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Undercard Results from the Crawford-Spence Card

LAS VEGAS, NV — The Crawford-Spence mega-fight was girded with nine other bouts. Had they all gone the distance – which obviously had scant chance of happening – 80 rounds of boxing would have been completed before the match that everyone came to see.
The first of the preliminaries commenced at 1 pm with the main attraction yet roughly eight hours away. At this time, there weren’t more than a few dozen people in the arena, aside from the folks that had to be there – ring officials, production crews, and gig workers. More than that number milled outside the arena complaining of the heat. For most, the undercard was of no concern.
Tellez-Garcia
The 10-round super welterweight contest Between Yoenis Tellez and Sergio Garcia wasn’t technically part of the undercard. It served as the opening salvo in the four-bout pay-per-view.
Tellez, a native of Santiago, Cuba, currently residing in Stafford, Texas, where he trains under Ronnie Shields, was undefeated but had only five pro fights under his belt. He was subbing for Jesus Ramos who pulled out with a hand injury. Garcia, a 30-year-old Spaniard, had a nice record (34-2, 14 KOs) but he had come up short in his two prior fights on U.S. soil while going the distance with Sebastian Fundora and Tony Harrison.
After two even rounds, Tellez brought the fight to a swift conclusion. A straight right hand knocked the Spaniard on the seat of his pants, He was up in a blink, only to be greeted by another right hand that knocked him flat on his back. Garcia beat the count, but Tellez knocked him into the ropes and loaded up on his punches. The referee intervened. Garcia complained, but to no avail.
The was a big step up in class for Tellez (6-0, 5 KOs) whose trajectory is mindful of his close friend and fellow Cuban-American David Morrell. Tellez (pictured below on the left) has another fight booked next month in Tacoma, Washington, against a fighter from Venezuela with a 32-2 record.
Nelson-Montgomery
Omaha super middleweight Stephen Nelson, a long-time friend and training partner of Terence Crawford, kept his unbeaten record intact with a 10-round unanimous decision over Victorville, California’s Rowdy Legend Montgomery (and yes, that is his real name).
A former National Golden Gloves champion, the 35-year-old Nelson seems quite content to compete in the shadow of Crawford. Despite his record, now 19-0 (15), his career is going nowhere, albeit that’s partly due to injuries. This was only his second fight in the last 34 months, He missed all of 2021 with an Achilles injury.
Montgomery (10-5-1) seldom planted his feet and had no snap on his punches, but was game to the core.
Reyes-Palicte
Tijuana super bantamweight Jose Salas Reyes improved to 13-0 (10 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Filipino veteran Aston Palicte (28-6-1). It initially appeared that the stoppage was premature, but Palicte gave the referee no choice, indicating that he didn’t wish to continue after taking a knee from a left uppercut.
The 21-year-old Reyes is on the fast track. In his last outing this past April, in his U.S. debut, he pitched a 10-round shutout over an undefeated fighter from Ghana. Palicte, a two=time world title challenger at 115 pounds was good enough to hold long-reigning title-holder Donnie Nietes to a draw in 2018, but is now past his prime. His last start came in June of last year when he was stopped in three frames by Jason Moloney in Melbourne.
Other Bouts
Jabin Chollet, a rangy, 21-year-old lightweight from San Diego, advanced to 8-0 (7 KOs) at the expense of Hayward, California’s Michael Portales (3-2-1). It struck many as premature when the fight was waived off — Portales had eaten some hard shots but was still plowing forward — but it was plain that Chollet was too big for him.
Las Vegas lightweight Demler Zamora, a well-touted, 20-year-old southpaw, advanced to 12-0 (9) with a unanimous decision over Nikolai Buzolin, a Brooklyn-based Russian. This bout had several heated exchanges before Buzolin adopted a defensive posture. Zamora swept all three cards across the board.
In a 6-round welterweight contest, Kansas City’s Deshawn Prather (16-1, 2 KOs) won a gift decision over Omaha’s previously undefeated Kevin Ventura (11-1). Prather had one good moment, scoring a flash knockdown with a short straight left, but otherwise spent the entire six rounds on his bicycle. All three judges had it 57-56.
Super featherweight Justin Viloria, a 19-year-old super featherweight from Whittier, CA, won the lid-lifter with a fourth-round stoppage of Mexico’s Pedro Borgero. Viloria improves to 3-0 (3). It was the first pro loss for Borgero (5-1).
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.
Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.
In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.
Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.
Semi-Wind-Up
Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.
Other Bouts of Note
In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.
In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.
Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.
A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry
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