NEW YORK–Mikey Garcia remained perfect as he scored a 12 round unanimous decision over Juan Carlos Burgos to retian the WBO Jr. Lightweight title at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
It was a lackluster part for the most part. Burgos one shining moment came in round two when he landed a hard right hand that buckled Garcia badly. But Garcia rocked Burgos in round three and that shot seemed to make Burgos more hesitant to make anything happen. Garcia was able to settle down and box Burgos at his own pace and basically won every round there on after.
Garcia, 129.2 lbs of Oxnard, CA won by scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110 and is now 34-0. Burgos, 129 lbs of Tijuana, MX is now 30-2-2.
Bryant Jennings scored a 10th round stoppage over Artuz Sziplka in a battle of undefeated Heavyweights.
The fight started off with both guys showing good movement for heavyweight.s In round twom Jennings started to get through with shots. He started to work the body throughout and landed a right hand to the body that sent Szpilka to a knee. Jennings kept up the dominance and dropped Szpilka with a short right and left. Sziplka got to his feet but it wasn’t long bfore a barrage of punches forced referee Michael Ortega stopped the bout at 2:20 of round 10.
Jennings, 225 lbs of Philadelphia is now 18-0 with 10 knockouts. Szipilka 223.6 lbs of Warsaw, POL is now 16-1.
“I came out here to put on a show and I think I accomplished that goal,” said Jennings. “Szplika is a very tough fighter and I give him credit for lasting as long as he did. After the first knockdown I didn’t think he would last much longer but he showed great heart and almost went the distance.”
“I’m ready to step up and challenge for a world title,” Jennings continued. “I’m going to take it one day at a time and see what my team presents me. I want to thank Gary Shaw, Antonio Leonard, James Prince and HBO for giving me this opportunity.”
“Jennings showed he’s a very talented fighter,” said Gary Shaw. “Boxing needs heavyweights that can close the show and Jennings proved that tonight on his HBO debut. I will talk with James Prince and Antonio Leonard to see what is next for Jennings. He’s the first American heavyweight in many years that has a legitimate shot to be the World Champion. The Polish Prince put up a great fight, but tonight it was all about the USA. Right now I’m very happy with Jennings performance.”
“Bryant Jennings is no joke,” stated co-promoter Antonio Leonard. “He’s going to take the heavyweight division by storm and I see him becoming a world champion very soon.”
“I know Jennings has the talent to take over the heavyweight division,” manager James Prince said. “Tonight he took a giant step toward a world title shot. Boxing fans here in the U.S have a heavyweight in Jennings they can rally behind. We are gunning for the best out there.”
Felix Verdejo scored an explosive just 21 seconds into his bout with Lauro Alcantar in a battle of undefeated Lightweights.
Verdejo landed the “6 inch left hook” right on the chin of Alcantar and he was splattered on the canvas and the fight was stopped.
Verdejo, 1346 lbs San Juan, PR is now 10-0 with 7 knockouts. Alcantar, 135.2 lbs of Agua Prieta, MEX is now 8-1.
Jesse Hart scored a six round unanimous decision over Derrick Frinley in a Super Middleweight bout.
Scores were 60-54 om all cards for Hart, 169 lbs pf Philadelphia and is now 12-0. Findley, 168.2 lbs of Gary, IN is now 20-12-1-1.
Alberto Marchado scored a spectacular 2nd round stoppage ove Nuwan Jayakody in a scheduled 6 round Featherweight bout.
Machado blasted Jayakody with a left hook that sent him to the canvas. Jayakody tried to get his feet but stumbled down and the fight was stopped at 1:34 of round two.
Machado, 126 lbs of San Juan, PR is now 6-0 with 4 knockouts. Jayakody, 125.8 lbs of Nittabuwa, Sri Lanka is now 2-4-1.
Francisco Vargas scored a 1st round stoppage over four round Lopez in a scheduled four round Weltereight bout.
Vargas drilled Lopez with hard right hook that him flat on his back and the fight was stopped at 1:59.
Vargas, 149 lbs of San Juan PR is now 2-0 with 2 knockouts. Lopez, 146.4 lbs of Denver, CO is now 1-1.
Seanie Monaghan scored a 1st round stoppage over Matt Vanda when Vanda had to retire with a bicep injury. The time of stoppage was 2:51 for Monaghan, 175 lbs of Long Beach, NY who is 20-0 with 13 knockouts. Vanda, 173.2 lbs of St. Paul. MN 45-16.
Julian Rodriguez scored a 1st round stoppage over Neyeine Muang in a scheduled four round Super Lightweight bout.
The time was 1:51 for Rodriguez, 141.4 lbs of Hasbrouck Heights, Nj is now 3-0 with 2 knockouts. Muang, 141.2 lbs of Utica, NY is now 1-1-2.
