The untelevised portion of the Golden Boy card started with a bang and ended with an all-Texas heavyweight shootout. Killen Resident and Puerto Rican native Roberto Cruz moved his record to 9-0 (5) with a second-round destruction of Tyrone Selders of Houston. The Puerto Rican native was loading up on right hands that were putting a dent in Selders. Heavy-handed punches and thudding shots put Sleders into the retreat. That set up the kill shot that Cruz delivered a straight right hand a minute or so into the second that sent the Houstonian reeling across the ring. Cruz stayed aggressive and unleashed a barrage of power shots that brought referee Rosario Solis in to wave the bout off at 1:48 into the second round.
Next up was Houston native Darius Fulghum. Fulghum continued his knockout streak and moved to 4-0 (4). It was the second time the Houston native fought in Arlington in the past 12 months. Fulghum looked to make a quick night of it and scored with a right hand putting down an outmatched Jay Williams late in the opening stanza. Fulghum again had his man in trouble later in the round with a barrage of power shots. Fulghum effortlessly walked his man backward and scored with a whirlwind of power shots that again backed his outgunned opponent into the corner and put him down for a second time. After another short flurry of power shots dropped Williams for a third and final time as referee Reuben Perez put a stop to the onslaught at 58 seconds into round number two.
Austin native Caleb Suniga represented well for the 512. He scored what was the knockout of the night, and possibly the knockout of the year!! The youngster came out sharp with lightning-quick combinations that put his opponent Carlos Arroyo, a veteran of nearly 30 pro fights, on his back foot. Like a cobra, Suniga scored with a shovel hook putting his man down and out, unable to beat the count. In just 49 seconds suniga moved his record to 2-0. "Maivilla" has put the 130-pound division on notice.
In the final bout of the untelevised portion 21-year-old heavyweight/cruiserweight contender "Sweet T" Tristian Kalkreuth of Duncanville and Jonathan Rice of Cleburne went to war in an all-DFW shootout. After an intense weigh-in where the two combatants and their camps needed to be separated. Kalkreutand Rice kept up that energy in the ring. Rice, a massive underdog, accounted well for himself working behind a snappy jab. The two big men traded jabs in a somewhat cautious opening round. Rice had a 23-pound weight advantage and began to open up, firing left hooks and straight rights with some success. Kalkruth tagged the aggressive Rice with a counter-hook in the second round that seemed to catch the attention of Rice, and the war was on. Rice to his credit, was unafraid of the big punching Kalkreuth. He stayed on the front foot and came forward with heavy artillery throughout the six-round affair. Rice outworked "Sweet T". However the Duncanville native had success landing clean counter shots and had moments with the left hook that he would land in between Rice's shots. The two kept that up over the middle rounds. Kalkreuth put together his best round thru that point in the fourth. Rice came roaring back in the fifth with power shots that kept Kalkreuth from settling in. Rice backed his man into the corner and unloaded on the heavy favorite and appeared to have Kalkreuth buzzed and in a bit of trouble. Rice may have momentarily punched himself out late in the fifth. Kalkreuth marched forward in the final 30 seconds and scored with a right hand of his own. However, Rice bit down and immediately answered back. In a close and competitive fight that appeared to be in the balance in the final stanza, Rice struck first with an uppercut from the floor that snapped Sweet T's head back but Kalkreuth seemed to eat it well. After being warned for losing his mouthpiece Rice got back to work. However, Kalkreuth came roaring back with a left hook to the body that seemed to stop Rice in his tracks. In another competitive round, the two closed the show exactly as expected. They sat toe to toe and exchanged power shots as the final bell rang. All three judges favored the counterwork and clean shots of Kalkreuth and scored for him unanimously 59-55. Despite the debated decsion, Rice performed well on the big stage and establsihed himself on a high level.
