Brownsville native "El Relampago" Omar Jaurez 14-2 (5), originally set to fight Luis Hernandez on Wednesday, March 27th, in Plant City, Florida, on the PROBOX TV main event. He will now face local fan favorite veteran Clarence Booth 21-9 (13). Booth has lost five fights in a row, including losing to West Texas native Michael Dutchover at the same venue where he will face Juarez. Prior to the five-fight losing streak, Booth had compiled a 21-4 record. Those four losses were all to high-level prospects, including Cletus Seldin, Maxim Dadashev, Sergey Lipinets, and Alex Saucedo. Booth last fought Kelvin Davis, also on PROBOX TV in Plant City, Florida.
Omar Juarez Returns on March 27th PROBOX TV Card
Brownsville favorite son Omar "El Relampago" Juarez is set to return to the ring on March 27th in Plant City, Florida, on a PROBOX TV card. The 24-year-old, who just became a father, will look to bounce back from the second controversial loss of his young and promising career. Last May the South Texan seemed to outwork and outland former two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy. However, the judges scored for Barthelemy. The 10-month layoff will be the longest of the Juarez's career. The Brownsville native will get a chance to get back in the win column against a formidable opponent in, Luis Hernandez, 23-4 (20), of Chihuahua, Mexico. Hernandez, a rugged and hard hitting veteran, is best known for fighting fellow 140-pound title contender Lindolfo Delgado.t
Delgado finished Hernandez in just four rounds. So this fight will be a good metric for the RGV native. If Juarez scores a dominant win or stoppage over Hernandez, like Delgado did, he will keep apce and stay relevant in the world title picture. Hernandez, has fought in Texas once before and was narrowly outpointed by Houston native Quinton Randall at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. The bout will air live on the PROBOX TV app.
Xander Zayas Confirms Vergil Ortiz Rumors
Grand Prairie native and undefeated Junior Middleweight Vergil Ortiz has had his name linked to several of the top guys at 154 pounds. Including world champion Tim Tszyu, that fight fell through as Tszyu inked a deal to meet up with former 147-pound unified champion Keith "One Time" Thurman in a mega fight scheduled for March 30th. That left the North Texan without a fight date. Rumors began circulating linking him with undefeated 154-pound prospect 21-year-old Xander Zayas of Puerto Rico. Zayas sports an 18-0 (12) record and appears well on his way to a world title fight. Zayas confirmed the rumors and said, "It would be a beautiful chapter to the Puerto Rico VS Mexic rivalry," and added, "Those Rumors may be true, and we can make that in the future. He just moved to 154. I am at 154. If I can stay at 154 and maybe get a title, we can make that fight in the future." Zayas went on to say that his next fight is already scheduled for June, on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade as he will square off with former world champion Patrick Teixeira at Madison Square Garden. Ortiz last fought in January, in Las Vegas, and stopped an outmatched Fredrick Laeson in one round to move his record to 20-0 (20). Another tune-up for Ortiz in May would make sense and would line the Puerto Rican and the Texan up perfectly for a fight in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Bam Rodriguez and Juan Francisco Estrada being Negotiated for the Summer
After Bam Rodriguez, 19-0 (12) of San Antonio, dismantled Sunny Edwards back in December 16th to become the unified Flyweight champion, he seemed eager and set on fighting legendary, pound-for-pound great and future Hall Of Famer Juan Francisco Estrada. That fight is now under negotiations and appears likely to happen according to inside sources. Rodriguez is expecting his first child, a daughter, in April, and the fight looks to be targeted for the summer, likely in July. No official date or location has been mentioned. Estrada, of Mexico, sports a 44-3 (28) record. He last fought 14 months ago and won the vacant WBC Super Flyweight by narrowly outpointing the legendary Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez. Estrada was criticized back in 2022 for apparently ducking Bam's older brother Joshua Franco after Golden Boy had won the purse bid and Estrada opted to vacate his WBA belt instead of squaring off with Franco and opting for largely unknown Argi Cortes. Following the Cortes fight, Estrada followed up and outpointed Chocolatito to win the WBC belt. That was ironically vacated by the San Antonian when he moved down to 112 pounds. Rodriguez will look to recapture the belt he vacated that was then won by the man who openly ducked his brother.
Ramon Cardenas Dominates, Stops Picazo in Florida
28-year-old "Dinamita" Ramon Cardenas is emerging as one of the premier 122-pounders in the world. The San Antonio native improved his record to 23-1 (12) after scoring his second upset stoppage victory in just five months. The 122-pound Texan stopped surging Mexican prospect Israel Rodriguez Picazo. Unlike Friday night's fight at the Garden between O'Shaquie Foster and Abraham Nova, the Cardenas and Picazo came out like gangbusters. Dinamita pressed forward but also selected beautiful corner shots with the right hand and left hook that continually landed on the button. Cardenas rocked Picazo to the body late in the second, and Picazo began to let off the gas just a little bit. Noticing Picazo didn't like the body shots. The San Antonian, began focusing on the body more and taking more and more steam out of his opponent. Cardenas caught Picazo low halfway through that frame. The fifth round saw some rough play as a low blow put Picazo to the floor, and the Mexican took a prolonged recovery period to gather himself. Just moments later, the two combatants collided heads, and both men got cuts. After the cuts, Picazo came out slinging once again to end the fifth. In the sixth, a massive right-hand scored from Cardenas literally knocked Picazo’s jaw out of whack. Unable to close his jaw following the end of the end, the doctor was called in to examine the damaged jaw, and the response when asked if the fight should be stopped was a resounding, “Oh dear, yes” The fight was immediately stopped, and Cardenas, was awarded the sixth-round TKO.
Orange Native O'shaquie Foster Retains Title Outpoints Abraham Nova at The Garden
O'Shanique Foster defends WBC Super Featherweight title against Abraham Nova SD12 round-by-round recap.
Round 1: Tentative first round, feeling out process. Both fighters start slow and look to get into a grove. Foster likely wins the battle of the jab 10-9 Foster
Round 2: Nova picks up the pace a little to start round two. Nova unleashes a few flurries and scores with some glancing combinations. Nova isn't landing all that clean, but he's out saying Foster and landing some shots. Foster looks a little hesitant not firing off in combinations. 10-9 Nova
Round 3: Foster turns southpaw and turns up the volume. The Texan lands with a flurry early in the round and begins backing Nova into the corner. Foster scored with a perfect counter left with about 20 seconds left in the round. 10-9 Foster
Round 4: Foster seemed to have figured a few things out and is scoring with the left from the southpaw stance. After a strong start from Foster Nova scored with a looping right hand that caught the attention of the champion. The challenger followed you with another right hand that backed Foster into the ropes. A left hand came in that again shook shock 10-9 Nova.
Round 5 Foster walked Nova back a bit with his jab. He scored with a nice clean 1-2 a minute into the round. After a brief clinch, Foster seemed to hurt his shoulder as he was shaking it off. Foster flickers a few jabs too, and is having success with landing the jab, but Nova was able to avoid most of the heavy artillery a nip and tuck round carried by Foster's Jab. 10-9 Foster.
Round 6: Foster switches back to the conventional stance. The injury is to his bicep and is affecting Foster's gameplan. The Texas tough champion immediately has success with a left hook scored with a 1-2 about 40 seconds in. He scored with a counter straight right that caught the attention of his opponent, but seconds later, Nova landed left hook of his own in another evenish round 10-9 Nova.
Round 7: Foster landed a flush left hook when Nova came charging in, but Nova reversed the tide and had Foster in the ropes. Chants of Foster, Foster, Foster, raining in during the seventh!!! He scored with a quick straight right. Not Having success with Foster in the ropes, another tough round to score! 10-9 Nova
Round 8: Foster starts quickly with a quick right uppercut on the inside followed by a flurry that drives the Puerto Rican back. Another left uppercut was scored moments later as the action really began to pick up. Foster and Nova exchange in the ropes late in the round 10-9 Foster.
Round 9: The pace begins to slow as perhaps Nova is fatiguing. A nice right hand from Foster came in during the middle of the round and another drove Nova back. Foster followed up with a crisp left hook late in the round. A clean round for Foster, who scored with clean shots and was virtually untouched 10-9 Foster
Round 10- Foster lands a three-piece to start the round. Foster gets the fight back into the long-range and has success with his jab. Nova is flurrying and trying to pick up the pace but Foster is just more accurate, landing clean shots Nova scored with a double right hand late in the stanza. Foster scored with a hook to the body and straight right to the hand in a very interesting round to score 10-9 Foster
Round 11- Shock is sharp shooting with the right hand. Nova had a nice flurry early in the round, that pushed the champion into the ropes. Nova really picked up the work rate with Foster against the ropes. Foster pivots out and lands with a barrage of power shots to steal the round back!!! A right hand caught the attention of the Puerto Rican. The Texan scored a left hook, and another right had Nova reeling for a moment. 10-9 Foster
Round 12- Nova fatigued but trying his hardest to flurry. The challenger knows he needs to win the final round. Nova pushes the pace trying his hardest to flurry, and his landing glancing blows, but Foster is selecting nice counter shots that are landing clean. Nova pushes forward as Foster lands a few counter shots with accuracy. A late knockdown from a left hook with less than 30 seconds sealed the deal for Foster and secured a two-point round for the champion. 10-8 Foster
Final score 116-111 Foster
Official Cards 114-113 Nova, 116-111 Foster, 115-112 Foster
Bozy Ennis says Barrios fight is A Go.
Everyone seems to want a piece of San Antonio-based welterweight and former 140-pound WBA World Champ Mario "El Azteca" Barrios since his upset of former welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas back in September. The 28-year-old San Antonian was long linked to a fight in Saudi Arabia with 140-pound world champion Devin Haney, who had his heart set on moving up to 147. The fight has not materialized, and with Haney having signed to fight Ryan Garcia on April 20th, the other major fight rumor involving the San Antonian may happen. According to Derek "Bozy" Ennis, the father and head trainer of IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis, the fight between his son and Barrios looks like a go. Ennis's name has been in the news lately, after being awarded the IBF welterweight belt, he sued his promoter, "NOW Boxing Promotions." The elder Ennis alleges the promoter is "essentially holding Ennis hostage" and is seeking at least $ 1 million in damages. Enis, who was awarded the IBF welterweight title after it was stripped off of Terence Crawford in late 2023. Crawford won the strap from long-reigning champ Errol Spence of DeSoto in July. That belt could very well find its way back to Texas and around the waist of Barrios, who held the WBA 140-pound world tile from 2019 to 2021 and vacated that belt to move up to 147 pounds. Barrios will look to jin current WBO/IBF Flyweight champ Bam Rodriguez as the only two Alamo City natives to capture titles in multiple weight classes
Ramon Cardenas to Headline February 16th PROBOX TV Card
Ramon Cardenas, of San Antonio, said his second-round KO of Rafael Pedroza in the main event of a Showtime-televised card was a "star-making performance." It certainly did change a lot of things for the 28-year-old. It put the 122-pound division on notice, it moved the Alamo City native's record to 23-1 (12). It put him firmly in the world title picture and made him the leader in the clubhouse to be the next world champion from the 210. That sensational victory also set up his next fight. Cardenas will again hit the road and head to Florida, a state that he has fought in twice before and has gone 2-0 (1),and take on Israel Rodriguez Picazo in the main event of a Friday, February 16th, PROBOV TV card at the Whitesand’s Event Center in Plant City, Florida. Picazo, of Mexico City, Mexico, sports a 30-5 (20) record. Picazo dropped a decision to Mauricio Lara in 2016 and has won 15 fights in a row since his last loss, a 2019 points loss to Eduardo Baez in Mexico. Cardenas is currently ranked #6 by the WBA in the Super Bantamweight division. The Texan says he can still make 118 pounds if a world title shot becomes available at the weight class.
Fort Worth Native Looks to Pull Upset on Teofimo Lopez Card
Fort Worth Native and undefeated jr welterweight Benjamin Gurment gets the opportunity of a lifetime Thursday night at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. He will have the opportunity to get some Texas redemption and catapult himself up the 140-pound rankings as he battles 2023 Prospect of the Year Abdullah Mason, 11-0 (9) of Cleveland, Ohio. Mason, a 19-year-old phenom, went 5-0 (4) in 2023, with his most recent win a second-round KO of Laredo Native Jose Cardenas last November. Gourmet, 8-0 (3), a rugged, hard-hitting, up-and-comer, is looking to bounce back from his disputed draw with Donte Strayhorn this past November in Mesquite. Its not been an easy path for the Fort Worthian, who trains with Ray Barrera at FHG Gym. In two of his first three fights Gourmet took on both Jordan Jones, an extremely successful amateur and Darius Bagley, a highly touted Dallas fighter. Gourmet was supposed to be the sacrificial lamb for each of these two men who were destinedto go on to bigger and better things. Gurment, a US Armey veteran, derailed the plains of both fighters, fighting each one to a draw. Gurment then went on to win seven fights in a row and capture the WBC Four-round belt by knocking out Yainiel Alvarez Telemaco of Cuba in 2022. The Fort Worth native will now look to derail the career of perhaps the sports brightest prospect. Gurment will look to do Mason what he did to both Jones and Bagley. The action will be on ESPN, and the card starts at 5:30cst on the ESPN+ app.
Goyo and DFG Complete Texas Two-Step in Phoenix, Arizona
Two up-and-coming Texas-based prospects took the big stage last night on the Munguia-Ryder undercard at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The Texans completed the two step and went 2-0 as both "Goyo" Gregory Morales and "DFG" Darius Fulghum!
San Antonio-based prospect Gregory Morales kicked things off and extended his winning streak to three and had his best overall performance in quite some time in dominating Ronal Ron over eight competitive but largely one-sided and clear-cut rounds. Morales mobbed his record 16-1 (9). Morales worked behind a well-timed and thudding jab that stopped Ron in his tracks throughout the eight-round affair. Morales showed vastly improved footwork and head movement as he consistently made his opponent miss. Morales scored with right hands throughout the affair. The 1-2 for Morales scored all night for the Texan as Ron had no answer and was unable to stop it. Morales would occasionally exchange on the inside before pivoting back out and controlling the fight from the outside as he rolled to the hard-earned unanimous decision by scores of 80-79-73 and 78-74.
Fulghum kept the winning going for the Texans as he picked up a points victory as well, Fulghum moved to 10-0 (9),with the win over Alantez Foz and went the distance for the first time in his carrer. Things got intersting only after the final bell sounded and one judge scored the bout 95-95 an even draw, while the other two judges handed in much more appriotatecards of 100-90 and 98-92. Fulghum, originally hails from Kileed and now makes his way out of Houston got off to a bit of a slower start. Fox, by far the best opponet DFG has faced boxed evenly with the Texans over the first three rounds. However, Fulghum got cooking in the fourth and Fox started locking him up and holding on as Fulghum started to loosen up and scored with more and more power shots in the middle rounds. The sixthand seventh were dominat rounds for the unbeatean Texan scored with a right hand to the side of his mans head and follwoed that up later in the stanza with a barrage of body shots. The seventh was more of the same and it looked as if Fulghum may get a stoppage. A right hand buckled Fox’s legsaround the midway point and Fulghum began to unleash on his wounded opponent. Fox made it to the bell and was able to surive the next nine minutes but it was clear cut who had won the fight as Fulghum landed more than 100 punches more than his outgunned opponent.
DFG and Goyo Get Big Opportunity in Arizona
Former World Champion Jaime Mungia of Tijuana Mexico headlines the Footprint Center, in Phoenix, Arizona, and battles John Ryder in the evening's main event. On the undercard "DFG' Darius Fulghum originally from Killeen and now fights out of Houston, is one of the brightest young prospects in the sport of boxing regardless of weight class, 9-0 (9), the former amateur star who has stopped every opponent he has stepped in the ring with will look to pick up his first strap as a professional. He will take a massive step up in level of opposition as he takes on Alantez Fox for the WBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight strap. Fox sports a record of, 28-5-1 (13) and has been in with Demetrius Andrade, Liam Williams, David Morrell, and Bek Melikuziev. Fulghum had a very active 2023 going 6-0 (6) winning four of those fights in Texas and inking a deal with Golden Boy Promotions.
Also on the card is the 15-1 (6), Gregory "Goyo" Morales of San Antonio. The featherweight prospect has run off two consecutive wins since the lone defeat of his career back in 2022 when he was outpointed by Katsuma Akitsugi at the Alamodome. Morales, who most recently fought in Mexico City and scored a dramatic fifth-round stoppage over Ernesto Salcedo back in July, will take on hard-hitting Venezuelan Ronal Ron 14-4 (11), who is coming off a points loss to John Dato.
Texas 6 -Shooters! Six Texans Who Can Take a Huge Step Forward in 20024
Texas has run boxing for quite some time now. The pound-for-pound lists have been littered with Lone Star State natives. The following six fighters could potentially carry that load and be the next era of elite, world-class Texas fighters.
1. David Cardenas- San Antonio. San Antonio has produced a heck of a lot of great little men, and Cardenas could certainly be the next guy. Cardenas turned pro this summer in Mexico and shook off a jittery opening round to score a second round and has dominated every moment of every round since. He scored three consecutive KO's and then dominated Richard Hernandez, a veteran of 14 professional fights in December. Cardenas will be back in the ring in his home city on March 1st. Cardenas has solid pop for the weight, a sky-high ring IQ, and world-class feet. He is also best friends with San Antonio Spurs superstar Keldon Johnson, who can be seen in his entourage at each of his fights. Cardenas won multiple national championships in multiple weight classes as an amateur.
2. Felix Garcia- Laredo "El Gatito" the son of solid professional fighter. Garcia has already accumulated a record of 8-0 (1) and has just turned 18 years old. He turned pro in nearby Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. The 18-year-old is being moved quickly and has already fought eight rounders. He has also headlined cards. At just 17, the youngester headlined the Sames Auto Arena in his home city, and scored a unanimous decision over Jose Casiano. The Laredo nativ then followed that up with a points victory over undefeated Joseph Johnson and ended the year by fighting an eight-rounder in Mexico. The single KO in his eight pro fights is not indicative of his power. Garcia is still growing into his weight division (super featherweight), has tremendous agility and moves well is an excellent combination puncher who likes to march forward. Gatito is also fundamentally very sound and defensively responsible for an aggressive, action fighter
3. Joel Martinez- Fort Worth, "The Owl" is a bit of a unicorn, 6'1, southpaw, featherweight with tremendous one-punch power. After watching the hard-hitting Southpaw make his pro debut in November of 2021, I told him his biggest challenge was going to be hetting quality fighters to fight him. While, inactivity has played a part in his development. Martinez has secured four professional fights and expects to be back in the ring in February in Fort Worth. He is trained at FHG, the same gym as Edward Vazquez and John Vera, with coach Ray Berrera. He settled for a draw in July against "Gusto" Sean Brewer, and all things considered, that's not so bad. Outside of that, the consistent jab and massive left hand that the Fort Worthian sports has been unstoppable. He sports a 3-0-1 (2) record.
4 Oscar Perez- Houston, The lone Houstonian on the list, may be the closest to taking that big step forward and fighting on a massive stage. The southpaw lightweight, sports an 8-0-2 (6) record and ended 2023 with KO's of John Herrera and before that scored a second-round TKO of Yesner Talavera in his own backyard. The 24-year-old already has a win over rugged journeyman Clay Burns of Fort Worth. Perez knocked out, KO artist Omar Urieta of Tyler in the second round and went in as the B-Side to fight Anthony Cuba in Los Angeles at the Crypto Arena on the undercard of Andy Ruiz VS Luis Ortiz and settled for a disputed draw in a fight that must observers that he won. A fight with 2023's winner of this award, RGV native Fabian Diaz, would be an intriguing fight and an interesting test for both men.
5. Guillermo Guiterrez- San Antonio, the second Alamo City native, just missed making our list last year and was certainly a part of it this year. The 25-year-old made rapid improvements and should be in line for a big-time fight in 2024. In 2023 his three opponents in 2023 had a combined record of 10-1-5. He beat Jaden Burnias. The lack of power that the Alamo City's native suggests may help Guiterrez out in securing a big-time fight. San Antonio produced two recent world champions in the super flyweight division in recent years with Josh Franco and Bam Rodriguez. Given his skills and combination punching, Guiterrez has a legitimate chance to join them as 115-pound world champions
6-. Travis Crawford- Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi has produced some good fighters in recent years: Xavier Nunez, John Rincon, and emerging amateur Julian Delgado, who will make his professional debut shortly, all top that list. 21-year-old lightweight Travis Crawford wasn't supposed to be among them. However, the massive leap he took in 2023, going 5-0 (2) and moving his current win streak to six, combined with his all-action, fan-friendly style, made Crawford, who started his career off at 0-2, become one of the top young fighters to watch. His career started with losses to hard-hitting monster Xavier Bocanegra, who is the prized pupil of legendary hall of fame traineer Ronnie Shields, and then a controversial loss to Joe DeGuardia promoted prospect Ronny Reyes in Reyes's backyard in a fight that Crawford probably deserved the nod. Crawford brings his all-out, fan-friendly stlye back to the ring on January 20th in Tennessee.
Vergil Ortiz in Midst of Controversy and World Title Talks
The last 48 hours has been a whirlwind of events for the 154-pound undefeated world title prospect. Vergi Ortiz of Grand Prairie scored a first-round TKO of Fredrick Lawson that appeared to many observers. An inappropriate stoppage in the estimation of the boxing world. The win moved Ortiz's record to 20-0 (20), and marked his first win in a year and a half and his first above the welterweight limit. Following the controversial win, Ortiz called out WBO Junior Middleweight champion Tim Tszyu. The Texans promoter said he would get to work, and the fight was a real possibility. Multiple reports today that the two parties are discussing a fight this year.
In other news relating to the quick stoppage in Saturday's fight, referee Tony Weeks said he stopped the fight early because Fredrick Lawson had a brain aneurysm. According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). Weeks explained the stoppage by saying, “[I]t came up that he had an aneurysm, and they did a test again, and the same aneurysm came up. Another doctor was brought in and gave him the same examination, and he tested negative for the aneurysm, so they cleared him to fight.” Those claims were immediately refuted by both the promoter and the commission.
According to BoxingScene.com, Lawson was tested twice. Neither test produced anything that would jeopardize the fight. It is also not uncommon for a commission to request follow-up testing if anything on an initial examination is attention-catching. Informing Weeks of the details surrounding Lawson's license approval and/or medical condition would be a HIPAA violation.
Vergil Ortiz at career-high weight for Lawson fight
In 2016, a young Vergil Ortiz weighed in at 139 pounds for his professional debut, a four-round, jr welterweight affair with Julio Rodas. Ortiz won that bout by first round stoppage. He has gone on to win every other fight by stoppage as well, and has run his record to 19-0 (19). No longer a jr welterweight, the now 25-year-old Grand Prairie native tipped the scales at 156-pounds, officially making the contracted weight for Saturday's fight in Las Vegas against Fredrick Lawson 30-3 (22).
Ortiz will end his 17-month layoff in what amounts to a tune-up fight with Lawson, a Chicago resident who originally hails from Accra, Ghana, who last fought at UT-Arlington back in April and scored a career-best win over Estevan Villalobos via unanimous decision. Lawson, was also knocked out by Dallas-based junior middleweight and world title challenger Charles Hatley back in 2021. Ortiz last fought in August of 2022 and scored a 9th-round TKO of Michael Mckinson at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. Ortiz, was scheduled to fight Lithuanian welterweight title holder Eimantas Stanionis. However, that fight fell through three different times for emergency medical reasons. First, the Lithuanian had to have emergency appendectomy surgery, which postponed its originaly fight date, that scheduled for last January. The fight was then called off twice more when Ortiz had flare-ups of his previously diagnosed rhabdomyolysis. The Grand Prarie native has never weighed in above the 147-pound limit in his professional career. Ortiz will be carrying nine extra pounds as he makes his "middleweight" debut! However the North Texan will in all likelihood, campaign at 154 pounds moving forward. The division will likely featrue two other pound for pound elites in DeSoto naive Errol Spence and Houton native Jermell Charlo. DraftKings sportsbook lists Ortiz as a 25-1 favorite to beat Lawson.
Bam! Down Goes Sunny! Rodriguez unifies Flyweight Straps
Eddie Hearn labeled Bam Rodriguez vs Sunny Edwards as the best fighting the best Saturday night at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Bam Rodriguez, of San Antonio, moved to 19-0 (12), picked up the IBF Flyweight belt to add to his WBO title, and gave one of the ten best performances promoter Eddie Hearn has ever seen by absolutely destroying Sunnty Edwards of London, England.
After a competitive couple of opening rounds that saw Bam investing to the body and Edwards moving and using his jab. The rounds were reasonably close and competitive. However, it was Rodriguez landing the more meaningful shots. A vintage Bam right hook scored in the second round with about 45 seconds to go caught the attention of the Brit. Edwards bounced back with a strong third, but that was really the last moment of success he had. The fourth round saw Rodriguez pick up the pace. The now unified champ said in the press conference that he had "figured it out and saw Edwards slowing down" at this point. Edwards's eye was swelling badly, so he decided to switch to southpaw. It did nothing to confuse or frustrate the Alamo City native. Rodriguez out-jabbed the Brit and scored with powerful hooks that drove him backward into the ropes, and Rodriguez would do damage to the body of Edwards while he was in the ropes. The Texan stayed downstairs as Edwards began to slow down and became more stationary as the rounds went on. Bam began teeing off on his opponent, and it became abundantly clear that Rodriguez was going to get his man out of there. It was just a matter of when. The when came in the ninth round as Rodriguez had put together a sustained rally, and had his opponent in a world of trouble and then ended it abruptly, with an overhand left from the rafters that the sharp-shooting Texan loaded up on and scored with perfectly. The shot lifted Edwards up off his feet and put him on the canvas as the round expired. Edwards somehow got up and made it to his corner, but his team decided that was sufficient and waved off the bout, giving Rodriguez the TKO victory and making him a unified champion.
"I am satisfied I got the one period. That's the goal, but I knew I had what it takes to stop him. So that's what I did." The newly minted unified Flyweight champion explained.
Mario Barrios in Play for Haney fight in Saudi Arabia
"El Azteca" Mario Barrios of San Antonio has headlined multiple PPV cards, building a reputation as one of boxing's most rugged warriors. The former WBA 140-pound world title holder is now on a shortlist for a mega fight that could potentially be the biggest fight of 2024 and the most profitable. Newly minted 140-pound WBC world champion Devin Haney announced that his next fight would be at 147, and he wanted to fight in Saudi Arabia. When pressed for an answer, Haney's father and representative, Bill Haney, mentioned two names for his next possible opponent. Keith Thurman and Mario Barrios were the candidates, according to the elder Haney. The rumors of a Barrios fight were confirmed by other sources and seems like a makeable and realistic fight for the Spring of 2024. El Azteca last fought in September and handed a career-best performance in outclassing and berating down Cuban former world champion Yordenis Ugas moved his record to 28-2 (18), and became the WBC International welterweight title holder. Haney is fresh off his amazing performance and shut-out UD victory of Regis Prograis last weekend at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, to improve his record to 31-0 (15), and is a strong contender for Fighter of the Year. Current WBC welterweight world titleholder Terence Crawford will likely vacate the title and move up to 154 to rematch Desoto native Errol Spence. That would likely make a Haney-Barrios showdown for the what would be vacant WBC world title. Meaning, that if Barrios won, he would join WBO Flyweight champion Bam Rodriguez as the only San Antonians to ever capture world titles in multiple divisions.
Kid Austin and DFG Come Up Clutch in Clutch City
Two of the Lone Star State's brightest prospects showed out last night in Houston. "Kid Austin'' Floyd Schofield of Austin, and Kileen Native, "DFG '' Darius Fulghum both came up clutch in H-Town on the Ryan Garcia vs Oscar Durate undercard. The main card was kicked off by 27-year-old Fulghum, who blasted out Pachino Hill in just two rounds. Fulghum improved his record to 9-0 (9). DFG, a super middleweight, does not describe himself as a puncher but has been able to stop all his opponents inside the distance. The Killeen native had a brilliant amateur career and is ready for a massive step up in 2024. He recently signed with Golden Boy and could be prepared for a fight with Munguia, who has sold well in Texas multiple times. With another win or two against increasingly difficult opposition, Fulghum could be ready for Munguia, and it would be a massive draw anywhere in the Lone Star State.
In the evening's co-main event, Schofield continued to show why he was our 2022 Prospect of the Year and why he could be closing in on something massive in 2024. Kid Austin moved to 16-0 (12). The 21-year-old from the republic's Capital City scored four knockdowns in the opening round to stop Tijuana’s Ricardo Lopez 1:51 into the opening round. Lopez opted to stand in front of the blue-chip prospect, who connected with a left hook that dropped the Mexican less than a minute into the bout. Schofield dropped Lopez again with the left hook 20 seconds later and the fight should have been stopped there. However, Lopez was allowed to continue, and the Texan unleashed a barrage of pin-point power shots that dropped Lope two more times until referee Joe Rodriguez finally waved off the massacre and gave Schofield his 12th knockout. Golden Boy promotes both Schofield and former world champ Jo Jo Diaz and may look to put each other in the ring together early in 2024.
Jermall Charlo Picks Up UD Victory After 30-month Layoff
There has been nothing conventional about the journey that Houston native and WBC Middleweight champ Jermall Charlo has been on the last 30 months. The 33-year-old Houstonian missed weight badly and was not defending his title against a much smaller Jose Benavidez jr at a contracted catchweight. However, in the ring, it was business as usual for the champ, who easily and decisively took care of business. Charlo shook off a little rust and got cooking on his way to a wide unanimous decision by scores of 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 and improved his record to 33-0 (22).
The Texan gets caught with a right hand about 45 seconds into his return, and then another one comes with just about 60 seconds left in the opening stanza, causing the boxing world to begin to wonder if perhaps the layoff was too long or perhaps he bit off my then he could chew in choosing Benavidez as his comeback opponent. However, Charlo scored with a big right hand late in the opening round and began to build off that. The Texan scored with an uppercut that hurt his man late in the second, and Charlo was off to races. He dominated the majority of the fight with an excellent jab and mixing in his right hand and left hook. Benavidez had some moments scattered throughout the scheduled ten-rounder, but nothing was extremely effective, and most of his flurries missed the mark. Charlo dominated a somewhat competitive affair, and with about a minute left, he went for the stoppage. Charlo stunned his exhausted opponent with a right hand that drove Benavidez into the ropes with about 45 seconds to go in their fight. About 20 seconds later, referee Harvey Dock grabbed Charlo and warned him of some rule violation that wasn't apparent to anyone watching the fight besides Dock. This caused about 15 seconds to tick off the clock and allowed Benavidez to survive the final bell.
Jorge Castaneda to Headline November 29th PROBOX TV Card
The boxing scene in Laredo and throughout the 956 is hotter than a pistol, and one of the region's brightest and most exciting stars is set to return to the ring and on a major card. 27-year-old Jorge Castaneda will return to the squared circle next Wednesday at the Whitesands Event Center in Plant City, Florida, as part of the PROBOX TV series. Castaneda, a Laredoan, scored two big-time wins in 2021, upsetting not one but two of Eddie Hearn's prized prospects. He upset Otha Jones in April of that year and came back in October, and upset Youssef Khoumari. The Texan then suffered his first career loss to Eduardo Hernandez in June 2022. The South Texan was then out of the ring for 14 months with a new trainer, the trainer of legendary little man Chocolatio, Marcos Caballero, and Castaneda looked spectacular in his return. In his first fight in his native city in over four years, Castaneda scored a vicious 8th-round KO of the undefeated Nestor Medellin at the Sames Auto Arena. Now, the 27-year-old will return with a major challenge! A win could propel him into the world title picture. On the 29th of November, Castaneda will take on 28-year-old Puerto Rican prospect Orlando Gonzalez. Gonzalez sports a 21-2 (12) record and has won three fights in a row since his loss at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on an ESPN Televised Top Rank card to Misael Lopez. Gonzlaez's last fight was in July, and the Puerto Rican outboxed Ramiro Cesena over ten rounds to pick up a unanimous decision victory.
O'Shaquie Foster Inks Deal with Top Rank
Orange, Texas native and WBC Super Featherweight world champion "Ice Water" O'shaquie Foster is the front-runner for Fighter of the Year. He is likely the leader in the clubhouse for a round of the year and fight of the year for his war with Eduardo Hernandez, as well as performance of the year for his dominant win and upset over Ray Vargas at the Alamodome. He now is a bit richer after inking a multi-year deal with Top Rank.
“I’m excited to be part of the Top Rank and ESPN family. Top Rank has shaped the careers of many of the greatest fighters whom I look up to even to this day, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to fight on ESPN. I can’t wait to step into the ring and show that I am the best fighter in the world.” Foster explained.
Top Rank has done a tremendous job in the past, matching their top fighters against each other. The climax of this contract would be a unification fight with fan favorite and reigning WBO 130-pound world title holder Emanuel Navarrete. Navarrete will have to survive a very tough challenge Thursday Night in Las Vegas against Gold Medalist Robson Conceicao from Brazil. Foster established himself as the best 130-pounder in the world with his two wins this year but has had trouble securing big fights and the big paydays that go along with them. His last fight with Hernendez was a Matchroom fight that aired on DAZN when Eddie Hearn won the purse bid. In addition, Navarrete Top Rank also promotes undefeated prospect Henry Lebron and former world champion Oscar Valdez. Either fight would represent a big fight for Foster, as would former champ Jamel Herring, who still has a working relationship with Top Rank but is promoted by Lou Dibella. Herring called out Foster after his win last week in NYC and seems like a makeable fight if both promoters are willing to work together.