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Estrada Overcomes Gonzalez in a Great Dallas Firefight; Braekhus Loses Again

The rematch between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez was hyped as a potential Fight of the Year. The hype was more than justified. The little giants went toe-to-toe in a memorable battle and when the smoke cleared, Estrada retained his WBC super flyweight title with a split decision.
This was a rematch. In their first meeting in November of 2012 in LA, Gonzalez won a unanimous decision, prevailing by scores of 118-110 and 116-112 twice. There were scattered boos when the scores were announced. The fight was closer than that.
Tonight one of the scorecards was also curious. Judge Carlos Sucre, a Miami man born in Venezuela, gave nine rounds to Estrada, the Mexican. The other judges were split: 115-113 and 113-115. In the eyes of many, Nicaragua’s Gonzalez nipped it when he wobbled Estrada in the final frame. Regardless, it was an outstanding fight — boxing at its best.
Estrada, who went to post the favorite at odds of 8/5, is 16-1 since losing to Chocolatito in their first encounter. The loss was inflicted by Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (aka Wisaksil Wangek) and he avenged that defeat in a rematch. A rubber match with Rungvisai is likely next on Estrada’s docket.
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In a woman’s bout with all four meaningful welterweight belts on the line, late bloomer Jessica McCaskill turned away revenge-minded Cecilia Braekhus, winning a wide 10-round decision. McCaskill, 36, out-worked Braekhus in their first encounter, winning a popular majority decision to saddle Braekhus with her first loss and end the sport’s longest active title run. Tonight’s fight wasn’t as close – McCaskill prevailed by scores of 100-89, 99-90, and 98-91 – albeit the bout wasn’t nearly as one-sided as the scores would suggest. MsCaskill advanced to 10-2. The 39-year-old Braekhus, who had a point deducted in the seventh round for holding, suffered her second straight loss after opening her career 36-0.
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The 12-round light flyweight contest between Hiroto Kyoguchi and Axel Aragon Vega was a lively contest for as long as it lasted. It ended in the fifth when Vega turned away in pain after landing a punch that plainly broke his right hand. It was the first start outside the Orient for Kyoguchi (14-0, 10 KOs), who was making the fourth defense of the title he won from Hekkie Budler in Macao. The 20-year-old Vega (14-4-1), from Ensenada, was bidding to become the shortest fighter to win a world title since the late South African stalwart Baby Jake Matlala who may have been an inch taller than Vega at 4’10 ½.”
Other Bouts
In an uninteresting swing bout, French-Senagalese junior middleweight Souleymane Cissokho (12-0, 8 KOs) scored a sixth-round stoppage of Mexico’s Daniel Echevarria (21-11). Cissokho, who is co-managed by Anthony Joshua, missed all of 2020 and looked rusty. Echeverria, who came in 12 pounds overweight, has won only two of his last 12 starts.
Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, the 2020 TSS Prospect of the Year, improved to 8-0 (6), but was extended the distance by late sub Denis Douglin (22-8) who was outclassed but never stopped trying. This was a step up in class for “Ammo.” Douglin, who is trained by his mom, is a 12-year pro who had been in the ring with four world title-holders. The scores were 77-5 and 79-73 twice.
The opening bout of the card was an entertaining 8-round contest between featherweights Raymond Ford and Aaron Perez. A 2018 National Golden Gloves champion from Camden, New Jersey, Ford was the house fighter and expected to have an easy test with Albuquerque’s Perez who was undefeated (10-0 coming in) but had defeated only one man with a winning record. But Perez was scrappy and held Ford (8-0-1) to a draw, a well-received verdict albeit the 78-74 tally for the New Mexican was a head-scratcher. The other judges had it 77-75 for Ford and 76-76.
Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom
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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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