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Ringside at the Cosmo: Frampton Wins Impressively; Valdez TKOs Lopez

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Ringside at the Cosmo: Frampton Wins Impressively; Valdez TKOs Lopez

LAS VEGAS, NV — The Chelsea Theater at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas is one of the better fight venues in the country. The seats in the tiered rows in the balcony provide an excellent view of the action; there isn’t a bad seat in the joint.

Dull fights can spoil the ambiance, but Bob Arum’s Top Rank organization presented a strong card that delivered good entertainment throughout.

Valdez-Lopez

Oscar Valdez, a two-time Olympian for Mexico, made his first foray into the 130-pound class tonight after seven successful defenses of his WBO featherweight title. In the opposite corner was late sub Adam Lopez who was on the card and bumped into the main go when Valdez’s opponent came in 11 pounds overweight at Friday’s weigh-in.

In round two, Lopez took a leaf from Cinderella and knocked Valdez down hard with a short left uppercut after missing with an overhand right. For a moment, it seemed that a mammoth upset was brewing. But Valdez returned the favor in the seventh frame with a blistering overhand right that knocked Lopez down and almost through the ropes. Lopez beat the count but absorbed a series of unanswered punches, compelling referee Russell Mora to intervene. The official time was 2:53 of round seven.

Valdez improved to 27-0 with his 21st stoppage, but he earned his pay. At the end, he had a big welt under his left eye. The plucky Lopez fell to 13-2.

Frampton-McCreary

In the co-main, Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton, coming off a loss to Josh Warrington and an 11-month break elongated by a freak injury to his left hand, looked very sharp in winning a lopsided 10-round decision over Tyler McCreary.

Frampton’s game plan was to target the midsection of McCreary who had a four-inch height advantage. He implemented the plan to perfection. In round five he sank McCreary with a right-left combo, both to the body. In round nine, McCreary went down again from a fast 1-2, both lefts, to the liver. The fight went the full 10 with the judges in accordance:100-88. In the end, McCreary, who fell to 16-1-1, just wasn’t busy enough and couldn’t keep Frampton at bay with his longer reach.

Frampton had the crowd in his corner. When he was introduced, it seemed like half of Belfast was in the building. He improved to 27-2 and stayed on course to pursue a world title in a third weight class.

Teixeira-Adames

In a tumultuous 12-round battle sanctioned for the WBO “interim” 154-pound world title, Brazil’s Patrick Teixeira (31-1) came back from the brink to send the fight to the judges and emerge victorious with a split decision over previously unbeaten Carlos Adames (19-1).

Teixeira’s badly damaged left eye commanded frequent looks from the ring doctor. He also developed a cut under the right eye. At one point it appeared that Teixeira, who absorbed numerous head-snapping punches, would be rescued from further punishment by referee Robert Byrd. But he never stopped punching and the tide turned with seconds remaining in round eight when he landed a straight left that sent Adames sprawling into the ropes, a clear knockdown. That punch factored into the outcome as Teixeira prevailed by 114-113 on two cards, 116-111 on the other.

Other Bouts

In his best performance to date, super lightweight Arnold Barboza Jr advanced to 23-0 (10) with a fifth-round knockout of Florida-based Brazilian William Silva (27-3).

The undefeated Barboza, from South El Monte, CA, knocked Silva flat on his back with a sweeping left hook in round two and finished the job three rounds later with a vicious right to the liver. In a delayed reaction, Silva crumpled to the floor in obvious distress and was counted out.

In a torrid 8-round welterweight scrap that had the crowd buzzing, Salt Lake City’s Larry Gomez upset previously undefeated Brian Mendoza, winning a split decision (77-75, 77-75, 75-77). Albuquerque’s Mendoza, 18-0 going in, started strong and landed the cleaner punches, but Gomez (10-1, 9 KOs) never took a backward step and won over the judges with his power punches.

Also

Six-foot-six ex-Olympian Guido Vianelli (6-0, 6 KOs) needed only 44 seconds to dismiss Colby Madison. A short chopping right hand put Madison on the deck and referee Jay Nady waived it off as Madison was struggling to regain his feet. Madison, 36, declines to 8-2-2.

8 rounds super lightweights

Andy Hiraoka (15-0, 10 KOs), from Yokohama, Japan, stopped Rogelio Casarez (13-9), Batesville, Ark, in the second round. Hiraoka decked Casarez with a short right hand and then turned up the heat with a fusillade of unanswered blows, forcing the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:16 of round two. It was the fourth straight loss for Casarez

In a swing bout slated for four rounds in the welterweight division, high school senior Xander Zayas, who turned 17 in September, stopped North Carolina’s Virgil Windfield in the opening round. Windfield took a knee after absorbing a short right hand and when the situation repeated itself referee Russell Mora thought it prudent to stop the bout. Zayas (2-0, 2 KOs) has a seek-and-destroy mentality. The lanky Windfield, who was out of his element, falls to 2-3-1.

In the walk-out bout, recent Top Rank signee Jared Anderson (2-0, 2 KOs) stopped Stephen Kirnon (2-3-1) in 90 seconds. Anderson has great potential but keeping his weight in check could be an issue as he moves forward. He came in at 237 pounds tonight and looked a little too thick in the lower body.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams for Top Rank

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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

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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

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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

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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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