WBO number-one ranked welterweight Alexis Rocha stopped Anthony Young in round five of a scheduled 12-round bout at The Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.
In round five, Rocha dropped Young with a left. Young got to his feet, but was wobbly and the fight was stopped at 2:15.
Rocha, 146.6 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is 23-1 with 15 knockouts. Young, 146.4 lbs of Atlantic City, NJ is 24-3.
“I knew he was going to come in with the same energy he did when he fought Sadam Ali, and I was ready for that,” said Alexis Rocha. “I want the winner of the Spence-Crawford fight, and I am confident with the help of my amazing promoter, Golden Boy and Oscar De La Hoya, we’ll make it happen.”
Oscar Duarte stopped D’Angelo Keyes after round seven of their 10-round lightweight bout.
In round three, Duarte put Keyes down with a right hand along the ropes.
In round seven, Duarte scored another knockdown with a left hand to the forehead. Keyes showed toughness, but he took a lot of punches and the doctor stopped the bout after round seven.
Duarte, 135 lbs of Parral, MEX is now 26-1-1 with 21 knockouts. Keyes, 134.3 lbs of Houston, TX is 17-3.
“This was an amazing fight, with a great rival who was incredibly tough and very prepared,” said Oscar Duarte. “From the beginning, our plan was to break him down little by little. As I said in previous interviews, I wasn’t going to go looking for the knockout, I just knew it was going to happen naturally just based on how well I had prepared and how I have matured physically and mentally. I would love a fight against William Zepeda.”
Oscar Collazo won the WBO Minimumweight world title with a stoppage of Melvin Jerusalem after round seven.
Jerusalem started well, but Collazo came on and dropped Jerusalem with body shots in round seven. The fight was stopped in the corner following the round.
Collazo, 105 lbs of Villalba, PR is now 7-0 with five knockouts. Jerusalem, 104.6 lbs of Santos City, PHL is 20-3.
“We knew we had a solid challenge ahead of us, but thanks to my corner, they helped me stay calm throughout the fight,” said Oscar Collazo. “I knew I had to establish the pace with my jab, and by the fourth or fifth round we started to hit the body and he didn’t like it. We chopped the tree and we made history for Villalba. I will see you all in Puerto Rico in August, where I will make my first title defense.”
World ranked super flyweight John Ramirez had to eek out a 10-round split decision over Fernando Diaz.
Ramirez, 114.5 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won two cards 96-94, while Diaz took a card 96-94 and sis now 12-0.
Diaz, 114.8 lbs of Riverside, CA is 12-4-1.
Eric Priest remained undefeated with a eight-round unanimous decision over Ricardo Villalba in a middleweight bout.
Priest, 159.8 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won by scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73 and is now 10-0. Villalba, 160 lbs of Buenos Aries, ARG is 20-9-1.
In round five, Villaalba started to bleed from the bridge of his nose.
Johnny Canas made a successful pro debut with four-round unanimous decision over Jose Alvarado in a super lightweight bout.
Canas, 136.4 lbs of Santa Ana, CA won by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice and is now 1-0. Alvarado, 138 lbs of Puebla, MEX is 1-8.
Leonardo Sanchez stopped Uhlices Reyes in round two of their four-round super featherweight fight featuring undefeated boxers.
In round one, Sanchez dropped Reyes with a left to the body. In round two, Sanchez put Reyes down with a straight left hand. Sanchez landed a big left that sent Reyes backing up across the ring. He followed up with a flurry that sent Reyes down again and the fight was stopped at 1:01.
Sanchez, 130 lbs of Cathedral City, CA is 5-0 with four knockouts. Reyes, 129 lbs of Omaha, NEB is 1-1.
