Vergil Ortiz Jr. came off almost a year layoff to keep his perfect knockout streak intact as he stopped Michael McKinson in round nine of their welterweight bout at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

In round one, Ortiz was cut around the left eye from an accidental headbutt

In round eight, Ortiz landed a hard left hook to the body that dropped McKinson  In the opening seconds of round nine, Ortiz landed a big left to the body.  McKinson was hurt and the corner waved the towel and the fight was stopped at 27 seconds.

Ortiz, 146.6 lbs of Grand Prairie, Texas is 19-0 with 19 knockouts.  McKinson, 146.8 lbs of Portsmouth, ENG is 22-1.

Marlen Esparza Decisions Guzman; Retains Flyweight Titles

Marlen Esparza defended WBA/WBC Flyweight titles with a 10-round unanimous decision over Eva Guzman.

In round six, Esparza was cut on the side of her left eye. Esparza was very pinpoint on her punches and won by scores of 98-92 twice and 99-91.

Esparza, 111.8 lbs of Houston, Texas is 13-1.  Guzman, 109 lbs of Marcay, VEN is 19-2.

Blair Cobbs Drops Hooker 3 times; Wins Decision

Blair Cobbs won a 10-round unanimous decision over former world champion Maurice Hooker in a welterweight bout.

In round one, Cobbs dropped Hooker with a huge three-punch combination that was highlighted overhand right. In round two, Cobbs dumped Hooker again with hard straight left.  Late in the round, it was another straight left that put Hooker down again,

In round six, Cobbs was cut around the right eye from an accidental headbutt.

Cobbs, 146 lbs of Philadelphia, PA won by scores of 97-90 twice and 96-91 and is now 16-1-1.  Hooker who came in over the contracted weight, weighed in at 150 lbs and Dallas, Texas native is now 27-3-3.

“This wasn’t an easy fight, it was a tougher fight than my last one, and this victory for sure has put me in the top ten rankings,” said Blair Cobbs. “I fought a tougher, heavier fighter. He could box and had an extremely long reach, but today I showed that I can go into deep waters, box, and give fans a show. I want to thank god for this performance, there is nothing stronger and greater than god. Today, I showed that I have more to give to the sport of boxing, that even through adversity Blair ‘The Flair’ will come out on top.” 

Melikuziev stops Janjanin in 3

Hard punching Bektemir Melikuziev stopped Sladan Janjanin in round three of a scheduled 10-round light heavyweight bout

In the first 30 seconds, Melikuziev landed a vicious left to the body that put Janjanin down in a lot of pain. In round two, Melikuziev landed some hard shots to the head that sent Janjanin down for a second time.  In round three, it was another vicious left to the body that sent Janjanin to the deck.  The fight was finally stopped when Melikuziev continued to land thudding punches and the fight ended at 2:18.

Melikuziev, 171 lbs of Indio, CA is 10-1 with eight knockouts.  Janjanin, 168 lbs of Boston, MA is 32-13.

“I didn’t know my opponent until recently so we trained to have a good camp and a preparation,” said Bektemir Melikuziev. “After I dropped him with the body shot I was hoping he would keep going, we didn’t come here to end it one punch. We want to make sure we get some rounds in to gain some experience. But he was an awkward fighter, very uncomfortable but I think my training really showed off today.” 

19 year-old Floyd Schofield remained undefeated by taking out Rodrigo Guerrero in round six of their eight-round lightweight bout.

In round three, Schofield landed a right hand that put Guerrero on the canvas for a knockdown. Schofield dropped Guerrero for a second time in round four, and the bout was stopped after round five. The official time was 10 seconds of round six.

Schofield, 133.8 lbs from Austin, TX is now 11-0 with nine knockouts. Guerrero, 134.6 lbs of Mexico City, MEX is 26-15-2.

Alex Martin brushed himself from a first round knockdown to win a 10-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Hank Lundy in a junior welterweight bout.

In round one, Lundy dropped Martin with an overhand left.

Martin, 140 lbs of Chicago, IL won by scores of 98-91 and 97-92 twice and is now 18-4. Lundy, 138.4 lbs of Philadelphia, PA is 31-11-1.

Carlos Nava remained undefeated with a fourth round stoppage over Rodolfo Hernandez in a scheduled eight-round super lightweight bout.

In round two, Nava dropped Ramirez with a big right hand. In round four, Nava delivered punishment and landed a flurry of punches and the bout was stopped at 36 seconds.

Nava, 138.8 lbs of Pasadena, TX is 9-0 with six knockouts. Hernandez, 135 lbs of Mexico City is 30-11-1.

Figo Ramirez won a four-round unanimous decision over Francisco Bonilla in a bantamweight contest.

In round two, Ramirez was deducted a point for a low blow.

Ramirez, 117.4 lbs of Dallas, TX won by scores of 39-36 on all cards and is now 2-0. Bonilla, 117 lbs of Chihuahua, MEX is now 6-14-3.

Rohan Polanco stopped Dedrick Bell in round two of their eight-round welterweight bout.

Polanco landed a devastating left to the Solar Plexus that sent Bell down for the count.

Polanco, 147 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is now 8-0 with five knockouts. Bell, 146.8 lbs of Memphis, TN is 31-33-1.

Seven-Division world champion Amanda Serrano stopped three-division world champion retained the WBC/WBO Featherweight titles with a ninth round stoppage over Daniela Bermudez in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

It was an entertaining fight that saw Serrano land heavy punches throughout the contest.

In round nine, Serrano landed a perfect left to the body that sent Bermudez down on a delayed reaction for the 10-count at 1:33.

Serrano, 124.8 lbs of Carolina, PR is 40-1-1 with 30 knockouts. Bermudez, 125 lbs of Argentina is 29-4-3.

“I mean, this is boxing. I am not invisible, I get hit,” said Serrano who lives and trains out of Brooklyn, N.Y. “I knew I was a lot bigger than her. I was listening to my corner to box and I wanted to put on a show in front of my island and that’s what I did. The knockout came in the ninth which shows that I have power until the very end.”

“I want to become undisputed,” stated Serrano. “I want to be the first undisputed champion to come out of my beautiful island of Puerto Rico. That’s definitely my goal – IBF, WBA. Nothing against any champion but I want those belts. If they want to become undisputed champion, then they need to come through me too, so we need each other.”

Caraballo Stops Leonardo Baez in 4!

Carlos Caraballo stopped Leonardo Baez in round four of their scheduled eight-round super bantamweight bout.

In round two, Caraballo put Baez on the floor after a vicious flurry of hard punches that was capped by three flush uppercuts. In round four, Caraballo pounded away with huge shots, and the towel was thrown in at 2:36.

Caraballo, 120.2 lbs of Puerto Rico is 14-0 with 14 knockouts. Baez, 119.4 lbs of Mexicali, MEX is 18-4.

“I want to thank God, Ring City USA and NBC Sports Network for this opportunity,” said Caraballo. “What we did was worked that uppercut, we knew he was a big, strong guy. I knew I had to work that body and sooner or later the uppercut would come. When it did, we finished the fight.”

“I am 100% sure that I am the most distinguished prospect on the island,” boasted Caraballo. “My goal was to go in there and get a couple rounds in, and I got it done.”

Eduardo Baez Decisions Ortiz

Eduardo Baez won an eight-round unanimous decision over Abimael Ortiz in a super bantamweight bout.

Baez landed 366 of 1171 punches; Ortiz was 130 of 650.

Baez, 121.6 lbs of Mexicali, MEX won by scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73 and is now 19-1-2. Ortiz, 121.6 lbs of Cidra, PR is 8-1-1.

“From the first to the last round we followed the strategy and that’s what gave us the victory,” said Eduardo Baez. “The strategy was to go forward without getting hit and that’s what we did.”

“Abimael is very strong physically and has power,” added Baez. “But I listened to my corner and have good physical condition and that was the key to win.”

“I wanted to show them that conditioning inside of the ring is key so I would throw a lot of punch combinations during sparring so that they would be used to that high intensity interval training in the ring,” said Chocolatito in a Ring City USA event earlier this week. “They always push forward in the ring and have great conditioning so that is a great factor.”

Juan Carlos Camacho won an eight-round split decision over Marvin Solano in a bantamweight fight.

In round eight, Camacho scored a knockdown with a right hand.

Camacho won two cards 76-75. Solano won a card 78-73.

Camacho, 116.4 lbs of Juana Diaz, PR is 12-1. Solano, 117.6 lbs of Juana Diaz, PR is 23-6.

Midyael Sanchez won an eight-round split-decision over Ryan Pino in a super welterweight bout,

In round two, Sanchez dropped Pino with a big left hook.

He needed that as Pino made a furious rally over the second half of the fight.

Sanchez, 149.6 lbs of San Juan, PR won two cards 76-75 while, Pino, 147.6 lbs of San Juan, PR took a card 76-75.

Sanchez is 9-1. Pino is 8-6-2.

Oscar Colllazo won a six-round unanimous decision over Francisco Bonilla in a flyweight bout.

Collazo, 111.6 lbs of Puerto Rico won by scores of 60-54 on all cards is now 3-0. Bonilla, 11.6 lbs of Chihuahua, MEX is 6-10-3.

Arely Mucino won an eight-round unanimous decision over Lucia Hernandez in a super flyweight bout.

In round eight, Mucino landed a short right that made the Glove of Hernandez touch the ground for a knockdown.

Muciono, 115 lbs of Monterrey, MEX won by scores of 80-71 on all cards, and is now 29-3-2. Hernandez, 109.2 lbs of Mexico City, MEX is 7-11.

Angel Carranza won a four-round unanimous decision over Eduardo Melendez in a lightweight bout.

In round one, Carranza dropped Melendez with a short left hook.

Carranza, 131 1/2 lbs of Hatillo, PR won by scores of 40-35 on all cards, and is now 2-0. Melendez, 130 3/4 lbs of Santa Isabel, PR is 5-30.