from all angles. That seemed to befuddle Serrano, who was getting hit cleanly by oncoming shots from Cruz. In round three, Cruz was cut on her forehead from an accidental headbutt. That coincided with Serrano’s foray back inro the fight as she seemed to have a better grasp on how to handle the unorthodox style of Cruz.

In round six, Serrano her Cruz badly with an left and right hook on the inside. There were instances that looked like Cruz was done, but she kept coming forward throwing punches in bunches. Serrano was able to stem the tide and fough through a cut around her right eye in a furious 10th and final round.

The two fighters threw a staggering amount of punches for the 20 minute war as Serrano was 257 of 949. Cruz 202 of 968.

Serrano, 125.4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 98-92 twice and 97-93 and is now 44-2-1. Cruz, 125.4 lbs of Mexico City fought valiantly in defeat and is now 15-2.

With the win, it paves the way for a much anticipated rematch between Serrano and Katie Taylor that was announced for May 20th.

Amanda Serrano

• I’m just so emotional underneath. I finally did it for my island. 
• She’s a Mexican champion and we knew that from the start. I knew it was going to be a bout and this what what I’ve trained for. We didn’t expect anything less than that. 
• I’m glad it went past the fourth!
• Jordan kept screaming 1-2-1-2’s from the corner – go back to the basics. My left hand was catching her pretty clear with the jabs. So I just listen to my corner. 
• I have successfully completed all of my dreams, becoming the undisputed champion. So now I am one of THE undisputed champions but I am still the ONLY 7 weigh class world champions in the world. 
• It’s going to be a bigger and better fight over there (Ireland)

Katie Taylor

• I was cheering her on. I wanted this fight. Undisputed vs. undisputed champion. The last fight was an epic fight and I think the next one is going to be exactly the same. 
• It’s going to be great in Ireland fighting the real deal, Amanda Serrano. This is incredible and the last fight was epic so I expect nothing less from the next one. 
• This is the biggest fight in women’s boxing and I only want to do the biggest fights. This is exactly what I want.

Baumgardner Decisions Mekhaled to Win Undisputed Junior Lightweight Champion

Alycia Baumgardner became to Undisputed Junior Lightweight champion with an emphatic 10-round unanimous decision over Elhem Mekhaled.

In round three, Baumgardner landed a big chopping right that put Mekhaled on the canvas. With Mekhaled hurt, Baumgardner jumped on Mekhaled and sent her to the canvas for a second time in the round from a huge flurry of punches.

Mekhaled was hurt several times down the stretch, but she showed tremendous resolve as she was able to land some flush punches. In the 10th round, both boxers had moments and also there were several furious exchanges.

Baumgardner landed 141 of 542 punches; Mekhaled was 96 of 404.

Baumgardner, 129 lbs of Detroit won by scores of 99-89 twice and 98-90 and is now 14-1. Mekhaled, 129 lbs of Paris, FRA is 15-2.

Hitchins Decisions Bauza

Richardson Hitchins settled his grudge with John Bauza y winning a lopsided 10-round unanimous decision on their junior welterweight bout.

In round one, Hitchins landed a inside left that had Bauza hit the canvas, which was ruled a knockdown. In round four, Hitchins landed a hard straight right that put Bauza down for a clean knockdown. In round five, the right eye of Bauza began to swell up.

With his face a mess and getting beat up, Bauza landed a hard left that briefly stopped Hitchins in his tracks, but Hitchins rebounded to landed three flush shots to face of Bauza.

Hitchins, 139.6 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 100-88 on all cards and is now 16-0. Bauza, 139 lbs of North Bergen, NJ is 17-1.

Yankiel Rivera Decisions Fernando Diaz

Yankiel Rivera remained undefeated by pounding out an eight-round unanimous decision over Fernando Diaz in a flyweight fight.

Rivera, 112.4 lbs of Bayamon, PR won by scores of 79-73 twice and 78-74 and is now 3-0. Diaz, 111.8 lbs of Riverside, CA is 11-3-1.

Skye Nicolson remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Tania Alvarez in a featherweight fight.

Nicolson, 126.6 lbs of Queensland, AUS won by scores of 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93 and is now 6-0. Alvarez, 124.8 lbs of Barcelona, SPA is 7-1.

In a battle of previously undefeated super bantamweights, Ramla Ali took a 10-round unanimous decision from Avril Mathie.

Ali, 121.4 lbs of London won by scores of 99-91 on all cards and is now 8-0. Mathie, 121.4 lbs of Sydney, AUS is 8-1-1.

Shadasia Green was impressive in stopping former world champion Elin Cederroos in round six of their scheduled 10[round super middleweight bout.

In round three, Green dropped Cederroos with a perfect overhand right to the jaw.

In round six, Green landed three more booming right hands to the head that had Cederroos wobbling across the ring. Green landed three more flush shots in the corner and the bout was stopped at 1:08.

Green, 167.2 lbs of Paterson, NJ is now 12-0 with 11 knockoouts. Cederroos,167.4 lbs of Sweden is 8-2.

In a bloody battle, Harley Maderos stopped Julio Madera in the sixth and final round of their lightweight bout.

Maderos battered Madera until his face got more swollen with each round. Maderos showed a bloody mouth in round five. In round six, Maderos landed a hard combination that forced referee Eric Dali to the contest at 25 seconds.

Maderos, 134.2 lbs of Brooklyn is now 5-0 with four knockouts. Madera,133.5 lbs of Mexico City is 4-3.

Aaron Aponte remained undefeated with a eight-round unanimous decision over Joshua David Rivera in a junior welterweight clash.

Aponte, 136.8 lbs of Hialeah Gardens, FL won by scores on all cards and is now 7-0-1. Rivera, 138.8 lbs of La Mesa, CA is 8-2.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 18, 2022 – Juan Carlos Camacho is claims victory over Fernando Diaz via Unanimous Decision to win the NABF Super Flyweight crown on Friday, August 19, at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan..

Camacho-Diaz was the main event of the Miguel Cotto Promotions debut on PROBOX TV. A ProBox TV subscription is $1.99 per month.

“I am very excited after all of these years and i am very excited to have been able to do this in front of all of my fans and friends, It is a very bog moment for me,” said Camacho following his big win. “(In the 7th round) He hit me with a solid punch and I felt it and I did what I do best – I stayed calm and I recovered from it. I want to say thank you to Miguel Cotto and the Cotto Promotions team and we will get together and decide who I will fight next.  I was grateful for this opportunity and will be ready for whatever they decide.”

The results of the fights streamed live are as follows: 

10 Rounds – NABF Super Flyweight Championship (115 lbs)

Juan Carlos CAMACHO JR 115.6 lbs. Juana Díaz, P.R., 13-1, 7 KOs    vs.

Fernando DIAZ, 114.8 lbs, Colton, CA 11-1-1, 3 KOs

CAMCACHO WINS UD 99-91, 97-93, 99-91

8 Rounds – Super Bantamweights (122 LBS)

José MARTINEZ, 121 lbs., Las Marías, P.R., 21-1-3, 14 KOs     vs.                                   

Carlos BUITRAGO, 121 lbs. Managua, Nicaragua, 35-7-1, 20 KOs

BUITRAGO WINS SD 76-75, 76-75, 77-74, 

4 Rounds – (128 LBS)

Pedro MARQUEZ, 127 lbs., San Juan, P.R., 13-1, 9 KOs   vs.

Wilner SOTO, 125 lbs., Canalete , Colombia, 22-10, 12 KOs

MARQUEZ TKO 4/8

8 Rounds – Featherweights (126 LBS)

Jan Paul RIVERA, 129 lbs., Salinas, P.R., 3-0, 3 KOs  vs.

Felix Sosa, 127.8 lbs., New Jersey, 1-1

RIVERA WINS UD 40-36. 40-36, 40-36

6 Rounds – Lightweights (135 LBS)

Harold LAGUNA, 134.2 lbs., Guaynabo, P.R., 5-0, 4 KOs    vs.

Carlos MATOS, 134.2 lbs., Cabo Rojo, P.R., 2-4

LAGUNA WINS UD 59-55, 59-55, 58-56

Paulie Malignaggi, Ivan Calderon, Mike Goldberg, Claudia Trejos, Alan Obrador will be calling Friday’s action from ringside. Juan Manuel Marquez will be ringside with Miguel Cotto.

The ProBox TV bi-monthly schedule for the remainder of 2022 is as follows: September 9, September 23, October 7, October 26, November 4, November 18, December 2, December 9. There is also weekly original content produced by the founders including, podcasts, talk shows and in the gym content, plus monthly documentaries and behind the scenes content. All for the nominal fee of $1.99 per month. In 2023 there will be one live boxing event per month from USA, Puerto Rico and Mexico – that’s three live boxing events per month.

Follow ProBox TV at https://twitter.com/ProBox_TV and https://www.youtube.com/c/ProBoxTV

For more ProBox TV info click here https://proboxtv.com/what-is-probox-tv/en

Late-replacement Jesse Rodriguez won the WBC Super Flyweight world title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Carlos Cuadras at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

In round three, Rodriguez dropped Cuadras with a left uppercut to the body.

Rodriguez landed 258 of 688 punches; Cuadras was 172 of 944.

Rodriguez, 114.1 lbs of San Antonio, TX won by scores of 117-110 twice and 115-112 and is now 15-0. Cuadras, 114.4 lbs of Mexico City is 39-5-1.

“That was a tough ass fight,” said Rodriguez. “He brought out a Jesse Rodriguez I didn’t know was in me, I’m so happy.
 
“I knew it was going to be a tough fight, he’s a true warrior, I thought I was going to get him out of there but he’s so strong.
 
“I stuck to the game plan, used my angles, but in the fifth round I knew he wasn’t going to go so I stayed composed and did my work.
 
“I feel good at this weight so I will stay here for now but if I get a good fight at 108lbs or 112lbs, maybe I’ll get the winner of Chocolatito vs. Martinez, who knows – I’m just open to the best fights.”

Mitchell Stops Skelly in 4; Retains Bantamweight Title

Jamie Mitchell defended the WBA Bantamweight title with a four round destruction over Carly Skelly.

At the end of round one, Mitchell dropped Skelly with a hard left hook. Mitchell scored another knockdown in round two with a big right hand. In round four, Mitchell landed a vicious flurry of punches that included flush rights hands that snapped Skelly’s head back, and the fight was stopped.

Mitchell of Las Vegas is 8-0-2 with five knockouts. Skelly of Liverpool, ENG is 4-1-1.

“It was cool, my first defense and my most precious fight as a pro,” said Mitchell. “Shout out to Claressa Shields for getting the win in the UK tonight, we had great sparring in the build-up so thank you to her for that. She’s truly the GWOAT and an inspiration.
 
“If you are going to run at me, I’m going to stop you in your tracks and that’s what happened.
 
I am only going to get better, we train all year round, people are sleeping on me but I’m going to slowly wake them up.”

Ford Decisions Vazquez

Raymond Ford was lucky that he had two judges on his side as he was awarded a 10-round split decision over Edward Vazquez in a battle of undefeated featherweights.

Ford landed 95 of 514 while Vazquez was 106 of 428.

Vazquez landed the more telling blows throughout, yet two judges scored the fight 98-92 and 97-93 for Ford. Vazquez won a card 96-94.

Ford, 126 lbs of Camden, NJ is 11-0-1. Vazquez of Fort Worth, Texas is 11-1.

Diaz Decisions Smith

Fernando Diaz won a 10-round unanimous decision over Lorenzo Smith in a flyweight contest.

In round five, Smith dropped Diaz with a left hook.

Diaz landed 173 of 594 punches; Smith was 64 of 339.

Diaz, 111 lbs of Riverside, CA won by scores of 96-93 twice and 95-94 and is now 11-1-1. Smith, 111.5 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 10-1.

Coe stops O’Sullivan in 2

Khalil Coe remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Dylan O’Sullivan in a light heavyweight bout.

In round two, Coe dropped O’Sullivan with a left hook. Seconds later Coe ended thing with a left and the fight was stopped.

Coe, 179.5 lbs of Jersey City, NJ is now 2-0-1 with two knockoouts. O’Sullivan, 177.9 lbs of Johnson City, TN is 1-1

Elijah Garcia stropped Antonio Hernandez after round three of their six-round middleweight fight.

Garcia, 163.5 lbs of Glendale, AZ is 10-0 with nine knockouts.

Adam Stewart won a six-round unanimous decision over Alvin Davie in a heavyweight bout.

In round six, Stewart dropped Davie with a right hand.

Stewart, 234 lbs of Phoenix, AZ won by scores of 60-53 on all cards, and is now 13-1-1. Davie, 223.9 lbs of Miami, FL is 6-3.

By Norm Frauenheim (Ringside)-

LAS VEGAS – It was a coronation.

Canelo’s coronation

It even included a crown, worn by Saul Canelo Alvarez as he paraded around the ring moments after his eleventh-round stoppage of Caleb Plant for all the pieces to the super-middleweight title Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena

It was a crown symbolic of a lot. He’s the first undisputed champion in the history of a division that dates back to 1967. That’s 54 years. Lots of kings come, go and are toppled within that time span.

We’ll have to wait and see how long Canelo’s reign lasts. But his history will endure mostly because of his deliberate, tireless pursuit of excellence. Go ahead and argue all you want about how he would do in another generation or against legends that were around half-a-century ago. But it’s hard to argue with numbers. And Canelo is putting up a lot of them.

With the super-middleweight title, the Mexican, already a champion at junior-middleweight, middleweight and light-heavyweight, is just the sixth unified champion in any division during boxing’s four-belt era.

Yeah, the battered game has been corrupted by too many belts, too many acronyms and too many weight classes. That said, Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) has been winning as many of them as he can. That’s all he can do. He stays busy in a sport increasingly defined by more and more idle time. Yet in 11 months, Canelo fought four times to win all four of the 168-pound titles.

He’s the reigning exception. Let him wear that crown. It fits.

It also rests on a redhead that had been fitted for it long before he ever began his 168-pound campaign. Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) was just the last domino to fall, just another piece on Canelo’s blueprint to dominance.

Plant, who held the International Boxing Federation’s version of the belt never had much of a chance throughout Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast. The betting odds declined before opening bell, from 10-to-1 to 7-1. Money on Plant was coming in from a crowd that loves to play longshots. Maybe, they were betting on Canelo breaking an ankle on his way to the ring and up those three steps through the ropes.

Didn’t happen.

Canelo’s predictable dominance was apparent from the first round to the end – 1:01 of the eleventh. That’s when Canelo finished Plant with a succession of punches for a second knockdown in the round. The first knockdown was the result of a crushing left hand and successive rights as Plant fell onto his hands and knees on the canvas, a beaten challenger.

“It wasn’t easy to get to this place,’’ said Canelo, whose ability to conquer the challenges were compensated Saturday night by a $40-miliion payday.

It probably won’t be easy to move on either. A date with David Benavidez, who fights next Saturday night in Phoenix? A move back up to light-heavy?

“We don’t know,’’ Canelo said. “First, we need to rest.’’

There were no immediate comments from Plant, a Tennessean who collected $10-million.

He and Canelo hugged in the middle of the ring after the fight. Plant was then taken to Las Vegas’ University Medical Center for observation.

“I have a lot of respect for Caleb Plant,’’ said Canelo, who was angered by much of Plant’s pre-fight trash talk. “He was a difficult opponent with a lot of ability, and I do respect him. We are both men at the end of the day. He wanted to fight me and still continue. I told him there’s no shame. We had a great fight tonight.

“He was making the fight pretty difficult, but Eddy (Reynoso) told me to just stick to the game plan in the last two rounds. In the end, I got him. That’s the way it had to finish. He was already hurt and I went for the kill.”

There’d be no crown if King Canelo hadn’t.

Anthony Dirrell wins, scoring a huge KO

It was a lousy day for just about anybody wearing Michigan State gear other than Anthony Dirrell.

Dirrell, wearing the Spartan logo on green trunks trimmed in white, won a few hours Saturday after the No. 3 Spartans lost at Purdue in the final fight before the Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant ,main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KOs), a super-middleweight from Flint MI, did it spectacularly

Violently, too.

He delivered a right-handed wheelhouse upper-cut for a concussive knockout of Marcos Hernandez (15-5-2, 3 KOs) at 22 seconds of the fourth round. Hernandez never saw the punch coming. He had to be helped onto a stool, where he sat and tried to regain his consciousness for a few very long moments..  

Rey Vargas says unbeaten, wins unanimous decision

Unbeaten Rey Vargas, a force at junior featherweight, moved up the scale. And he brought the force with him. He also stayed unbeaten.

Vargas (35-0, 22 KOs), long and lanky at 122 pounds, looked just as long and lanky at 126 Saturday with a skillful decision over fellow-Mexican Leonardo Baez (21-5, 12 KOs) on the pay-per-view part of the Showtime telecast of a card featuring super-middleweight Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant. 

Vargas, a junior-featherweight champion trained by Mexican geat Nacho Beristain, employed his long arms and punching precision to leave Baez bloodied under one eye and beaten on every scorecard —  100-90, 99-91, 100-90.   

Elvis Rodriguez storms back from loss with big KO

Elvis Rodriguez (12-1-1, 11 KOs) began to put prospect back into his resume.

The junior-welterweight from the Dominican Republic did so with power, scoring two knockdowns — one in the fourth and again in the fifth — for a convincing victory over Juan Pablo Romero (14-1, 9 KOs) of Mexico.He knocked out Romero with sweeping left hook in the closing seconds of the fifth round. Rodriguez, trained by Freddie Roach, raised a lot of questions about his future with a majority decision loss to Kenneth Sims Jr in May. He delivered a couple of answers Saturday night on the Canelo-Plant undercard.

Super-flyweight Fernando Diaz scores super KO

Fernando Diaz (10-1-1, 3 KOs), a super-flyweight from southern California, executed a left hook with perfect timing and unerring precision in the fourth fight on the Canelo-Plant card Saturday.. It landed,– boom — on Jan Salvatierra’s chin late in the fifth round.

Somehow, Salvatierra (7-1, 3 KOs) picked himself up and and on to his feet. But he didn;t stay there for long. Within a couple of seconds, he fell forward and into the ropes, a loser by knockout at 2:16 of the round.

Jose Antonio Meza survived a 1st round knockdown to eek out an eight-round unanimous decision over Jose Gomez in a super featherweight bout.

Meza, 132 lbs of Durango, MEX won by 76-75 tallies on all cards and is now 8-6. Gomez, 131 lbs of Huntington Park, CA is 12-1.

Mexican flyweight Velazquez scores scorecard shutout

Mexican flyweight Josesito Velazquez (14-0-1, 9 KOs) possessed more power and .and a lot  more aggression, both enough to score a unanimous decision over Gilberto Mendoza (19-1-3, 10 KOs) of San Francisco in an eight-rounder, the second fight on the Canelo-Plant card. Velazquez scored a shutout (80-72) on all three scorecards. 

First Bell: Rances Barthelemy opens the show with TKO win

In an empty building and in front of vacant seats, Cuban Rances Barthelemy (29-1-1, 15 KOs) got things started with a second round TKO of Argentine Gustvao Vittori (25-10-1, 12 KOs) in a junior-welterweight matinee on a card featuring Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Barthelemy, a former junior-lightweight and lightweight champion, landed a quick succession of punches that put Vittori down in his corner, finished at 1:54 of the second round.