Undercard Results From the Castano-Lara Card in Brooklyn

The marquee match on today’s boxing docket is being contested at Barclays Center in Brooklyn where Argentina’s Brian Castano (15-0, 11 KOs) risks his undefeated record and WBA 154-pound title against veteran Erislandy Lara (25-3-2, 14 KOs) who seeks to recapture the belt that he once owned. The intriguing matchup, which finds the challenger in the role of a small favorite, is harnessed to a flaccid undercard. Refresh this page frequently as we keep you abreast of the action.

Co-Feature

Luis “King Kong” Ortiz kept his dream alive of another world title shot with a wide 10-round decision over Christian Hammer (aka Cristian Ciocan), a German citizen of Turkish descent. Working behind an effective jab, Ortiz, who lone defeat in 32 pro bouts came at the hands of Deontay Wilder in a see-saw fight, won all 10 rounds on one of the cards and nine of the 10 rounds on the other.

Although Ortiz wasn’t able to knock Hammer down, he punctuated his win with a strong final round. Hammer falls to 24-6.

Undercard

In a fight billed as a WBA featherweight title eliminator, Eduardo Ramirez (22-1-3, 9 KOs) scored a ninth round stoppage of Panama’s Bryan De Gracia (24-2-1). The fight was up for grabs after eight rounds. De Gracia, making his U.S. debut, was ahead on two of the cards and the other judge had it even. But then a right uppercut from Ramirez took it out of the judges hands. The uppercut didn’t crumple De Gracia, but made him easy meat when Ramirez, now 22-1-3 (9 KOs), followed up his advantage.

From the boxing hotbed of Las Mochis, Mexico, Ramirez, a southpaw, was a total unknown until he fought Leduan Barthelemy  to a draw at a small casino in Las Vegas. That propelled him into a title fight in England with Lee Selby. He lost a unanimous decision but now he’s in line for another title fight, this against China’s Can Xu who upset Jesus M. Rojas last month to gather up a WBA belt.

In a 10-round cruiserweight contest, Edwin Rodriguez (33-2) scored a unanimous decision over Mitch Williams (16-7-3). The scores were 98-92 and 96-94 twice. Rodriguez, from Worcester, Mass by way of the Dominican Republic, had a big fourth round and scored an apparent knockdown in round eight when he knocked Williams onto the seat of his trunks with a glancing left hook (the referee called it a slip), but his performance overall left much to be desired, understandable as had begun his pro career as a super middleweight and was coming off rotator cuff surgery.

The fight slowed down considerably in the late rounds with both fighters looking poorly conditioned, particularly the 36-year-old Williams, a late sub (for Andrzej Fonfara, who retired) who nonetheless earned his paycheck by staying the course.

In an 8-round bantamweight contest, Antonio Russell, one of the three prominent fighting brothers, improved to 13-0 (11) with a sixth round stoppage of Tijuana’s Jose Cardenas (16-4).  A flurry of unanswered punches with Cardenas pinned against a neutral corner led the referee to halt the fight at the 22-second mark of round six. Russell decked his Mexican adversary with a series of clubbing overhand rights midway through the first stanza, an indication that the bout wasn’t likely to go the distance.

In a humdrum fight contested at the catchweight of 132 pounds, Leduan Barthelemy, a lanky southpaw, had too much class for Tijuana’s Miguel Angel Aispuro. The younger brother of former two-division world titlist Rances Barthelemy, Leduan Barthelemy (14-0-1) had too much class for Aispuro who falls to 11-7-2.

Brooklyn’s Richardson Hitchins, who represented his ancestral home of Haiti in the Rio Olympics, overwhelmed Nicaragua’s David Morales in a welterweight match slated for eight rounds. Hitchins (8-0, 4 KOs) sent Morales down hard in the waning seconds of the third round and Morales, who has now lost six of his last seven, did not come out for the fourth round.

Welterweight Tyrek Irby improved to 7-0 with a 6-round unanimous decision over Dennis Okoth (2-2-1). Irby, who advanced to the finals of the 2015 Olympic trials, upsetting Richardson Hitchins along the way, dropped Irby with an overhand right 75 seconds into the fight, but the stubborn fighter from Kenya lasted the distance.

In the first bout of the evening, Baltimore southpaw Aaron Anderson (4-0),  won a 4-round unanimous decision over Chukka Willis. The scores were 40-36 across the board.

The marquee match on today’s boxing docket is being contested at Barclays Center in Brooklyn where Argentina’s Brian Castano (15-0, 11 KOs) risks his undefeated record and WBA 154-pound title against veteran Erislandy Lara (25-3-2, 14 KOs) who seeks to recapture the belt that he once owned. The intriguing matchup, which finds the challenger in the role of a small favorite, is harnessed to a flaccid undercard. Refresh this page frequently as we keep you abreast of the action.

Co-Feature

Luis “King Kong” Ortiz kept his dream alive of another world title shot with a wide 10-round decision over Christian Hammer (aka Cristian Ciocan), a German citizen of Turkish descent. Working behind an effective jab, Ortiz, who lone defeat in 32 pro bouts came at the hands of Deontay Wilder in a see-saw fight, won all 10 rounds on one of the cards and nine of the 10 rounds on the other.

Although Ortiz wasn’t able to knock Hammer down, he punctuated his win with a strong final round. Hammer falls to 24-6.

Undercard

In a fight billed as a WBA featherweight title eliminator, Eduardo Ramirez (22-1-3, 9 KOs) scored a ninth round stoppage of Panama’s Bryan De Gracia (24-2-1). The fight was up for grabs after eight rounds. De Gracia, making his U.S. debut, was ahead on two of the cards and the other judge had it even. But then a right uppercut from Ramirez took it out of the judges hands. The uppercut didn’t crumple De Gracia, but made him easy meat when Ramirez, now 22-1-3 (9 KOs), followed up his advantage.

From the boxing hotbed of Las Mochis, Mexico, Ramirez, a southpaw, was a total unknown until he fought Leduan Barthelemy  to a draw at a small casino in Las Vegas. That propelled him into a title fight in England with Lee Selby. He lost a unanimous decision but now he’s in line for another title fight, this against China’s Can Xu who upset Jesus M. Rojas last month to gather up a WBA belt.

In a 10-round cruiserweight contest, Edwin Rodriguez (33-2) scored a unanimous decision over Mitch Williams (16-7-3). The scores were 98-92 and 96-94 twice. Rodriguez, from Worcester, Mass by way of the Dominican Republic, had a big fourth round and scored an apparent knockdown in round eight when he knocked Williams onto the seat of his trunks with a glancing left hook (the referee called it a slip), but his performance overall left much to be desired, understandable as had begun his pro career as a super middleweight and was coming off rotator cuff surgery.

The fight slowed down considerably in the late rounds with both fighters looking poorly conditioned, particularly the 36-year-old Williams, a late sub (for Andrzej Fonfara, who retired) who nonetheless earned his paycheck by staying the course.

In an 8-round bantamweight contest, Antonio Russell, one of the three prominent fighting brothers, improved to 13-0 (11) with a sixth round stoppage of Tijuana’s Jose Cardenas (16-4).  A flurry of unanswered punches with Cardenas pinned against a neutral corner led the referee to halt the fight at the 22-second mark of round six. Russell decked his Mexican adversary with a series of clubbing overhand rights midway through the first stanza, an indication that the bout wasn’t likely to go the distance.

In a humdrum fight contested at the catchweight of 132 pounds, Leduan Barthelemy, a lanky southpaw, had too much class for Tijuana’s Miguel Angel Aispuro. The younger brother of former two-division world titlist Rances Barthelemy, Leduan Barthelemy (14-0-1) had too much class for Aispuro who falls to 11-7-2.

Brooklyn’s Richardson Hitchins, who represented his ancestral home of Haiti in the Rio Olympics, overwhelmed Nicaragua’s David Morales in a welterweight match slated for eight rounds. Hitchins (8-0, 4 KOs) sent Morales down hard in the waning seconds of the third round and Morales, who has now lost six of his last seven, did not come out for the fourth round.

Welterweight Tyrek Irby improved to 7-0 with a 6-round unanimous decision over Dennis Okoth (2-2-1). Irby, who advanced to the finals of the 2015 Olympic trials, upsetting Richardson Hitchins along the way, dropped Irby with an overhand right 75 seconds into the fight, but the stubborn fighter from Kenya lasted the distance.

In the first bout of the evening, Baltimore southpaw Aaron Anderson (4-0),  won a 4-round unanimous decision over Chukka Willis. The scores were 40-36 across the board.

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