Jose Sanchez Decisions Walter Santibanes

Jose Sanchez won a 10-round unanimous decision over Walter Santibanes in a action filled super bantamweight bout at the Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.

Sanchez, 124.4 lbs of Cathedral City, CA won by scores of 99-91 twice and 98-92 and is now 12-0. Santibanes, 124.5 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is now 12-3.

“I want to thank Golden Boy and Miguel Cotto Promotions for giving me the opportunity to fight for the first time in front of my hometown as the main event,” said Tito Sanchez. “This was a real war. The crowd’s cheers kept me going through the tough times, and with them having my back, I was able to push through and get the victory. My right middle knuckle was severely injured in the third round, but I made it 10-rounds with the Coachella Valley’s support.

Eric Priest remained undefeated with a first round stoppage over Paul Mendez in a eight-round middleweight out.

In round one, Priest dumped Mendez with a hard right hand. Mendez was hurt throughout the round and landed a huge flurry of punches that forced a referee stoppage at 2:09.

Priest, 161.4 lbs of Kansas City, KS is now 12-0 with eight knockouts. Mendez, 160 lbs of Delano, CA is 21-5-2.

“After my last fight, I made a lot of adjustments and I believe that’s what helped me get the knockout tonight,” said Eric Priest. “Training with Ismael Salas in Las Vegas has been great for my career – I have been able to rub elbows with top level fighters as well as current and former world champions who help me improve my craft. My message to the middleweight division is that if you didn’t know me before, you’ll know me now.”

Jorge Chavez remained undefeated by stopping Jerson Ortiz after round two of their eight-round super bantamweight bout.

In round one, Chavez dropped Ortiz with a flurry in the corner. Chavez continued to punish Ortiz, and the fight was stopped in the corner after round two,

Chavez, 123.6 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 9-0 with seven knockouts. Ortiz, 123.8 lbs of Managua, NIC is 17-10.

Ricardo Ruvalcaba remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Irvin Macias in a welterweight fight.

In round five, Macias began to bleed from the nose.

Ruvalcaba, 141.6 lbs of Ventura, CA won by scores of 80-72 twice and 78-74 and is now 11-0-1. Macias, 142 lbs of Monterrey, MEX is 15-4.

Justin Figueroa remained undefeated with a third-round stoppage over Jerome Clayton in a four-round junior middleweight bout.

In round two, Fugueroa dropped Clayton with an overhand right to the top of the head. Late in the round Figueroa scored a knockdown on a right to the body.

In round three, Figueroa dropped Clayton with a straight right to the face. Figueroa ended things when he dropped Clayton with another body shot at 1:58.

Figueroa, 153.4 lbs of Atlantic City, NJ is 7-0 with six knockouts. Clayton, 154 lbs of New Orleans is 9-3-1.




Curiel Stops Pennington in Final Seconds

Raul Curiel remained undefeated by stopping Courtney Pennington in the final round of their 10-round welterweight bout at The Fantasy Springs Casino Resort in Indio, California.

Curiel won just about all of the rounds and landed a flurry in the corner that did not seem to have Pennington in that much trouble, but the referee stopped the bout at 2:53.

Curiel. 147 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 13-0 with 11 knockouts. Pennington, 146 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 17-7-3.

“He is truly a warrior with tremendous experience. I threw everything at my disposal, and he took it all,” said Raul Curiel. “I took my time in the ring and we got the victory we trained hard for. This fight helped shake off some of the cobwebs after not being inside the ring for more than half a year, so I am proud of the work I did in there and learned a lot.”

Manny Flores stopped Jerson Ortiz in round two of a scheduled 10-round super bantamweight bout.

In round one, Flores dropped Ortiz with an uppercut. Later in the round it was a little right hook on the inside. In round two, Flores was aggressive and landed a big flurry that was finished off with a left hand that put Ortiz down for a third and final time at 50 seconds.

Flores, 120 lbs of Coachella, CA is 16-1 with 12 knockouts. Ortiz, 119.8 lbs of Managua, NIC is 17-8.

“I showed everyone the REAL ‘Gucci Manny’ tonight. This is the real me,” said Manuel Flores. “I showed that when I’m disciplined and work hard no one can beat me. We put in the miles and the rounds in for this fight. I expected my opponent to come forward a little more, but I’m glad we got the win.”

Grant Flores remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Jaleik Bogle in a super welterweight bout.

In round five, Flores sent Bogle down with a right hand.

Flores landed 140 of 339 punches. Bogles was 48 of 220.

Flores, 151 lbs of Coachella, CA won by scores of 60-53 on all cards is now 3-0. Bogle, 151 lbs of Tampa, FL is 4-2-2.

Daniel Luna remained undefeated with a second round stoppage over Alexander Gutierrez in a scheduled four-round lightweight bout.

In round two, Luna dropped Gutierrez with a left to the body. Gutierrez tried to get up but went back to his knee and the fight was over at 1:53.

Luna, 134 lbs of Victorville, CA is 3-0 with three knockouts. Gutierrez, 129.8 lbs of Lake Elsinore, CA is 0-3.

Jorge Chavez remained undefeated with a third-round stoppage of veteran Marvin Solano in a scheduled six-round featherweight bout.

In the final seconds of round three, Chavez hurt Solano with a left hook and sent him down with a chopping right hand. Solano did not beat the count at 2:59.

Chavez, 123.8 lbs of San Diego is 8-0 with six knockouts. Solano, 122.2 lbs of Managua, NIC is 24-11.




Prograis Stops Zepeda in 11 to Win WBC Super Lightweight Title

CARSON, CALIFORNIA– In an impressive performance, Regis Prograis claimed the vacant WBC light welterweight title with an eleventh-round knockout of longtime contender Jose Zepeda at the Dignity Sports Health Park. 

Prograis (28-1, 24 KOs) of New Orleans, Louisiana proved to have too many dimensions for Zepeda (35-3, 27 KOs) of La Puente, California. When the flow of the bout called for him to box, Prograis boxed. When Zepeda drew him into an inside action fight, Prograis more than handled himself. 

Zepeda, 139.4, caught Prograis, 139, leaning to the left for the shot that got a rise out of the crowd in the first. Prograis landed well with his jab early in the second, but Zepeda came back late in the round. 

After boxing well at distance for much of the third, Prograis, who entered as the WBC #2 ranked contender, nearly came out of his shoes as he fired off a clean left late in the round. When Prograis went for another sweeping left, Zepeda, the WBC #1 ranked contender, threw his own in concert as the two landed simultaneous hard shots to close out the third.

After getting beaten to the jab, Zepeda drew Prograis into a firefight to close out the fourth, much to the delight of the crowd. The back-and-forth action resumed in the fifth, as neither fighter would let a clean blow go unanswered. 

Prograis controlled much of sixth, turning the fight into a boxing match with his pinpoint jab and movement. Prograis’ feints and ring generalship troubled Zepeda again for much of the seventh. Before the close of the round, an accidental clash of heads drew blood from the nose of Prograis. 

Prograis continued to outbox Zepeda through rounds eight and nine before Zepeda got him to stand-and-trade heading into the tenth. 

The tenth would feature thrilling two-way action throughout, briefly breathing new life into Zepeda’s standing in the bout as Prograis abandoned his jab first style. 

The momentum shift would be brief as Prograis rocked and dropped Zepeda along the ropes early in the eleventh. Referee Ray Corona waved off the contest at 59 seconds of round eleven. 

After the bout, Prograis refused to call out any of the other names at 140-pounds, considering he is now a champion that should be called out by them. 

For Zepeda, the third time did not end up being the charm as all three of his professional defeats have come in world title attempts. 

Valle Decisions Bermudez to Win Light Flyweight Titles

In the co-main event, IBF/WBO 105-pound champion Yokasta Valle (27-2, 9 KOs) of San Jose, San Jose, Costa Rica moved up in weight to claim the light flyweight version of the same two titles from previously undefeated champion Evelyn Bermudez (17-1-1, 6 KOs) of Santa de la Vera Cruz, Santa Fe, Argentina via ten-round majority decision.

Valle, 107.4, was active and determined, but the naturally larger Argentine stood up well to the punches throughout the fight. After getting outworked at times early, Bermudez, 106, timed her right hand well in round four and caught the busier Valle clean. 

Valle kept a busy pace for all ten rounds, but it appeared Bermudez had the power edge and may have taken rounds with a well-placed right hand or two. 

In the end, two judges gave Bermudez very little credit, handing in scores of 99-91 and 97-93 for Valle. The third card was even, 95-95. 

After the win, Valle expressed her desire to meet fellow champion Seniesa Estrada at whatever weight class the fight can be made.

2016 and 2020 Uzbekistani Olympian Bakhodir Jalolov (12-0, 12 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York by way of Sariosiyo, Uzbekistan kept his knockout streak alive with a fourth-round stoppage of journeyman Curtis Harper (14-9, 9 KOs) of Jacksonville, Florida. 

Jalolov, 247.6, controlled the bout from the early stages, keeping Harper, 260, on the end of his long punches from the southpaw stance. 

Harper grew frustrated to the point of intentionally headbutting and hitting on the break during the second round, which earned him a warning from the referee. 

In the third, a straight left from Jalolov dropped Harper hard, who got up seconds before the bell and the round would close just before they could touch again.

Jalolov ended the fight, dropping Harper with a combination near the blue corner in the fourth. Harper rose before the count of ten, but referee Thomas Taylor opted the call the one-sided bout. Official time of the stoppage was 1:53 of the fourth. 

IBF #4/WBC #5/WBO #8/WBA #12 ranked light middleweight Charles Conwell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio took a hard-fought ten-round majority decision over veteran gatekeeper Juan Carlos Abreu (25-7-1, 23 KOs) of La Romana, La Romana, Dominican Republic.

Conwell, 153.8, found himself bleeding from his left eye early in the second after some inside fighting. Despite being bothered by the blood, Conwell pressed the action in the third, briefly stopping Abreu, 154, in his tracks with a clean combination upstairs. 

Conwell continued to force himself in rounds four and five, but some well-placed shots by Abreu worsened the 2016 U.S. Olympian’s cut, creating some drama as the fight moved to the middle rounds. 

Abreu, who entered as the WBC #15 ranked 154-pound contender, had one of his better rounds in round seven as he backed up Conwell with consistent combinations. However, Conwell would land the most telling blow late in the round, as a body shot forced Abreu to wince and drop his hands near the bell. 

As the fight wore on both fighters had their moments as they kept a busy junior middleweight pace in a bout that the three ringside judges would have a wide range of views. In the end, Conwell improved his ranking in what was billed as a WBC semi-final eliminator. One judge had it even, 95-95, while the other two scored it for Conwell, 98-92 and 96-94.

The son of the beloved former champion of the same name, Fernando Vargas Jr. (7-0, 7 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada hammered overnmatched local Alejandro Martinez (3-3-1, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles, California en route to a second-round stoppage to open the pay-per-view telecast. 

Vargas, 150, utilized his natural size advantage to control the first round before opening up offensively to start the second. Martinez, 151.2, was outgunned and hit the canvas after a combination early in the round. Referee Ray Corona took a good look at Martinez, but allowed the bout to continue before another two-punch combination forced Martinez to slide to the canvas and forced the stoppage at 2:40 of round two. 

Super bantamweight prospect Nathan Rodriguez (10-0, 7 KOs) of Pico Rivera, California turned back a game Jerson Ortiz (17-6, 8 KOs) of Managua, Nicaragua to score a wide eight-round unanimous decision in a bout tougher than the scores would lead you to believe. 

Rodriguez, 123.4, scored a knockdown during an exchange early in the third. Ortiz, 123.8, opted for the offense is the best defense approach and was downed again midway through the round. 

Through three rounds a distance result looked unlikely, but Ortiz landed some windmill shots to some effect in the fourth before Rodriguez turned back the tide late in the round. The two would engage in two-way exchanges down the stretch of the fight, as Ortiz made a fight out of it after the bleak beginning. The judges could not be swayed to credit Ortiz much for his effort, as Rodriguez took the bout and the minor WBC FECARBOX title by scores of 80-70 and 79-71 twice.

In an upset, Eduardo Estela (14-1, 9 KOs) of Montevideo, Uruguay spoiled the previously unblemished record Ruben Torres (19-1, 16 KOs) of Santa Monica, California via a hard-fought eight-round split decision. 

Estela, 136, staggered Torres, 136.2, against the ropes midway through the first, scoring a knockdown and prompting a count from referee Thomas Taylor. Estela pressed for the remainder of the round, but Torres managed to regain his footing. 

Torres fared much better in rounds two and three before Estela closed out the fourth strong, knocking the Californian off balance late in the round. Estela continued as the aggressor through the late rounds, forcing the crowd favorite Torres to fight on the move or with his back to the ropes much of the time. Torres stood his ground and fought at a beneficial distance in the eighth to close out the bout, but in the end it was not enough to leave Carson with his unbeaten record intact. Two judges scored in favor of Estela, 78-73 and 76-75. Torres took the dissenting card 76-75. 

One of two sons of Fernando Vargas on the card, Amado Vargas (5-0, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas passed a tougher-than-expected test in the form of Osmar Olmos Hernandez (1-2) of Santa Clarita, California.

Vargas, 125.8, opened the four-round bout at a frantic pace, eventually downing Olmos Hernandez, 124.4, with an overhand right early in the first round. Two follow-up lefts would cost the young Vargas a point as referee Jerry Cantu ruled they had come after the knockdown was scored. 

Olmos Hernandez finished the first with renewed vigor and carried that energy into the second frame. The stanza would feature back-and-forth action as both Vargas and Olmos Hernandez swung for the fences with little regard for defense. 

As the fight wound down, Vargas settled into more of a boxer’s posture which enabled the offspring “El Feroz” to cruise to a unanimous decision by scores of 39-35 and 38-36 twice.

Slick southpaw Austin Brooks (9-0, 3 KOs) of La Mesa, California pounded away at sturdy Jesus Roman (8-6, 3 KOs) of Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico en route to a third-round stoppage. 

Brooks,129, opted to fight at close range despite his size advantage and was just too quick and strong for the game Roman, 129.6. The Mexican native fought hard throughout but ultimately wilted to the mat after a barrage in third. Referee Jerry Cantu waved off the contest at 2:03 of the round.

Local middleweight prospect Eric Priest (9-0, 7 KOs) of Los Angeles barely broke a sweat before scoring a three-knockdown KO of Luis Alberto Vera (11-22-2, 1 KO) of Buenos Aires.

Priest, 160, flurried Vera, 159.8, to the mat for two quick knockdowns in the opening round. Vera had no answer for anything Priest had to offer and was put down a third time by a stinging body shot moments later. Referee Thomas Taylor stopped the bout immediately after Vera took to a knee for the third knockdown.

Jacob Macalolooy (4-0, 3 KOs) of Union City, California remained unbeaten with a second-round stoppage of Terrance Jarmon (3-2, 1 KO) of Toledo, Ohio to open tonight’s card.

Macalolooy, 146.8, dropped Jarmon, 144, late in the first with an overhand left. The southpaw Jarmon fought in survival mode for the remainder of the first and survived to the bell. However it was just a matter of time before Macalolooy ended the bout, dropping Jarmon early in the second, prompting a stoppage from refereeJerry Cantu at the 1:02 mark of round two.