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Results from Las Vegas where Teofimo Lopez Retained his Title in a Dull Fight

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Las Vegas, NV — Mandalay Bay and the neighboring Luxor are the only casino-resorts  within walking distance of Allegiant Stadium, the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl. Today, there was a massive traffic jam around the resort when this reporter arrived in the mid-afternoon. The attraction was Teofimo Lopez who would be defending his WBO 140-pound world title against Massachusetts product Jamaine Ortiz.

Hopefully the big game will provide more entertainment than the fight which was a dull affair. Ortiz got on his bicycle in the opening round and rode it throughout, frustrating Lopez who wasn’t able to cut off the ring. The best punch of the fight wasn’t a punch at all but, rather, an accidental head butt that opened a gash above Ortiz’s left eye. It did not compromise Ortiz’s game plan, however, which was to goad Teofimo into losing his composure by constantly circling to stay out of harm’s way.

The Brooklyn-born Lopez, who was Honduras’ lone representative in the 2016 Olympics, was making the first defense of the belt he won with upset of Josh Taylor after previously holding the lineal lightweight title. With the victory, he improved his ledger to 20-1 (13). Ortiz, who was competitive in a losing effort vs Vasyl Lomachenko, declined to 17-2-1. It was his second loss to Teofimo, the first coming when they were teenagers and met in the finals of a National Golden Gloves tournament.

The judges had it 117-111 and 115-113 twice for the defending champion. He didn’t win via effective aggression, but any aggression is better than no aggression at all.

A lot of enticing fights remain for Teofimo Lopez in the sexy 140-pound division but he has talked about moving up to welterweight to challenge Terence Crawford. Based on his showing tonight, that would be ill-advised.

Co-Feature

Lightweight Keyshawn Davis (10-0-1 NC) stepped up in class after a lackluster performance against Nahir Albright and passed the test with flying colors, dominating Jose Pedraza (29-6-1) en route to a sixth-round stoppage. Pedraza, a 2008 Beijing Olympian and former world title-holder at 130 and 135, was never off his feet but absorbed a bad beating for as long as the match lasted. The Puerto Rican, who turns 35 in May, is now 0-3-1 in his last four and would be wise to call it a career.

Davis, a silver medalist in Tokyo who is now part of Team Terence Crawford, had made known his interest in fighting Emanuel Navarette, but in his post-fight interview said his preference would be to move up to 140 for a shot at Teofimo Lopez.

Other Bouts

In an upset, Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (18-4, 12 KOs) scored a unanimous decision over SoCal’s George “El Yuyu” Acosta in an 8-round lightweight contest. Giron put Acosta (17-2) on the deck in the fifth round en route to winning by scores of 79-72, 78-73, and 76-75.

In an 8-round match that was entertaining in spurts before slowing down, Milwaukee’s Javier Martinez (10-0-1, 3 KOs) won a unanimous 8-round decision over SoCal’s Raul Salomon (12-3). The judges had it 79-93 and 78-74 twice. The match was contested at the catch-weight of 165 pounds.

Brisbane, California lightweight Charlie Sheehy improved to 9-0 (5) at the expense of Mexico’s spunky Abdel Sauceda (12-4) who never took a back step but was outclassed, losing all eight rounds on all three scorecards. Sheehy, who is of Irish and Filipino stock, defeated Ryan Garcia and Vergil Ortiz in his amateur days.

The sky is the limit for 19-year-old Cleveland southpaw Abdullah Mason, the 2023 TSS Prospect of the Year. Tonight Mason (12-0, 9 KOs) turned in another brilliant performance, demolishing 31-year-old Army veteran Benjamin Gurment who was undefeated (8-0-3) heading in.

With his father and oldest brother Amir working his corner alongside cutman Jacob “Stitch” Duran, Mason ended matters with a brutal left hook at the 1:23 mark of round two. Gurment was marked-up before the first round ended.

Alan “Kid Kansas” Garcia, a 21-year-old lightweight from Ulysses, KS, showed that he is a prospect worth watching with a first-round blast-out of Denver’s Tomas Ornelas (7-4). Garcia, who has been training under Gloria Alvarado at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym, improved to 11-0 with his ninth win inside the distance.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s Lemir Isom-Riley (4-2, 2 KOs) stopped Antonio Zepeda (6-2) in the third round of a 6-round heavyweight go. An Arizona native who lettered four years as a defensive end at UNLV, the six-foot-six, 300-pound Zepeda was getting beat up when he took a knee with an apparent knee injury leading his corner to waive it off.

In the lid-lifter, Art Barrera Jr, an 18-year-old super lightweight, needed less than a round to dismiss Robert Portales who was on the canvas twice before the mismatch was halted. A hot prospect from Paramount. CA, Barrera Jr (3-0, 3 KOs) trains at Robert Garcia’s Boxing Academy.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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A Fresh Face on the Boxing Scene, Bryce Mills Faces His Toughest Test on Friday

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“He wants to test himself and find out just how good he really is,” said International Boxing Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz regarding super lightweight Bryce Mills. Peltz, who has dealt with a wide range of fighters throughout his lifetime in boxing, recognized the fire that burned inside Mills at a local show in Philadelphia in early 2022. At the time Mills had less than ten professional fights under his belt.

Mills hails from Liverpool in upstate New York and trains in nearby Syracuse. Currently 17-1 (6 KOs), he’s undefeated in his last 11 since losing a split decision to a Puerto Rican fighter from the Bronx who had fought much stiffer competition.

The fight in question that caught Peltz’s eye was arranged by the well-known and respected matchmaker Nick Tiberi who paired Mills in an intriguing fight against Daiyaan Butt, a tough and skilled fighter from the Philadelphia area. They fought at LIVE Casino in South Philadelphia on Feb. 24, 2022.

Although the crowd on hand that night favored Butt, Mills, although then only 20 years old, wasn’t intimidated and was the clear-cut winner at the end of their exciting, back-and-forth battle. This showed Peltz that Mills was serious about seeing just how far his ability could take him.

That’s why Peltz decided to join forces with Mills. Despite being semi-retired, Peltz is still active enough to help guide fighters through the ever-changing wild west landscape that is boxing. Since their union after Mill’s victory over Butt, Mills has been on a nine-fight winning streak heading into what Peltz believes is the toughest test of his career this Friday against Alex Martin 18-6 (6 KOs) of Chicago.

“I didn’t want him to take this fight, it’s a dangerous fight for him. Martin is a southpaw and is tricky, he’s a veteran and is experienced. His father (Mills’s father) called me and said that Bryce wanted the fight, to his credit,” says Peltz. One look at Martin’s resume and it confirms what Peltz stated. All six of Martin’s losses came against fighters with outstanding records including a former world title challenger. Martin also holds some quality wins over undefeated prospects that were at similar points in their careers to where Mills currently is in his development.

Bryce Mills looks like a fighter (he’s always in shape), acts like a fighter (testing his craft against all comers), walks the walk of a fighter, and fights with a fan-friendly pedal-to-the-metal style. That is a winning combination that could be the breath of fresh air the boxing world could surely use and on Friday night at the Wind Creek Events Center in Bethlehem, PA, live on DAZN, Mills is going to have the opportunity to put the boxing world on notice.

***

DAZN will televise the Mills-Martin fight along with a main event that features undefeated middleweight Euri Cedeno (10-0-1, 9 KO’s) against Ulices Rivera (11-1, 7 KO’s). Knockout artist Joseph Adorno (20-4-1, 17 KOs) and undefeated Reading, PA super featherweight Julian Gonzalez (15-0-1, 11 KOs) appear in separate bouts on the undercard. Tickets for the Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotion show are still available through Ticketmaster. Lobby doors open at 5:00 pm. First bell is at 7:00.

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High Drama in Japan as ‘Amazing Boy’ Kenshiro Teraji Overcomes Seigo Yuri Akui

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Overshadowed by countrymen Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, Kenshiro Teraji embossed his Hall of Fame credentials in Tokyo tonight with a dramatic 12th-round stoppage of Seigo Yuri Akui. At stake were two pieces of the world flyweight title. A two-time world title-holder a division below (108), Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) was appearing in his 16th world title fight.

This Japan vs. Japan matchup will go down in Japanese boxing lore as one of the best title fights ever on Japanese soil. Through the 11 completed rounds, Akui was up 105-104 on two of the cards with Teraji up 106-103 on the third. However, judging by his appearance, Akui was more damaged. The stoppage by Japanese referee Katsuhiko Nakamura, which came at the 1:31 mark of the final round with Akui still standing, struck some as premature but the gallant Akui was well-beaten.

A second-generation prizefighter, Kenshiro Teraji, 33, came bearing the WBC 112-pound belt which he acquired this past October with an 11th round TKO of Nicaraguan veteran Cristofer Rosales. The 29-year-old Akui (21-3-1) was making the second defense of the WBA strap he won with a wide decision over previously undefeated Artem Dalakian.

Although Teraji keeps on rolling – this was his seventh straight win which began with a third-round blast-out of Masamichi Yabuki, avenging his lone defeat – things aren’t getting any easier for the so-called “Amazing Boy.” In his last three fights, which include a hard-earned majority decision over Carlos Canizales, he answered the bell for 35 rounds.

By and large, fighters in his weight class don’t age well. While Teraji is starting to slip, he has no intention of retiring any time soon. His goal, he says is to unify the title and eventually move up a notch to pursue a world title in a third weight class. The other pieces of the 112-pound title are currently the property of Mexico’s Angel Ayala who defends his IBF diadem against Yabuki later this month and LA’s Anthony Olascuaga who was in action on tonight’s undercard.

Other Bouts of Note

Olascuaga, a stablemate of Junto Nakatani, trained by 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year Rudy Hernandez, advanced to 9-1 (6) with a hard-earned unanimous decision over Hiroto Kyoguchi. The judges had it 118-110 and 117-111 (scores condemned as too wide) with the third judge having it 6-6 in rounds but scoring it 114-113 in acknowledgement of the knockdown credited to Olascuaga in round 11, the result of a short left that produced a delayed reaction.

Olascuaga was making the second defense of his WBO belt in his fifth straight trip to Japan. In his lone defeat, he was thrust against the formidable Teraji as a late sub, acquitting himself well in defeat (L TKO 9) despite having only five pro fights under his belt and having only 10 days to prepare. Kyoguchi (19-3) had previously held titles in the sport’s two smallest weight classes.

In a big upset, Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago, thought to be well past his prime at age 32, wrested the WBO light flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Shokichi Iwata who was making the first defense of the title he won with a third-round stoppage of Spain’s previously undefeated Jairo Noriega. Tokyo’s Iwata was a consensus 9/1 favorite.

Santiago, who advanced to 14-4 (9), won by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. It was the second loss for Iwata who had knocked out 11 of his first 15 opponents.

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Keith Thurman Returns with a Bang; KOs Brock Jarvis in Sydney

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The combination of age and ring rust made Keith Thurman a tricky proposition against Brock Jarvis, but the 36-year-old Floridian, a former WBA and WBC world welterweight champion, had too much firepower for the overmatched Aussie, knocking out Jarvis in the third round tonight in Sydney and setting up a massive fight with Tim Tszyu.

Thurman’s career has been repeatedly interrupted with injuries. He missed all of 2023 and 2024 and this was only his second fight back since being out-pointed by Manny Pacquiao in 2019. He was slated to fight Tszyu in March of last year in Las Vegas with two 154-pound straps on the line, but pulled out with a biceps injury and was replaced by Sebastian Fundora who saddled the snakebit Tszyu with his first defeat.

Against Brock Jarvis, Thurman started slowly. The TV commentating team, which included Tszyu and Shawn Porter, had the busier Jarvis winning the first two rounds. But the savvy Thurman was simply “processing data” and found his grove in the third frame, smashing Jarvis to the canvas with a combination climaxed by a wicked uppercut. Jarvis staggered to his feet but was a cooked goose and the referee waived it off immediately when Jarvis hit the deck again after absorbing a harsh left hook. The official time was 2:19 of round three.

It was the second bad loss for Jarvis (22-2), a noted knockout puncher who had previously been stopped in the opening round by countryman Liam Paro. He hails from the Sydney suburb of Merrickville which also spawned Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech, Jarvis’s former trainer.

Thurman advanced to 37-1 with his twenty-third win inside the distance. According to Tszyu’s promoter George Rose, the match between Thurman and Tszyu will finally come to fruition on July 6, likely at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach. That’s predicated on the assumption that Tszyu wins his next fight without complications which comes on April 6 against Minnesota’s 19-1 Joey Spencer at Newcastle, Australia.

Other Bouts of Note

Melbourne Middleweight Michael Zerafa, who also covets a match with Tim Tszyu, improved to 33-5 (21 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Germany’s obscure Besir Ay (19-2) who was on the deck twice before the referee waived it off. This was the second fight back for Zerafa after getting pulverized by Erislandy Lara who stopped him in the second round in March of last year. Ay, 35, is recognized as the middleweight champion of Germany.

In a middleweight match slated for 10, Tim Tszyu’s longtime sparring partner Cesar Mateo bombed out Sergei Vorobev in the fifth round, ending the match with a spectacular one-punch KO. The 26-year-old Mateo (18-0-1, 11 KOs) is a native of Tijuana. Vorobev (20-3-2) is a 30-year-old Sydneysider born in Russia.

Thurman vs. Jarvis, a pay-per-view event in Australia, aired in the U.S. on a tape-delay on the PBC youtube channel.

Photo credit: Grant Trouville / No Limit Boxing

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