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Knockout Artist Vergil Ortiz Jr. Opposes Antonio Orozco in Texas Homecoming

LOS ANGELES – Welterweight sluggers Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Antonio Orozco met at the historic El Cholo’s restaurant in Los Angeles to greet the media on Tuesday in announcing their upcoming conflict later this summer.
El Cholo’s restaurant, one of the oldest Mexican eateries in Los Angeles and famous for its margaritas, has hosted some other pre-fight events in the past. All were significant in their time.
Could this possibly be a sign?
Undefeated Ortiz (13-0, 13 KOs), a native Texan, has never met a foe he could not knock out and finds himself paired against Orozco (28-1, 17 KOs) on Aug. 10, in Grand Prairie, Texas. He’ll be joined on the boxing card by fellow Texans Joshua Franco and Hector Tanajara.
Golden Boy Promotions’ executives, along with trainers and managers of the main event fighters, met at the Mexican restaurant that originated in 1923, which in modern Los Angeles makes it prehistoric. Though it’s not the original location – El Cholo’s was formerly located near USC.
In the few times El Cholo’s hosted press conferences, the fights led to significant moments in boxing.
The last time I took part in a boxing press conference at El Cholo’s was possibly back in 2003 when Don King brought his charge John “the Quiet Man” Ruiz who was set to defend his heavyweight world title against Roy Jones Jr. Before that, I remember popular “Yory Boy” Campas in a press conference in the mid-1990s; maybe for his fight against Cassius Clay Horne at the Olympic Auditorium or Young Dick Tiger. Both took place in 1995.
All of those fights proved to be important for the winners. Roy Jones Jr. became the first former middleweight champion since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 to win the heavyweight world title. Campas would later fight Fernando Vargas and Oscar De La Hoya in world title challenges.
Will the winner in this clash find similar success?
Ortiz, 21, has pounded his way to the top of the rankings as first a super lightweight and now a welterweight. Every single win came via a brain rattling knockout.
His last win against veteran boxing wizard Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was eye popping.
The Riverside prizefighter Herrera was seemingly robbed of the super lightweight world titles when he fought Danny Garcia in Puerto Rico in 2014 and had never lost by knockout. This past May, that streak ended. Herrera was stopped in the third round by Ortiz.
Now we have Orozco.
Orozco
The San Diego-based prizefighter has also never been knocked out and only recently was given his first loss as a professional.
Known as “Relentless” Orozco, the former super lightweight contender is moving up in weight after toiling for the last several years to make the 140-pound weight limit. Now he ascends to 147 pounds along with Ortiz. Will the extra weight make a difference for the San Diego fighter?
“He’s going to be stronger,” said Ortiz of his future foe.
Orozco, 31, fought for the WBC super lightweight world title against current champion Jose Carlos Ramirez last September. Their explosive encounter was one of the best fights in 2018 and showed the gutsiness of the San Diego prizefighter.
“I’m glad people were able to see my heart and courage,” said Orozco, who despite being knocked down twice rose up each time and battled with a ferocity that impressed those in attendance and those watching on television.
It remains Orozco’s only loss.
For Ortiz, though he won by knockout in all of his previous fights, he expects more from Orozco who fought against his stablemate Jose Carlos Ramirez in Fresno, Calif. and battled passionately for 12 rounds. Both Ortiz and Ramirez train in Riverside, Calif. under the guidance of Robert Garcia Sr.
“It’s going to be a really tough fight and I’m excited about this opportunity. This is going to be eye candy for the fans,” said Ortiz who grew up in the Dallas, Texas area near Grand Prairie.
Orozco feels equally excited.
“There’s going to be a lot of fireworks,” said Orozco. “Everybody knows I’m relentless.”
Both Orozco and Ortiz fight under the Golden Boy Promotions banner and know that the world will be watching this welterweight showdown streamed by DAZN.
“Like I said it’s going to be eye candy for the fans,” Ortiz said.
Photo by Tarrah Zael. Pictured left to right: Hector Tanajara, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Antonio Orozco, Joshua Franco
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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.
Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.
Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.
The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.
In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.
Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.
Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.
From the seventh until the 10th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.
“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”
Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.
Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”
Other Bouts
Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.
A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.
The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.
San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.
Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.
Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.
With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.
Co-Feature
Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.
Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.
Other Bouts of Note
New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.
In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.
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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.
It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.
Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.
In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.
The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.
As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) — has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.
Other Bouts of Note
In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.
Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.
A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.
It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.
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