Michael Angeletti Shines on Showtime Card.

photo credit: David Algranati/The Fight Photos

The 118-pound division is wide open. With Naoya Inoue having moved up to 122 and vacating all the belts, there is no longer a dominant force in the division. That was until now 27-year-old Spring, Texas Bantamweight Michael Angeletti, 9-0 (7), has settled in at 118 and has put the entire division on notice with his performance Saturday night at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. In a battle of unbeaten up-and-comers. The Texan absolutely took apart and punished Jonathan Lopez to move his record to 9-0 (7),

After a somewhat quiet and tit-for-tat first round. Angeletti got cooking in the second and never slowed down. Angeletti found the range in the second and scored with laser-like right hands that did not miss. Keeping the fight at his preferred range, the Texan started letting his hands go and landing consistently. Lopez was hurt for the first time in the fourth round via a left hook and again in the sixth with a pair of right hands that had Lopez wobbled. The Texans scored with a ferocious uppercut in the seventh, and with just over 30 seconds left, he rocked Lopez with yet another left uppercut. Angeletti, having scored an 8th-round KO in his last outing, went for it again. He nailed Lopez with a right hand to the body that forced him backward with just over a minute remaining in the fight but the determined Lopez held up and ran out the clock. The decision was clear as Angeletti rolled to the lopsided UD by a score of 80-72, 79-73 X2.

Angeletti closed out 2022 with a win over the unbeaten Jeremy Adorno, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and then picked up an impressive win over Michell Banquez on the undercard of Rolly Romero-Ismael Barroso. The win on Saturday night showcased the complete skill set plus the power of Angeletti, and a high-level ring IQ. The win established the Spring, Texas, resident as a legitimate world title challenger and should put him in a position where he can be fighting for a world title in the wide-open division in the next 12 months.

Three Texans Look to Shine in Vegas on PBC Card

On Saturday, May 13th, three Texans will take to Las Vegas and look to take a major step forward in their respective careers. In the evening's co-main event, Omar "El Relampago" Juarez, 14-1 (5), of Brownsville, takes the biggest fight of his career as he battles former two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy, 29-2-1 (15), of Havana, Cuba. Juarez is now 23 years old and has scored three highly impressive victories since his lone career defeat to All Rivera in the Summer of 2021. A win here gets the Rio Grande Valley native into the title picture. The 23-year-old has brought in the help of world-famous strength and conditioning coach Tony Brady to prepare for the biggest fight of his professional career.

On the undercard portion of the card is PBC's 2022 Prospect of the Year, Michael Angeletti, 7-0 (6), of Spring, Texas. Angelletti will battle rugged Venezuelan contender Michell Banquez 20-3 (14), in a Super Bantamweight bout. Banquez recently fought San Antonio native Ramon Cardenas in San Antonio and gave the touted prospect a competitive 10-round scrap. Angeletti, who is also nearing a world title shot, last fought in October and blew away fellow undefeated prospect Jeremy Adorno in just five rounds. Angeletti dominated his outmatched opponent in every single round and made Adorno quit on the stool following the fifth round.

Also on the card is hard-hitting, fan-favorite, knockout artist Javi Vargas 3-1 (3), of McAllen. Vargas suffered the lone defeat of his career back in December. The McAllen native has bounced back nicely and, in April scored a sensational first-round TKO of Milton Banks in San Antonio on a P4P Promotions card. He will enter as the B-side, but as a very live dog as he battles undefeated 154-pound prospect David Whitmire, 1-0 (1) of Washington DC. Whitmire made his pro debut in February in San Antonio and scored a brutal first-round TKO of fellow Rio Grande Valley native Keith Foreman.

Houston Area Native Michael Angeletti Wins PBC Prospect of the Year

Premier Boxing Championship (PBC) is the premier brand in professional boxing. To win its prospect of the year award means you are operating on the highest of levels and on a fast track to winning a world title. That's exactly what Spring, native Micahel Angeletti did. The management company named the Houston area fighter its prospect of the year for 2022 following a spectacular 12 months that saw the 26-year-old go 3-0 (3) and pick up wins in the Armory in Minnesota, the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida and in Brooklyn's Barclays Center. It was at the Barclays where a star was born. The hard-hitting and slick-moving Angeletti put a Texas-size beat down on fellow unbeaten prospect Joseph Adorno on his way to picking up on a fifth-round stoppage in a scheduled six-round featherweight bout. Angeletti typically fights at the super bantamweight limit of 122 pounds but moved up to 126, to take the battle of unbeaten prospects on the undercard of Wilder-Helenius. 

Angeletti also scored wins over veteran Angel Luna on the undercard of  Tzsyu-Gausha undercard and a first-round blowout of Rafael Morel on the undercard of Omar Figueroa vs Sergey Lipinets card back in August. He finishes the year and moves into 2023 with a flawless record of 7-0 (6) 

Angeletti is a highly skilled boxer with excellent hand speed and footwork and carries surprising pop in both hands. Two of the four world titles at 122 are held on the PBC side with Stephen Fulton holding both the WBC and WBO straps. The other two are held by Murodjon Akhmadaliev a Matchroom Boxing fighter. It stands to reason given Angeletti's quick ascension he could be fighting for a world title in 2023. 

Michael Angeletti Salvages Otherwise Tough Weekend for Texas Fighters.

Houston Area Super featherweight prospect Michael Angeletti continues to take care of business and shoot up the 122-pound rankings. He scored a sensational first-round stoppage of an overmatched Rafael Morel on the undercard of Figueroa-Lipinets at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The knockout came abruptly at 2:28 of the opening round. Morel apparently suffered a fractured orbital bone in the fight. Angeletti moved his record to 6-0 (5). He originally hails from Louisiana, now lives in Spring, Texas, and is a 2016 US National Amateur champion. Angeletti hopes to be fighting for a world title within a year to a year and a half. He has sparred with the likes of Shakur Stevenson and has gone 10-12 rounds with the 130-pound unified champ. Additionally, he has done a lot of sparring with the legendary Cuban former world champ and two-time Gold Medalist Guillermo Rogondeaux. That preparation, with those legends combined with his early success, has assured him he is ready to move up in class and challenge for world titles. However, when he does move up, he plans on moving down in weight to 118lbs.

In the cards' main event, Rio Grande Valley hero and the first world champion to come from "The Valley", Omar "Panterita" Figueroa, didn't fare as well. Figueroa called it a career after a high-action but mostly one-sided loss to former 140-pound world champion Sergey Lipinets. Lipinets secured the victory via 8th round TKO when Figueroa's father and trainer Omar Sr informed Chris Young that his son had enough. Figueroa expressed that he was able to overcome a series of mental health issues and was thankful for the camp and preparation he had to even get back in the ring, but said his body just wasn't responding. If this is the last time we see Figueroa in the ring, he will walk away with a 28-3-1 (19) record, held the WBC lightweight title, and was one of the most entertaining and fan-friendly fighters of his era.

Also in action was "Pork Chop" Alejandro Guerrero who originally hails from Irving but now fights out of Houston, took on Xavier Martinez on the undercard of the Navarrete-Baez card in the Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Pork Chop gut things going in the fourth round and wobbled Martinez courtesy of a right hand. However, the success didn't last, as Martinez rallied and had Guerrero badly hurt in the fifth. Martinez unleashed a flurry of power shots causing Referee Eddie Hernandez, Sr. to call a halt to the bout. Guerrero dropped to 12-3 (9). It's his third consecutive loss after a very promising 12-0 start to his young career.