Zuffa 05 Results From Las Vegas

Main Event: Andres Cortes defeats Eridson Garcia via unanimous decision

In the night’s main event, Las Vegas native Andres Cortes claimed a dominant decision victory in his hometown as he defeated Dominican contender Eridson Garcia over 10 rounds in their lightweight contest.

Cortes kept Garcia guessing early by staying at range, then blitzing in with two- or three-punch combinations, before sliding back out of range to avoid Garcia’s attempted counters.

Cortes’s approach started to cause problems for Garcia, who was repeatedly warned for holding through Round 3, and between round referee Thomas Taylor warned his corner that a point deduction could follow if he continues to hold.

And, sure enough, in Round 4 Garcia was hit with a point sanction by the official after again failing to let go on the call of break. It exacerbated things for the Dominican fighter, who was already struggling to keep up with his undefeated opponent.

From the mid-point of the fight, Cortes switched tactics and opted to close the distance, and Garcia seemingly had no answer to Cortes whenever the pair fought on the inside, with the Las Vegas native feasting at close quarters, ripping Garcia to the body and head. By the end of the seventh round, Cortes was exuding the confidence of a man who knew he had his opponent’s number.
That didn’t change through the final three rounds, as Cortes comfortably negotiated the final nine minutes of the fight to claim a runaway decision victory and move to 25-0 for his career. Judges’ scores were as follows: 97-92, 96-93, 95-94.

It also puts Cortes right in the mix as the championship picture in the Zuffa Boxing lightweight division starts to take shape.

Co-Main Event: Mark Magsayo defeats Feargal McCrory via TKO – Round 5, 0:21

In the co-main event, former featherweight world champion Mark Magsayo successfully completed his move up to lightweight with a statement finish of Ireland’s Feargal McCrory.

Cheered on by a raucous Filipino following inside the Meta APEX, Magsayo made sure McCrory tasted his power early as he cracked the Irishman with two thumping right hands towards the end of the opening round. And, while McCrory gamely looked to step into range to land shots of his own, he struggled to connect with anything meaningful early on as Magsayo eased into the contest.
Magsayo continued to look a class above McCrory through the second and third rounds, and he came close to stopping the Irishman late in the fourth with a series of clean, hard shots that seemed to rock, but not drop, his man.

And, after McCrory’s corner warned him that they would pull him out of the fight if he continued to take damage, the call from head coach Colin Morgan came 21 seconds into the fifth round after Magsayo lit up McCrory with more power shots. It left Magsayo elated as he celebrated a stoppage victory in his first Zuffa Boxing appearance, while McCrory was clearly gutted at his corner’s decision to pull him from the fight.

In truth, it looked like a merciful decision from his team in order to give the brave Irishman the chance to potentially return to compete again. And, on the flip-side, it looks like Zuffa Boxing has a legitimate contender in Magsayo, who declared after his win that lightweight is his division, and that he’s ready to challenge for a world title.

Azat Hovhannisyan defeats Eduardo Baez via majority decision (95-95, 96-94, 97-93)

Armenia’s “Crazy A” Azat Hovhannisyan had to do it the hard way, but “Crazy A” fought through adversity to claim a majority decision win on his first Zuffa Boxing appearance.

Hovhannisyan faced Mexico’s Eduardo Baez in a 126-pound featherweight matchup, and looked to be in trouble after the opening round when he appeared to injure his left arm.
Baez appeared to pick up on his opponent’s issue, and put his foot on the gas and unloaded power shots as he comprehensively outstruck the Armenian through the first two rounds.

The third and fourth saw “Crazy A” gradually adapt his style to accommodate his injury, as he started to fight more competitively. But with Hovhannisyan clearly still only able to throw power with one hand, Baez continued to boss the action.However, Round 5 saw Hovhannisyan turn up the aggression as he drew Baez in, then looked to counter with big right hands as he seemed to settle on an alternative fighting style that worked for him. And, as the middle rounds played out, the action became much closer to call with Hovhannisyan enjoying some success with his right hand, while Baez’s work became increasingly more scrappy.

And, despite fighting almost with one arm for much of the fight, Hovhannisyan battled all the way through to the final round to claim a majority decision verdict, with the judges scoring the fight 95-95, 96-94, 97-93 to give Hovhannisyan the 23rd, and perhaps the hardest-earned, victory of his 15-year career.

Alexis De La Cerda defeats Ervin Fuller III via knockout – Round 3, 2:33

Alexis De La Cerda added an early candidate for the Zuffa Boxing highlight reel with a huge one-shot knockout of Ervin Fuller III in their featherweight matchup.

The two undefeated 126-pounders went head-to-head with a combined record of 20-0, but it was De La Cerda’s punch power that proved the difference-maker as he starched Fuller with a sledgehammer of a short right hook that sent his man face-first into the canvas late in the third round.

Fuller actually started the fight well, and may have edged the opening three minutes. But De La Cerda started to find his rhythm in the second as he loaded up with shots and went toe to toe with Fuller through Round 2.

Then, in the third, De La Cerda hit the jackpot. After drawing Fuller into a close-quarters exchange, the 22-year-old from Federal Way, Washington unloaded a huge right hook that connected clean and ended the fight instantly.

It gave De La Cerda the ninth win, and fifth knockout, of his undefeated career, as he claimed a statement win on his Zuffa Boxing debut.

Tony Hirsch Jr defeats Robert Meriwether III via majority decision (76-76, 76-75, 78-74)

Tony Hirsch Jr won the battle of the unbeaten lightweights as he defeated Zuffa Boxing 01’s Performance of the Night winner Robert Meriwether III via majority decision after eight action-packed rounds in their 135-pound matchup.

The pair came out of the gates at full throttle and immediately went toe to toe in a breathless opening three minutes as they met in the center of the ring and traded combinations. Hirsch’s shots to the body looked particularly effective early on for the Zuffa Boxing debutant, while Meriwether appeared to have the slight edge in speed.
It set things up for a high-octane encounter as Hirsch continually pushed the pace on Meriwether and refused to let “King” get a free shot. Through the fight, Hirsch’s greatest successes came from working behind his excellent jab, while Meriwether performed best from range, where he could put his shots together.

But with most of the action coming in close, it became a battle of wills as the pair traded heavy combinations on the inside, both switching from head to body to excellent effect during the contest. And, as the fight wore on, it appeared that Hirsch’s work was more effective as he took charge of the closing rounds.With two rounds to go, Meriwether’s father Robert Meriwether Jr told his son that he needed to finish the fight. But despite pushing hard to find a fight-changing shot, he couldn’t break the relentless Hirsch, who ran out the majority decision winner with scores of 76-76, 76-75, 78-74.

It improved “The Phantom’s” record to 8-0-2, while Meriwether suffered the first defeat of his professional career to take his record to 10-1.

Jorge Maravillo defeats Elias Diaz via TKO – Round 5, 2:46

California welterweights went head to head as undefeated Jorge Maravillo recovered from a sluggish start to stop Elias Diaz in the fifth round of their 148-pound matchup.

Diaz started the stronger as he pushed the pace and connected with heavy shots through the first six minutes. One right hand over the top connected clean mid-way through the second round as the 32-year-old found his range the better of the two in the early going.

Over the course of a competitive first four rounds, Diaz’s shots carried the greater weight as he edged Maravillo in terms of scoring shots landed as he opened up an early lead on the scorecards.

But that all changed in the fifth when Maravillo, spurred on by his corner to let his hands go, did exactly that as he rocked Diaz with a huge right hand that forced the San Diego native to hold on.

Maravillo kept the pressure on and eventually overwhelmed Diaz, who went to the canvas and took an eight count. Diaz beat the count, but was still badly rocked and, after Maravillo closed in and unloaded more power shots, referee Thomas Taylor stepped in to wave off the fight and spare Diaz any further punishment.
It gave Maravillo the TKO victory as the undefeated 26-year-old improved his record to 12-0-1 with the ninth stoppage win of his career.

Zuffa Boxing color commentator and pound-for-pound great Andre Ward said it best: “It ain’t how you start. It’s how you finish.”

Troy Nash defeats Bryan Rodriguez via majority decision (76-76, 79-73, 80-72)

In the opening bout of the evening, Colorado Springs featherweight Troy Nash added to his Zuffa Boxing debut win with a second victory, courtesy of a majority decision verdict over Bryan “Pretty Boy” Rodriguez.

Fighting in his first career eight-rounder, Nash took the first couple of rounds to take a look at 19-year-old Rodriguez, and flashed some impressive hand speed as he offered a glimpse of his slick boxing.
Texas native Rodriguez walked forward almost constantly in search of openings, but Nash controlled the range smartly off the back foot and scored more consistently as he beat the teenager to the punch throughout the contest.Rodriguez attempted to pick up the pace and intensity through the final three rounds, but Nash showcased some soldi defensive skills as he made his man miss, then punished him with well-timed counters. By the end of the penultimate round, Nash was putting his shots together beautifully as he landed cleanly with some eye-catching multi-punch combinations.Surprisingly, one judge scored the fight even at 76-76, but the other two cards more accurately reflected the action, with totals of 79-73 and 80-72 in Nash’s favor, as the undefeated Colorado native improved his record to 7-0-1 with a smart, controlled performance.

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