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Manny Pacquiao Beats Adrien Broner in Las Vegas Return

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LAS VEGAS-After a slow start the Manny Pacquiao train picked up steam and might have jump started the flooded welterweight division while retaining the WBA world title on Saturday.

Pacquiao (61-7-2, 39 KOs) made his debut for Premier Boxing Champions with a decisive win over Adrien Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs) before a crowd of 13,025 mostly partisan fans at the MGM Grand.

It was the Filipino superstar’s first fight in Las Vegas since November 2016 when he defeated Jessie Vargas. Once again he showed what separates him from other top welterweights.

Pacquiao had problems fighting Broner’s style at first. It’s the same counter-punching method used by Broner’s mentor Floyd Mayweather and it proved effective during the first half of the fight. But the Filipino southpaw slowly found the antidote.

Broner’s lead right cross proved effective and when he mixed in jabs it seemed to give Pacquiao pause until the fifth round. Then a one-two combination followed by a lightning three-punch combination seemed to put Pacquiao in the driver’s seat temporarily.

Pacquiao finally took charge in round seven when Broner connected with a solid left hook. Immediately Pacquiao retaliated with an overhand left cross that seemed to stagger Broner and that’s when the blows came raining down. Pacquiao unloaded a six-punch combination then followed with a 13-punch blitzkrieg that had Broner covering up. Every punch in the Filipino’s arsenal came into play. Broner survived.

Although Broner seemed hurt, he was able to transition into a survival mode and allowed Pacquiao to take full control of the fight. From the seventh round until the 11th round Pacquiao steamed ahead.

The Cincinnati fighter Broner mounted a short rally in the 11th round with a one-two combination followed by a left hook. Broner used that combination twice more in the round and capped it with a right cross. It was Broner’s best round since the sixth. But it wasn’t enough.

All three judges clearly saw Pacquiao the winner 117-111 and 116-112 twice. He retains the WBA world title and he now opens up the welterweight division for some potential blockbuster fights.

“I feel so happy because I did my best in the fight and in training,” said Pacquiao. “Thank God for this victory.”

Broner was astonished at the scores. Everybody out there knows I beat him,” said Broner. “I controlled the fight, he was missing. I hit him clean more times. I beat him.”

Now that Pacquiao has signed a promotional contract with PBC, a bevy of potential bouts await such as Errol Spence Jr., Mikey Garcia, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman. And of course Floyd Mayweather is a desired foe and was sitting ringside during the fight.

Other Bouts

Marcus Browne wins

Blood poured in the second half of the fight and Marcus Browne (23-0, 16 KOs) took advantage with a consistent attack against Badou Jack (22-2-3, 13 KOs) that allowed him to take the interim light heavyweight titles by unanimous decision.

A violent clash of heads in the seventh round saw Jack emerge with a three-inch gash and from that point on, blood impeded any hopes of Jack mounting a serious rally. No knockdowns were scored and after 12 rounds all three judges favored Browne 119-108, 117-110, 116-111.

Nordine Oubaali

Frenchman Nordine Oubaali (15-0, 11 KOs) took the WBC bantamweight world title from Cincinnati’s Rau’Shee Warren by unanimous decision in a battle of southpaws.

Oubaali found continuous success with the right hook and often doubled it up to score repeatedly throughout the 12 round fight. Warren seemed unable to solve the puzzle and found success with the right jab at first, until Oubaali connected with a sizzling left counter early in the fight.

Warren tried repeatedly to walk down the French bantamweight but was often out-hit during the exchanges. In the seventh round the American southpaw stood his ground and fired furious volleys against Oubaali but was still out-hit by the Frenchman.

It was clear during the last three rounds of the fight that Warren needed a knockout or some knockdowns to turn the momentum, but was stymied through every attempt. Oubaali seemed to always get that last punch in.

All three judges saw it Oubaali’s way 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111 for Oubaali the new WBC bantamweight world titlist.

“It’s a big night, I’m very, very happy,” said Oubaali. “I made my dream come true.”

Warren was very cordial despite the loss.

“He wanted it more,” said Warren. “Congratulations to Oubaali.”

Hector Ruiz

Hector “Cuatito” Ruiz (38-4, 31 KOs) went to work immediately against last minute replacement Alberto Guevara (27-4, 12 KOs, flooring Guevara in the first round of their battle of Mexican featherweights. From there on it was the “flight of the bumblebee” for Guevara who used every trick he knew to survive. After 10 listless rounds Ruiz was deemed the winner by unanimous decision 100-89, and 99-90 twice.

The original opponent for Ruiz was supposed to be Jhack Tepora but he weighed five pounds heavier than the required 126-pound limit. Guevara took the fight on one-day notice.

Off-TV Undercard Results

The off-TV undercard was reduced to five fights when the match between Genisis Libranza and Carlos Buitrago was cancelled. The culprit was Buitrago who came in overweight.

George Kambosos, Manny Pacquiao’s chief sparring partner for PacMan’s last three fights, improved to 16-0 (9) with an 8-round decision over Rey Perez (24-11). The heavily tattooed Kambosos, from New South Wales, Australia, pays homage to his Greek heritage with images of Spartan warriors inked on his back. He pressed the action throughout en route to winning all eight rounds in what was a monotonous fight.

In an action-packed 8-round welterweight affair, Jonathan Steele (9-2-1) scored a split decision over Jayar Inson (17-2). The scores were 78-73, 77-74, 74-77. Inson, one of several Filipinos on the card, went down hard near the end of the first round but fought his way back into the fight. Steele is part of the burgeoning Dallas boxing scene.

Desmond Jarmon won a majority decision over Canton Miller in a 6-round match in the super featherweight class. The scores were 59-55, 58-56, and 57-57.

In a 4-round welterweight match, Destyne Butler cruised to a unanimous decision over David Payne. Butler won all four rounds on all three cards.

In a 4-round cruiserweight fight, Viddal Riley (2-0, 2 KOs), blew away Sacramento debutant Mitchell Spangler in 35 seconds. Riley, who hails from London, is trained by Jeff Mayweather.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

Arne K. Lang contributed to this report.

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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