Early Results From Las Vegas: Fundora-Thurman Undercard

Undefeated Brayan Gonzalez, 125, scored a dominant win over Mexico’s Brandon Medina, shutting him out over four rounds before referee Alan Higgins decided to wave the fight off at 1:57 of round five. Medina wasn’t seriously hurt and was still throwing punches at the time of the stoppage, and it did seem like a somewhat premature stoppage. But with that being said, he was being completely dominated. With the win Gonzalez improves to 5-0, 4 KOs while Medina sees his record fall to 7-5, 0 KOs.

Every young prospect needs to be tested at some point—usually it comes early, and it is almost always a litmus test for what we can expect in the future from that fighter. If he overcomes adversity, he is almost always left in a better position when he finally steps up for a title. If he can’t, it usually bodes poorly for his future prospects.

For undefeated 20-year-old prospect Kaipo Gallegos, it is safe to say he passed his first test.

Gallegos, 135.4 lbs, took on a tough fellow prospect in Julian Gonzalez, 134.2 lbs, in what would be his first ten-round affair. For the first two rounds, he displayed lightning-fast combinations and a quick jab that showed why he is widely regarded as one of the best prospects in the sport.

But early in round three, disaster almost struck. A picture-perfect right hand from Gonzalez sent Gallegos crashing to the canvas, and he was visibly wobbly as he struggled to get to his feet. Seeing victory within his reach, Gonzalez jumped all over his badly discombobulated foe and threw caution to the wind, looking to catch Gallegos one more time. Despite his age, Gallegos showed wisdom beyond his years and held on for dear life. He was able to weather the storm and survive the round.

Early in round four, a left hook followed by another right hand buckled Gallegos’s knees. However, Gonzalez was simply unable to keep his engine running in the red and was forced to slow down in the second half of the round. It was just the breather Gallegos needed, arriving at the perfect time as he had recovered enough from the near disaster in round three to return to his game plan. Gallegos boxed well to close out round four and never looked back, continuing to box beautifully in the second half of the fight.

Gonzalez clearly sought “lightning in a bottle” once again, but even though he landed his right hand on occasion, the undefeated prospect handled the shots well and remained in control for the duration of the fight. Despite how dire round four looked for Gallegos, the scorecards were academic: two judges had it 97–92, and one scored it 98–91 for Kaipo. With the win, Gallegos improved to 12–0–1, 9 KOs, while Gonzalez saw his record slip to 16–2–1, 12 KOs.

Undefeated lightweight Robert Guerrero, 134.6, won a tougher-than-expected four-round unanimous decision over Edinburg, Texas’s Rigoberto Rivera, 134.2. Guerrero won the opening round behind his height and reach advantage, jabbing well and picking apart the Texan. A counter right sent Rivera to the canvas in round two, but the gritty Texan battled back as Guerrero began fighting his shorter foe inside a phone booth for the next two rounds. As a result, Rivera was able to land the occasional uppercut and overhand right. Two judges scored the fight for Guerrero by scores of 39-36, while the third scored it 38-37 for Guerrero. With the win, Guerrero improved to 8-0 with 3 KOs, while Rivera slipped to 3-3 with 1 KO.

In the opening fight of the afternoon, undefeated Christian Cangelosi (154.8) used a beautiful jab, coupled with a solid overhand right, to pick apart Dallas, Texas’s Miguel Angel Hernandez (155) for the better part of five rounds. The problem was that the fight was scheduled for ten.

As this was the first ten-rounder for the undefeated Italian, there was some recognition that Cangelosi might fade down the stretch as he entered the ninth and tenth rounds for the first time. However, since his last three fights had gone the full eight-round distance, the assumption was that he would have enough gas in the tank to go hard late into the fight.

Hernandez, who lost a ten-round majority decision to Joseph Spencer in his last bout in 2024, had no plans to bet it all on the final two rounds. While Cangelosi boxed effectively behind a sharp jab and overhand right in the first half of the fight, Hernandez began to find a home for his own jab in the second half, snapping Cangelosi’s head back repeatedly. He also started timing Cangelosi perfectly and countered effectively.

In round ten, Cangelosi dug deep to outwork Hernandez in the opening minute. However, Hernandez didn’t forget what had turned a shutout into a competitive fight. He matched Cangelosi punch for punch down the stretch, closing the round by landing a picture-perfect right hand at 2:50.

The judges ultimately could not reach a unanimous decision, with one judge scoring the fight 96–94 for Cangelosi, another scoring it 96–94 for Hernandez, and the third having it 95–95. The result was a split draw. Cangelosi’s record now stands at 12-0-1 (5 KOs), while Hernandez’s record moves to 9-1-1 (7 KOs).

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