Early Results from Las Vegas

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Former world champion Stephen Fulton (22-1, 8 KO’s) of Philadelphia edged out Carlos Castro (30-3, 14 KO’s) of Phoenix by split decision as they went the distance in a ten round featherweight bout. Starting at fast pace in the opening round, Fulton and Castro stuck the jab and countered. Fulton began to beat Castro to the punch in the third as the fast pace continued. Castro used the jab to neutralize Fulton’s hand speed and counters in the fourth but the former champion was still boxing effectively. A straight right by Castro in the fifth dropped Fulton. Castro cut off the ring and attempted to attack, but Fulton survived.

Fulton appeared to have regained his composure in the sixth as he boxed and kept his distance from a more confident Castro. Working off the jab in the seventh, Castro was consistent sticking it as Fulton stood busy in the pocket. Excahnging to begin the eighth, Castro caught Fulton on the inside with another right hand as Fulton was rocked and held on. Shortly after the referee warned Fulton for holding. Late in the fight in the ninth, Castro stayed busy continuing to work the jab with Fulton staying close in the pocket landing the flashy shots. The tenth and final round, Castro and Futlon stood busy on the inside with Fulton connecting with a huge left hook. Castro kept pressing behind the jab and finished strong.

After completing ten rounds, the judges scored the bout 95-94 Castro, 96-93 Fulton, and 95-94 for Fulton.

In an upset, welterweight Ricardo Salas Rodriguez (20-2-2, 15 KO’s) of Mexico City scored a third round knockout over Roiman Villa (26-3, 24 KO) of Venezuela in the PBC on Prime co-feature. Slugging it out at the opening bell, Villa and Salas did not hold back as they fought at a fast pace. Continuing where they left off, Villa and Salas kept trading in round two. Exchanging in the third, a straight right by Salas drilled and sent Villa to the canvas and he was down and out for the count. Referee reached a ten count at 2:06 of the third.

Undefeated super featherweight Jonathan Lopez (17-0, 12 KO’s) of Orlando handidly defeated Richard Medina (15-3, 8 KO’s) of San Antonio, Texas via unanimous decision in opening up the PBC on Prime stream. A solid shot by Lopez knocked Medina’s mouthpiece out in the opening round as Medina kept fighting up until the referee momentarily stopped the action. Mixing it up on the inside in the round two, Lopez appeared to be getting the better of the exchange but Medina kept coming. Lopez circled the ring in the third as Medina stalked attempting to cut off the ring. Boxing effectively in the fourth, Lopez picked Medina with counters and set the pace.

Continuing to dictate the pace, Lopez’s boxed and was selective as there was no quit in Medina as he kept coming. As the fight was closing in, Lopez kept it conservative and continued to box effectively in the sevent as Medina put the effort but the Puerto Rican was smooth. Lopez attacked and landed a hard left to finish the seventh as Medina appeared to be a bit staggered going to his corner. It was all Lopez finishing strong and sending Medina to the canvas with a straight left in the eighth and final round in route to a impressive decision win. All three judges scored the bout 80-71.

Cuban middleweight Yoenli Hernandez (5-0, 5 KO’s) also scored a second round stoppage of Jose Sanchez Charles (21-6-1, 12 KO’s) of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Hernandez stunned Sanchez at the end of the opening round with a short right as Sanchez staggered back to the corner. A combination by Hernandez dropped Sanchez in the second. Hernandez then put him away, knocking him down for a second time as referee Thomas Taylor immediately stopped the fight at 1:49.

Light heavyweight Lawrence King (17-1, 14 KO’s) of San Bernadino, California scored a second round stoppage over Vaugh Williams (12-2, 8 KO’s) of Long Island, New York. King dropped Williams twice early in the second round, a chopping right hand by King sent Williams to the canvas a third time. Fight was stopped at 2:15 of the second.

Super middleweight Bek Nurmaganbet (12-0, 10 KO’s) of Kazakhstan stopped Joshua Conley (17-7-1, KO’s) of San Bernadino, California. Nurmaganabet scored three knockdowns and finished Conley at 2:34 of the second round.

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