Masayuki Ito won the vacant WBO Junior Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Christopher Diaz in Kissimmee, Florida.
Ito got the better of Diaz in the action filled fight that saw some solid and furious exchanges. In round four, a big right hand sent Diaz to the canvas.
Diaz left began to swell and by round eleven, Diaz had difficulty seeing, which gave Ito a clearer way to land his right. That was the punch of choice for Ito, who had to starve off eating a few wicked left hooks, but it was not enough as the visitor from Japan won going away by tallies if 118-109, 117-110 and 116-111.
Ito, 129.6 lbs of Tokyo, JPN is 24-1-1. Diaz, 129.2 lbs of Barranquitas, PR is 23-1.
“I believe in myself. I knew I was going to become a world champion, and that is exactly what happened,” Ito said. “Since the beginning of the fight, I knew I had more power and I dropped him. In my mind, I kept saying that it was a close fight and that is why I kept going for the knockout.
“I knew that this was going to be a good fight, and I respect Diaz for coming ready to fight. He is a warrior. This is a dream come true for me. Now, I want bigger fights.”
Said Diaz: “This does not end here. I am going to return with more strength and with more hunger. I have a promise to fulfill. I am going to be a world champion. I promise you that.”
Gabriel Bracero stopped Artemio Reyes in round five of a scheduled ten-round welterweight bout.
Bracero dominated the action, and in round five he landed a body shot that was followed by a right to the head and Reyes took a knee and did not get up.
Bracero, 148 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 25-3-1 with 6 knockouts. Reyes, 149.6 lbs of Colton, CA is 25-3.
“Even though I came in as a last-minute replacement, I told you guys I was ready,” Bracero said. “I was in camp working hard and helping Robert Easter Jr. for his fight {against Mikey Garcia}. This felt like a sparring session to me. I feel great! I’m hungry! I want to get back in the ring as soon as possible. Thanks to Top Rank for the opportunity.
Antonio Vargas was solid in winning a six-round unanimous decision over Aaron Echeveste in a bantamweight bout.
Vargas, 118.2 lbs of Kissimmee, FLA won by scores of 60-54 on all cards, and is now 7-0. Echeveste, 117.8 lbs of Leon. MEX is 5-3.
Yomar Alamo stopped Wilfredo Buelvas in round four of their scheduled six-round super lightweight bout.
In round one, Alamo dropped Buelvas with a left hook. Seconds later it was another left that dropped Buelvas down on his face.
In round four, Alamo dropped Buelvas with a left hook, and he did not beat the ten count at
Alamo, 141.2 lbs of Aguas Buenas, PR is 15-0 with 12 knockouts. Buelvas, 141.8 lbs of Barranquita, COL is 18-10.
Henry Lebron remained perfect by stopping Luis Diaz in the final round of their scheduled six-round super featherweight bout.
In round three, Lebron dropped Diaz with a body shot,
In round six, Lebron landed some hard lefts that had Diaz in trouble, and the fight was stopped at 2:43.
Lebron, 131 lbs of Agudailla, PR is now 5-0 with 4 knockouts. Diaz, 129.6 lbs of Ponce, PR is 2-6.
“This fight really helped me a lot,” Lebron said. “I needed a fight like this where I could display all my boxing skills. On this fight, I worked on my striking, power punching, footwork, lateral movement, and at the end, I got the knockout.”
Luis Melendez made an explosive pro debut by destroying Vicente Loredo in the 1st round of their scheduled four-round featherweight bout.
Melendez landed some booing shots that snapped the head of Loredo back until he finally plummeted to the canvas at 1:19.
Melendez, 126.4 lbs of Bayamon, PR is 1-0 with 1 knocout. Loredo, 125.8 lbs of San Antonio, TX is 1-2.
2016 Olympic Bronze Medal winner, Vladimir Nikitin won a six-round unanimous decision over Edward Kakembo in a featherweight bout.
In round four, Nikitin dropped Kakembo with an inside shot to the body. With 20 seconds to go in the fight Niitin dropped Kakembo for a 2nd time with a body shot.
Nikitin, 125.2 lbs of Oxnard, CA via Russia won by scores of 60-52 twice and 60-51 , and is now 1-0. Kakembo, 126.2 lbs of Silver Spring, MD is 10-5.
“This was my first professional fight, but it was also my first fight in a year,” Nikitin said. “I took a long break from boxing. I was just relaxing for a whole year, and that is why this was a great experience for me. I was in control and dropped my opponent a couple of times, but we went the distance. I needed to get in good rounds of work.
“I want Conlan. That is the plan, and he is the main reason why I signed with Top Rank. I want to fight him as a pro. The judges won’t be necessary this time around.”
Jose Lopez stopped Jorge Rodriguez in round two of their scheduled six-round super lightweight bout.
Lopez dropped Rodriguez in round two with a left to the body, and he could not get up 39 seconds into round two.
Lopez, 145 lbs of Humacao, PR is 11-0 with nine knockouts. Rodriguez, 149.2 lbs of Tepic, MEX is 10-3.
