Golden Boy Boxing on DAZN emanated this evening from the
Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA. The capacity crowd in attendance was treated
to a card that boasted seven bouts with three titles contested. The main event
featured Wild Card Boxing Gym’s Alberto Machado defending the WBA Super
Featherweight Title against local favorite Andrew Cancio with the co-feature
pitting WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Rey Vargas against Caracas native
Franklin Manzanilla.
Azat Hovhannisyan (16-3-0, 13 KOs) vs. Lolito
Sonsona (22-3-4, 9 KOs)
Ten Rounds, Super Bantamweights
Decision: Hovhannisyan via KO in round five
Hovhannisyan,
trained by the legendary Freddie Roach, came out on the offensive in round one
and clearly controlled the action with the exception of a low blow that dropped
Sonsona to his knees. In round four, Sonsona continued to display a disinterest
in the fight when he attempted to sell a low blow but the referee called his
bluff and pointed out that he was hit on the hip. This appeared to fluster
Hovhannisyan as he came out and again struck low, this time having a point
deducted by the referee. Freddie Roach must have lit a fire under Hovhannisyan
because he “turned the page” like Bob Seger in round five and appeared like a
different fighter. Hovhannisyan proceeded to tee off on Sonsona with
sniper-like precision as he brutalized him with an onslaught of body shots.
Sonsona was dropped to his knees twice in the round as a result of these body
shots with the second time being unable to answer the referees count.
Tureano Johnson (20-2-1, 14 KOs) vs.
Fernando Castaneda (26-13-1, 17 KOs)
Eight Rounds, Super Middleweights
Decision: Split Draw (77-75, 77-75, 76-76)
To be quite
honest, the first three rounds were rather uneventful as the two fighters
embarked on an extended feeling out process. Rounds four and five saw an uptick
in the action as Johnson began to effectively land his uppercut when Castaneda
would allow him to work inside, however, Castaneda continued to display a solid
chin and was able to capitalize on Johnson opening himself up for some well
placed right hooks. Round six saw both fighters attempt to establish their
inside game to such an extent that their foreheads may as well have been glued
together, however, neither was able to gain an upper hand as they alternated
the roles of puncher and counterpuncher with each other throughout. Castaneda
entered the eighth and final round like a man who wanted to win this fight.
Castaneda immediately walked Johnson into his own corner with a number of well
placed combos and maintained his momentum for the majority of the round. It
could be argued that Castaneda had done enough to win this fight, however, I
believe the margin was narrow enough that this wasn’t the worst decision in the
world – just not one that fight fans necessarily wanted.
WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title
Oscar Duarte (15-1-1, 10 KOs) vs. Adrian
Estrella (29-3-0, 24 KOs)
Ten Rounds, Lightweights
Decision: Adrian Estrella via split
decision (97-93, 98-92, 96-94)
The DAZN
portion of the card hit the ground running as Oscar Duarte battled Adrian
Estrella for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title! The first
two rounds were not something one would want to view if they were drowsy, or
looking for something to watch at 2 AM, or on antihistamines (you get the
point) because there was not much of anything going on but one could argue that
Estrella edged Duarte with the few punches he landed. Duarte’s corner must have
told him that he needed to be more active prior to round three as he came out
with new vigor and proceeded to walk down Estrella and push the action. Duarte’s
continued surge in the middle rounds saw him open up Estrella over his right
eye in round five. This created a crimson target for Duarte as the fight
progressed that he attempted to make a focal point of his attack. Estrella went
into survival mode for the final three rounds as he sporadically needed to wipe
the blood from his eye and unfortunately didn’t mount much offense. Apparently
the judges were watching a MUCH different fight as Estrella took the split
decision for the victory and was showered with boos as he exited the ring.
Joseph Diaz Jr. (28-1-0, 14 KOs) vs.
Charles Huerta (20-6-0, 12 KOs)
Ten Rounds, Super Featherweights
Decision: Joseph Diaz Jr. via unanimous
decision (99-91, 99-91, 99-91)
The first
two rounds commenced at a rather lethargic pace which could have been
attributed to the pugilists acclimating to the fact that JoJo Diaz is a
southpaw. The narrative changed in round three as Diaz appeared to finally measure
up Huerta as he successfully landed several combos without much reciprocation.
There was much of the same in round five where Diaz continued to punish Huerta
as his punches seemed to begin landing with an added intensity that garnered a
rousing ovation from the crowd. Without much of a response from Huerta, it
appeared the referee may have told him to show something when he spoke to him
in his corner prior to round six. The final four rounds saw JoJo take his foot
off the gas just a bit but he still stayed busy enough to maintain control of
the fight – of course allowing an opponent to stay in a fight is always
dangerous when leaving your fate in the hands of the judges. Luckily everyone
watched the same fight as all three judges awarded the bout to JoJo Diaz with
identical scorecards.
WBC Super Bantamweight Title
Rey Vargas (33-0-0, 22 KOs) vs. Franklin
Manzanilla (18-5-0, 17 KOs)
Twelve Rounds, Super Bantamweights
Decision: Rey Vargas via UD (117-108,
117-108, 117-108)
After Vargas
showed great poise in round one, Manzanilla came out in round two and stunned
Vargas with a left hook that dropped him to the canvas. Manzanilla came on like
a piranha in blood soaked water but Vargas had the fortitude to survive the
round. Vargas managed to persevere through the remainder of the bout as he dealt
with a steady flow of blood protruding from above his right eye as a result of
an accidental headbutt in the middle rounds in addition to the antics of
Manzanilla that resulted in the deduction of two points. Vargas essentially did
just enough to frustrate Manzanilla but not enough to delight the crowd as the
most captivating aspect of the final seven rounds was the Tecate ring girl.
Nonetheless, Rey Vargas dominated Franklin Manzanilla, despite being dropped
once, to retain his title.
WBA Super Featherweight Title
Alberto Machado (21-1-0, 17 KOs) vs. Andrew
Cancio (20-4-2, 15 KOs)
Twelve Rounds, Super Featherweights
Decision: Andrew Cancio via KO in round
four
Machado
wasted no time in round one living up to his nickname “Xplosivo” as he dropped
Cancio to the canvas with a well placed left uppercut. Cancio, the pride of
nearby Blythe, CA, recovered in round two as he was able to neutralize
Machado’s reach advantage to do some solid work inside and arguably take the
round. Round three saw much of the same as Cancio fed off of the energy of the two
or three rows of his boisterous supporters sitting near ringside leaving
Machado on defense for much of the round. The unthinkable occurred in round four
as Cancio quickly introduced Machado to the canvas two times in a row before he
eventually overwhelmed him to the point where he dropped to his knee and the
referee intervened to stop the fight. Your winner and new WBA Super
Featherweight Champ, Andrew Cancio!
Swing Bout
Rommel Caballero (5-0-0, 4 KOs) vs. Javier
Rojas (1-3-0, 1 KO)
Four Rounds, Super Featherweights
Decision: Rommel Caballero via KO in round
one
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