Garcia Crushes “Wolf” Perez In One At DBX6!

A capacity crowd packed the house for Fightnews.com’s inaugural coverage of Dirty Boxing, creating an electric atmosphere for the promotion’s sixth Dirty Boxing Championship. The sold-out event delivered on its promise of high-intensity action, with fans on their feet from the opening bell as the sport’s unique, close-quarters high impact style took center stage.

Dirty Boxing

In the opening bout of the evening, with both combatants making their DBX debut, Atlanta’s Jeremy Henry and “The Bosnian Dragon” Ago Huskic took the opening round to feel each other out. In the second, they decided to trade blows; after Huskic threw a spinning backfist, Henry unleashed a barrage of clean elbows on the inside. A clean right hand in the third hurt Huskic badly. Henry started landing in combinations after that, leaving Huskic on rubber legs to the point that Henry began to tire from landing. Atlanta’s Henry earned the 29-28 victory on all three judges’ cards.

In the second bout of the evening in the middleweight division, Leonardo Acanda of Miami, by way of Del Rio, Cuba, made his debut versus Monte Ogbonna. Ogbonna, who is 1-0 in DBX and hails from Coconut Creek by way of Nigeria, went to war from the opening bell. Both attempted to end the night early, and the round ended with both men bloodied. The second round was fought at a slower pace as both emptied the tank in the opening frame. The cleaner shots seemed to come from Ogbonna, who had the clear reach advantage. In the final round, they continued to land at the same rate with both men exhausted. A late rally in the final minute by Acanda sealed the victory for him in his DBX debut, as he received the judges’ nod with scores of 29-28 and 30-27 (twice).

For the opening bout of the late prelims, Jeff Craig squared off in another middleweight bout versus the 1-0 Dustin Bailey of Virginia. The opening round was the most tactical of the evening, with Craig appearing to get the better of the infrequent exchanges. In the second, Craig unleashed a short elbow on the inside, instantly dropping Bailey hard and putting an end to his night at 1 minute and 14 seconds.

Next, it was time for the heavyweights. Making his debut out of Phoenix, Arizona, was Steven Gurrola, while Seoul, South Korea’s own Seung Jun Lee put his 1-0 record on the line. Gurrola landed a massive right hand, driving Jun Lee to the ropes. Combinations were ripped from close quarters by both men in a close round. The second round was more of the same; they could’ve fought in a 10×10 ring. Gurrola pressed the action using elbows in the clinch, while Jun Lee showed a solid chin as he remained unshaken. The third was a duplicate of the second, with all three judges seeing it 30-26 for Steven Gurrola.

Welterweights brought Charlotte’s own Ryan Jett against Memphis, Tennessee’s Jaleel Willis (1-0). In this bout, hand speed was on display; however, neither man would give the other enough space to get off. The second round was fought in a phone booth as both men ripped punches and elbows in close. A split decision was announced, which created a sudden-death fourth round. In the fourth, Willis seemed to take control with strength, even taking Jett to the canvas. Scored 38-38, 40-36, and 39-37, the decision gave Willis the victory.

Heavyweight explosion! Zachery Pauga needed just 32 seconds to dispose of Joseph White.

Gabriel Eurit, out of the “tropical” Kokomo, Ohio, put his 1-0 record up against the debuting AJ Cunningham. Eurit dropped Cunningham hard at the end of the first round, knocking some of Cunningham’s teeth to the canvas. Cunningham, to his credit, fought hard over the next two rounds, landing in spurts. His eye was damaged and impaired his vision coming down the home stretch, but Eurit took it home with scores of 28-28 and 29-27 (twice) for a majority decision.

The 2-0 Montenegro native Milos “Cobra” Janicic stepped into the ring versus 1-0 Taylor Burley of Fort Wayne, Indiana. “The Cobra” struck quickly, and it was over when a barrage of punches sent Burley to the canvas. The ref had seen enough at 44 seconds of the opening round.

The tallest pairing on the card fought next as West Monroe, Louisiana’s own Blake “Big Boy” Lacaze took on 6’8″ Adam Progress of Hamburg, Germany. Neither man could find his range early on, but in the final minute—after a headbutt paused the action and cost Progress a point—Progress managed to unleash at range, connecting flush and hurting Lacaze badly as the round came to a close. After a long break between rounds while Lacaze was examined, the action resumed. In what appeared to be a round where Lacaze got his legs back, Progress landed a straight left to the body, finishing off a strong performance for the 6’8″ middleweight. The official time was 1:38 of round 2. At only 18 years old, DBX has a budding star on its hands in the fan-friendly, unique style of Adam “The Berserker” Progress.

Next up, fan favorite and Miami native making his DBX debut, Bryan “El Gallo” Duran stepped in with Tristan “Ya Boy” Gallichan, who brought an 0-1 record. “El Gallo,” with his quick feet and in-and-out style, proved to be a hard target for Tristan, who found himself on the canvas at the end of many left hands from Duran. Duran continued using his feet and combination punching to keep Tristan guessing in the second round, hurting him at the close of the frame and forcing him into the corner. In the final round, Tristan got his feet under him and managed to land a few significant strikes; however, it was too little, too late, as the majority of the round and fight belonged to Duran. The scores were 30-27 for your winner, Bryan “El Gallo” Duran.

In the co-main event, Iowa’s Luis Saldana challenged Chattanooga’s Montavious Ware in a featherweight bout. Both came in undefeated with records of 1-0. In the first round, the southpaw Ware did the stalking as Saldana maneuvered his way around the ring. Saldana managed to land a few counters while switching stances throughout the opening round. In the second, the straight left continued to be the punch of choice for Ware. With a nice counter shot, Saldana caught Ware coming in and managed to drop him, landing several shots on his way down. In the final round, Saldana changed course, becoming the aggressor. Ware landed several shots in the second half of the round in a close fight. Scores were 29-28 (three times) for Montavious Ware.

In the 12th and final fight of the night, the main event featured San Bernardino’s Michael “Big Mike” Garcia versus Rob “The Wolf” Perez of Worcester, Massachusetts. “Big Mike” made quick work of “The Wolf.” After feeling out the range, Garcia cornered “The Wolf,” landing flush combinations, dropping him, and finishing the job once he was grounded. The ref waved it off at 1:01 of the very first round.
With the win, Garcia collected the interim DBX heavyweight title.

The night proved that DBX is can not only sell out an arena but deliver between the ropes. Zachery Pauga and Michael “Big Mike” Garcia stole the show with frightening knockout power, ending their nights in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, Montavious Ware displayed an incredible engine, outlasting his opponent with relentless stamina. Perhaps most intriguing is the 18-year-old Adam “The Berserker” Progress; standing 6’8″ with a fan-friendly style and years of development ahead of him, the ceiling is incredibly high—no pun intended.

The post Garcia Crushes “Wolf” Perez In One At DBX6! appeared first on FightNews.