GBP July 15 Results – Alvarado Defeats Velez at Fantasy Springs

GBP July 15 Results – Nicaragua’s Rene Alvarado overcame a sluggish start to win by split decision after 10 rounds against Puerto Rico’s Jayson Velez on a Golden Boy Promotions Fight Card at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California on Friday, July 15. Estrella TV televised.

Both Alvarado (24-7, 16 KOs) and Velez (23-3-1, 16 KOs) were coming off losses but were evenly matched. Basically this was a fight to determine their place in the heavily saturated and talented super featherweight division.

Alvarado had a run of opponents that would make any featherweight squeamish in facing Jojo Diaz, Andrew Cancio, and Manuel Avila. Meanwhile, Velez had faced Evgeny Gradovich, Ronny Rios and Jojo Diaz.

Each has had trouble getting over the hump.

At first it looked like Velez, who moved from the Wild Card Gym to the Indio gym run by Joel and Antonio Diaz, might be a little too slick for the Nicaraguan. But slowly things began to change.

Alvarado began to catch a rhythm and soon started connecting with wide left hooks as Velez tried to slip around him. The Nicaraguan soon began moving ever forward forcing the Puerto Rican to move away. Midway through the fight, Velez began to tire.

The punches were fewer and fewer from Velez as Alvarado kept the pressure on. Snapping rights and lefts were landing flush on Velez’s strong chin. Though he never seemed hurt, they were visible to the crowd and the judges. If not for his strong chin, Velez would and should have gone down.

After 10 entertaining rounds, two judges ruled in favor of Alvarado and one for Velez to give the Nicaraguan a split decision victory.

“This is a very important victory for me,” said Rene Alvarado. “I have been fighting tough prospects and fighting such a notable fighter like Velez proves that I am still a force in this division. I want to keep the momentum going and come back as soon as I can. I will be back in the gym next week to stay in shape and be ready for the next fight.”

GBP July 15 Results – Other bouts

Rashidi Ellis (16-0, 11 KOs) survived a vicious knockdown in the fourth round and rallied to win a unanimous decision over super tough Luis Hernandez(12-2, 7 KOs) after eight rounds in a middleweight contest.

A left hook by Hernandez dropped Ellis with a thud during a fierce exchange in round four, but Ellis was able to survive. The Boston fighter then proceeded to use his jab and sharp punching to win most of the rounds against Puerto Rico’s Hernandez. The three judges scored the fight 78-73 for Ellis.

Cesar Diaz (1-0) not only made his pro debut by knockout win over Isau Duenez (1-6) but it was televised. How many boxers can say that? Diaz was dominant in his win especially with a sharp right uppercut that led to his first knockdown of Duenez in the first round. Diaz battered Duenez in the second and third rounds forcing the referee to end the fight at 1:55 of the third round.

Glendale’s Azat Hovhannisyan (9-2, 8 KOs) was too quick and agile for Sacramento’s Mario Ayala (4-3-1) who was forced to counterpunch in their super bantamweight fight. Hovhannisyan floored Ayala with a right cross. When Ayala recovered Hovhannesyan slipped into overdrive and battered him until referee Ray Corona stopped the fight at 2:18 of the fifth round.

Marco Magdaleno (4-0, 2 KOs) defeated Hugo Padilla (3-7) of Mexico by unanimous decision after four rounds in a lightweight match. Magdaleno was dominant until Padilla began backing him up. Two judges gave every round to Magdaleno but one judge gave Padilla the last round. There were no knockdowns. Magdaleno is from Las Vegas and trains in Indio under Joel Diaz. He is the brother of Diego and Jessie Magdaleno.

Jhon Leon (1-0) won his pro debut by knockout at 2:12 of the first round over Jose Huerta (0-1-1) of Mexico. Colombia’s Leon pounded Huerta to the body and head before referee David Mendoza stopped the welterweight fight.

GBP July 15 Results – Check out boxing news and videos at The Boxing Channel.