Results and Recaps from Ontario Where William Zepeda KOed Giovanni Cabrera

Published

3 months ago

July 6, 2024

Results-and-Recaps-from-Ontario-Where-William-Zepeda-KOed-Giovanni-Cabrera

Ringside Report by Special TSS Correspondent Raymundo Dioses…ONTARIO, CA — Lightweight heavy hitter William Zepeda dropped and stopped Giovanni Cabrera in round three in front of several thousand fans in the main event of a Golden Boy Promotions televised event live on DAZN from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

Zepeda, (31-0, 27 KOs) was able to overcome a strong start from Cabrera, figuring out Cabrera’s style and eventually landing at will which led to the early rounds knockout.

“There’s not one individual that can handle my body shots. It’s something that me and my team have been working on,” said Zepeda.

Cabrera was active early on with lead right hands finding a home on Zepeda’s face. An uppercut jolted Zepeda in what was a first-round win for Cabrera after three minutes. The confidence continued from Cabrera who stood and traded with Zepeda in round two. An uppercut from Zepeda landed flush with a minute left in the second as Cabrera began to back up following exchanges.

Zepeda’s shots began to take effect in round three as an accumulation of punches landed on Cabrera, who is trained by Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach. Cabrera (22-2) went down from a combination and referee Thomas Taylor counted out the full ten-second knockout with Cabrera still on one knee. Time was 1:58 of round three.

“I want all the world champions. I’ve done all my homework, now it’s up to (promoter) Oscar De La Hoya to do his homework,” said Zepeda. De La Hoya responded in the ring on DAZN to Chris Mannix by naming all the champions in the lightweight division.

Zepeda, who hails from San Mateo Atenco, Mexico, is ranked No. 1 by the WBC, WBA and IBF and No. 2 by the WBO. Zepeda’s name his come up against the more known names in his division, with bouts against Shakur Stevenson and Vasyl Lomachenko discussed within the boxing world.

Zepeda defeated Maxi Hughes on March 16, 2024 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas via TKO stoppage in what was promoted as an IBF/WBA championship eliminator.

The Cabrera fight represented Zepeda’s third bout of 2024 and fourth straight stoppage win.

In June 2024 Zepeda signed a multi-year contract extension with Golden Boy Promotions. “There is no one more exciting or dangerous in the lightweight division than Zepeda,” said Golden Boy Promotions founder and chairman Oscar De La Hoya. “Every time out, he is a threat to either break a Compubox record or take out an opponent in the first round, or both.”

CO-MAIN EVENT

In a Mexico versus Puerto Rico showdown, Ricardo Sandoval (Mexico) overcame a strong start from Angel Acosta (Puerto Rico), adjusted to his opponent’s style and scored a last round stoppage win for the World Boxing Council’s Silver Flyweight title.

Sandoval, (25-2, 18 KOs) stayed on the outside while Acosta parried in and out of position early in the fight. Acosta landed a flush right hand to end the first three minutes of the bout. Another big right hand would land for Acosta in the second as the fight started to swing in the Puerto Rican’s favor. Round two ended with landed shots from both fighters.

A left hook from Acosta in the third wobbled Sandoval and Acosta continued to hit Sandoval while coming inside. A battle of attrition ensued in the fourth with the fighters looking to press the action.

In the sixth Sandoval landed a fan-friendly combination in what was his most effective round of the fight. The combinations continued from Sandoval who was turning the fight in his favor. Sandoval held an advantage in landed punches at 71-60 through round eight.

An unpopular stoppage came in at 1:23 of the final round as referee Raul Caiz stepped in following an uppercut thrown by Sandoval. Interviewed by DAZN and press afterwards, Sandoval said he welcomed a rematch with Acosta whose record fell to 24-5.

DAZN OPENER

Team USA member and prized prospect Joel Iriarte repeatedly tagged Yainel Alvarez in the opening round of their televised welterweight match. Punches landed in round one was 21 for Iriarte to 5 for Alvarez. An uppercut followed by a combination ended matters in round two at 2:41 via referee stoppage.

“I’m excited to keep on going… I was able to use all the tools in my toolbox. I want to remain active and keep on moving this year,” said Iriarte (3-0, 3 KOs) to assembled media in the locker room of his ambitious plan to fight five to six more times this calendar year.

Fighting under the guidance of renowned trainer Joel Diaz, Coachella Valley native Manuel Flores utilized a solid jab to set up his left hand against Nohel Arambulet in the super featherweight division. Flores picked up the activity in round two which led to two knockdowns and a stop of the action by referee Jerry Cantu at 1:59 of round two.

Flores, (18-1, 14 KOs) has now won his last three fights following his first career loss in June 2023 to Walter Santibanes. Arambulet falls to 23-7-2 (13 KOs).

“I give myself a B minus only because I didn’t get Arambulet out of there until the second round,” said Flores, who is planning on moving back down to the bantamweight division in his next outing. “I’m ready to dominate at 118 pounds, I’m going to go down and get the gold. I’ll fight anyone to prove I’m the best.”

UNDERCARD

SONORA’S CAMPA WITH UD OVER MARTIN

In a match-up of veterans, Pedro Campa gloved up against Chicago’s Alex Martin in a 10-round welterweight contest. The match was devoid of sustained action with the fighters clinching and feinting throughout the contest.

The scorecards had it 97-90, 96-91, 94-93 for Sonora, Mexico’s Campa (36-3-1, 24 KOs) with Martin falling to 18-6 (6 KOs).

CABRERA PRODUCES THIRD ROUND KO OVER SHIELDS

Sonora, Mexico’s Gael Cabrera notched a knockdown in round one and made opponent Mychaquell Shields take a knee at the end of round two in what resulted in a stoppage in the third round in an impressive performance from the featherweight southpaw.

Cabrera, (5-0, 3KO) threw haymakers at abandon which had effective results as Shields, (2-5) was unable to respond. Referee Raul Caiz waved off the contest at 1:09 of round three.

MORENO VALLEY LIGHTWEIGHT GARCIA DEFEATS BUENAOBRA

Joshua Garcia, (9-0, 4 KOs) defeated Jason Buenaobra via six round decision win in a six round lightweight lackluster affair.

A product of the Philippines, Buenaobra proved a difficult opponent who was hard to time and figure out. A combination finally softened up Buenaobra, (10-11-3, 4 KOs) in the second. The midway rounds were mostly uneventful.

The result from the judges was a majority decision at 58-56, 59-55 and 57-57.

ONTARIO’S SALDIVAR STOPS CANTO

Ontario, California native Anthony Saldivar, (7-0, 3 KOs) dominated Roman Canto over two lopsided rounds with the middleweight landing at will against his overmatched opponent. At fifty-two seconds referee David Sullivan called off the contest as Canto had no offense to speak of and was in danger of receiving unnecessary damage.

Saldivar was last seen at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California on April 4, 2024 where he notched a unanimous decision win over Henry Rivera.

VICTORVILLE LIGHTWEIGHT LUNA NOTHCES FIRST ROUND KO OVER WALKER

Daniel Luna scored an impressive first round knockout over Joseph Walker with three minutes of solid offense which led the referee to halt the fight from going into the second round. A left hook with a minute left in round one from Luna, (4-1, 3 KOs) shook Walker, yet the tough fighter from Forrest City, Arkansas clinched and recovered. When Walker got back to his corner once the round ended, referee Raul Caiz waved off the contest.

Luna is tall and lanky for a lightweight and moved and boxed well from the outside as well as when in close quarters.

SWITCH HITTING LLAMIDO WITH DECISION OVER ALLEN

The night of fist throwing began with featherweights Japhethlee Llamido and Ryan Allen in an entertaining eight round-bout as the fighters fought an even terms with plenty of action and offense from both combatants.

Llamido, (12-1, 4 KOs) switch hit, throwing punches from the orthodox and southpaw positions and scored a knockdown in round five. Allen, (10-8-1, 5 KOs) recovered well and in the sixth the Las Vegas native kept his hands busy in what was a great bounce back round.

End results were a unanimous decision win for Llamido at 78-73, 80-71 and 77-74.

Fighters in attendance: Arnold Barboza, Scrappy Ramirez, Alexis Rocha, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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WBA Feather Champ Nick Ball Chops Down Rugged Ronny Rios in Liverpool

Published

6 hours ago

October 5, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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In his first fight in his native Liverpool since February of 2020, Nick Ball successfully defended his WBA title with a 10^th-round stoppage of SoCal veteran Ronny Rios. The five-foot-two “Wrecking Ball” was making the first defense of a world featherweight strap he won in his second stab at it, taking the belt from Raymond Ford on a split decision after previously fighting Rey Vargas to a draw in a match that many thought Ball had won.

This fight looked like it was going to be over early. Ball strafed Rios with an assortment of punches in the first two rounds, and likely came within a punch or two of ending the match in the third when he put Rios on the canvas with a short left hook and then tore after him relentlessly. But Rios, a glutton for punishment, weathered the storm and actually had some good moments in round four and five.

The brother of welterweight contender Alexis Rocha and a two-time world title challenger at 122 pounds, Rios returned to the ring in April on a ProBox card in Florida and this was his second start after being out of the ring for 28 months. He would be on the canvas twice more before the bout was halted. The punch that knocked him off his pins in round seven wasn’t a clean shot, but he would be in dire straits three rounds later when he was hammered onto the ring apron with a barrage of punches. He managed to maneuver his way back into the ring, but his corner sensibly threw in the towel when it seemed as if referee Bob Williams would let the match continue.

The official time was 2:06 of round ten. Ball improved to 21-0-1 (12 KOs). Rios, 34, declined to 34-5.

Semi-wind-up

A bout contested for a multiplicity of regional 140-pound titles produced a mild upset when Jack Rafferty wore down and eventually stopped Henry Turner whose corner pulled him out after the ninth frame.

Both fighters were undefeated coming in. Turner, now 13-1, was the better boxer and had the best of the early rounds. However, he used up a lot of energy moving side-to-side as he fought off his back foot, and Rafferty, who improved to 24-0 (15 KOs), never wavered as he continued to press forward.

The tide turned dramatically in round eight. One could see Turner’s legs getting loggy and the confidence draining from his face. The ninth round was all Rafferty. Turner was a cooked goose when Rafferty collapsed him with four unanswered body punches, but he made it to the final bell before his corner wisely pulled him out. Through the completed rounds, two of the judges had it even and the third had the vanquished Turner up by 4 points.

Other Bouts of Note

In a lightweight affair, Jadier Herrera, a highly-touted 22-year-old Cuban who had been campaigning in Dubai, advanced to 16-0 (14 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Oliver Flores (31-6-2) a Nicaraguan southpaw making his UK debut. After two even rounds, Herrera put Flores on the deck with a left to the solar plexus. Flores spit out his mouthpiece as he lay there in obvious distress and referee Steve Gray waived the fight off as he was attempting to rise. The end came 30 seconds into round three.

In a bantamweight contest slated for 10, Liverpool’s Andrew Cain (13-1, 12 KOs) dismissed Colombia’s Lazaro Casseres at the 1:48 mark of the second round.

A stablemate and sparring partner of Nick Ball, Cain knocked Casseres to the canvas in the second round with a short uppercut and forced the stoppage later in the round when he knocked the Colombian into the ropes with a double left hook. Casseres. 27, brought an 11-1 record but had defeated only two opponents with winning records.

In a contest between super welterweights, Walter Fury pitched a 4-round shutout over Dale Arrowsmith. This was the second pro fight for the 27-year-old Fury who had his famous cousin Tyson Fury rooting him on from ringside. Stylistically, Walter resembles Tyson, but his defense is hardly as tight; he was clipped a few times.

Arrowsmith is a weekend warrior and a professional loser, a species indigenous to the British Isles. This was his twenty-fourth fight this year and his 186^th pro fight overall! His record is “illuminated” by nine wins and 10 draws.

A Queensberry Promotion, the Ball vs Rios card aired in the UK on TNT Sports and in the US on ESPN+.

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Alimkhanuly TKOs Mikhailovich and Motu TKOs O’Connell in Sydney

Published

2 days ago

October 4, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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IBF/WBO world middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, generally regarded as the best of the current crop of middleweights, retained his IBF title today in Sydney, Australia, with a ninth-round stoppage of game but overmatched Andrei Mikhailovich. The end came at the 2:45 mark of round nine.

Favored in the 8/1 range although he was in a hostile environment, Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) beat Mikhailovich to a pulp in the second round and knocked him down with one second remaining in the frame, but Mikhailovich survived the onslaught and had several good moments in the ensuing rounds as he pressed the action. However, Alimkhanuly’s punches were cleaner and one could sense that it was only a matter of time before the referee would rescue Mikhailovich from further punishment. When a short left deposited Mikhailovich on the seat of his pants on the lower strand of rope, the ref had seen enough.

Alimkhanuly, a 2016 Olympian for Kazakhstan, was making his first start since October of last year. He and Mikhailovich were slated to fight in Las Vegas in July, but the bout fell apart after the weigh-in when the Kazakh fainted from dehydration.

Owing to a technicality, Alimkhanuly’s WBO belt wasn’t at stake today. Although he has expressed an interest in unifying the title –Eislandy Lara (WBA) and Carlos Adames (WBC) are the other middleweight belt-holders — Alimkhanuly is big for the weight class and it’s a fair assumption that this was his final fight at 160.

The brave Mikhailovich, who was born in Russia but grew up in New Zealand after he and his twin brother were adopted, suffered his first pro loss, declining to 21-1.

Semi-wind-up

Topping the flimsy undercard was a scheduled 8-rounder between Mikhailovich’s stablemate Mea Motu, a 34-year-old Maori, and veteran Australian campaigner Shannon O’Connell, 41. The ladies share eight children between them (Motu, trained by her mother in her amateur days, has five).

A clash of heads in the opening round left O’Connell with a bad gash on her forehead. She had a big lump developing over her right eye when her corner threw in the towel at the 1:06 mark of round four.

Motu (20-0, 8 KOs) was set to challenge IBF/WBO world featherweight champion Ellie Scotney later this month in Manchester, England, underneath Catterall-Prograis, but that match was postponed when Scotney suffered an injury in training. Motu took this fight, which was contested at the catchweight of 125 pounds, to stay busy. O’Connell, 29-8-1, previously had a cup of coffee as a WBA world champion (haven’t we all).

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

Published

2 days ago

October 3, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 299: Golden Boy in Saudi Arabia and More

A small brigade of Mexican and Latino-American fighters gathered at the beautiful Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Their mission: to export Mexican style fighting to the Saudi Arabia desert.

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez defends the WBA cruiserweight title against WBO cruiserweight titlist Chris Billam-Smith and they will be joined by several other top Golden Boy Promotion fighters on Nov. 16 at the Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy and BOXXER promotions card called “The Venue Riyadh Season.”

Mexican fighters are known worldwide for their ferocity and durability. Ramirez, a former super middleweight champion, surprised many with his convincing win over former champion Arsen Goulamirian last March.

Now Ramirez seeks to unify the cruiserweight titles against United Kingdom’s Smith who has never fought outside of his native country.

“I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16,” said Ramirez.

Smith has a similar goal.

“This opportunity for me is huge,” said Smith. “I’ve been written off many times before.”

The cruiserweights will be joined by two top super lightweight warriors who’ve been itching to face each other like a pair of fighting roosters.

Arnold Barboza, an undefeated super lightweight contender from Los Angeles, has been chasing top contenders and world champions for the past six years. Former super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez simply wants action and a return to elite status.

“I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened,” said Barboza. “I want to give credit and thanks to Oscar, he’s a man of his word. When I signed to Golden Boy, he said he was going to give me this fight.”

“It’s honorable Barboza saying he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on,” said Ramirez.

Others on the Riyadh fight card include Puerto Rico’s WBO minimumweight world titlist Oscar Collazo defending against Thailand’s Thammanoon Niyomtrong, along with Oscar Duarte and lightweight contenders William Zepeda and Tevin Farmer.

One fighter missing from the card is Charles Conwell, the super welterweight contender they recently signed earlier in the year. He last performed on the Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Serhii Bohachuk clash in Las Vegas.

Conwell has similar talent to those two.

And what about the women fighters”

Yokasta Valle recently re-signed with Golden Boy Promotions. What is her next scheduled fight? She was spotted facing up against Australia’s Lulu “Bang, Bang” Hawton at a fight card. Is that on the horizon?

West Coast venues

Speaking of the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, its just a few buildings north of the Belasco Theater where Golden Boy was staging its club shows for several years.

A majority of the boxing media favored that location for its cozy atmosphere and proximity to LA Live. A number of prospects that developed into contenders and world champions fought there including Vergil Ortiz Jr., Ryan Garcia, Joshua Franco, and Oscar Duarte.

On any given fight night celebrities like Mario Lopez, George Lopez and others would show up in the small venue that held several hundred fans in its ornate theater setting.

The Mayan Theater and Belasco Theater are still open for business. According to one source, LA Laker owner Jeannie Buss stages a pro wrestling show at one of those theaters.

World title fight

England’s Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) defends the WBA featherweight world title against Southern California’s Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) on Saturday Oct. 5, at M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. Starting time for the Queensberry and Top Rank promotion card is 11 a.m. PT.

Ball was last seen nearly toppling WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas but lost last March. He then defeated Ray Ford for the WBA title

Fights to Watch

Fri. ESPN+ 2 a.m. PT Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0) vs Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0)

Sat. ESPN+ 11 a.m. PT Nick Ball (20-0-1) vs Ronny Rios (34-4)

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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