PHOENIX — A statement was demanded.

Statement delivered.

Jaime Munguia did what Canelo Alvarez could not. He stopped a tough, smart John Ryder Saturday night in a super-middleweight fight that was a test of Munguia’s potential.

There’s plenty of that, perhaps enough for him to land a Canelo fight projected to be in May. It’s all up to Canelo, whose pay-per-view clout and celebrity comes with a perk. He does what he wants to.

It’s anybody’s guess as to whether he wants the Munguia that 10,836 fans at Footprint Center saw against Ryder, whose corner threw in the towel at 1:25 of the ninth round.

“It would be an honor to be in the same ring with him,’’ Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) said when asked the inevitable Canelo question.

Canelo or not, there’s one thing certain about Munguia, a 27-year-old fighter from Tijuana. He stepped out of the ring with enhanced credibility.

He’s a player, a proven threat at 168 pounds. Put him alongside David Benavidez, David Morrell, Edgar Berlanga and Jermall Charlo.

“I was ready for this,’’ he said. “I knew I was ready for this.’’

He knew more than just about anybody other than his Hall of Fame trainer, Freddie Roach. Roach predicated Munguia would win an eighth-round TKO. Roach missed by only a round.

Munguia did it with four knockdowns of Ryder (32-7, 18 KOs), a 35-year-old fighter who faces some tough question about whether his career has come to end.

Munguia knocked down Ryder in the second with a body shot that left a nasty red mark Ryder’s right side. He knocked down the UK fighter again in the fourth with successive left hands.

Then, there was the ninth. There was a right to the top head. Ryder was down for a third time. Then another blow to the head. Ryder was down for a fourth time. The towel soon followed, a sign of surrender for Ryder and the beginning of a second chapter for the emerging Munguia.

 Minimum Weight, Max Power: Oscar Collazo retains title 

It’s called minimum. Somehow, that isn’t quite fair to Oscar Collazo.

Maximum is more like it.

Collazo, the World Boxing Organization’s minimum weight champion flashed max power, knocking Reyneris Gutierrez, into the ropes and then flat on the canvas before the referee interceded and stopped it for third-round TKO Saturday night on the Jaime Munguia-John Ryder featured card at Footprint Center.

First, it was a huge right hand form Collazo (9-0, 7 KOs) that drove Gutierrez (10-2, 2 KOs) into the ropes. If not for those ropes, The Nicaraguan would have tumbled out of the ring, over the work table and onto the floor. Then, it was a left hand from the Puerto Rican. This time, no ropes were in the way. Gutierrez hit the deck. Moments later, it was over, a TKO:at 37 seconds of the third.

Darius Fulghum  wins a unanimously-booed dud

It was a fight full of clinches, missed punches, rabbit punches, boos  and more boos. There was even the wave.

Just when you thought it was extinct, Darius Fulghum and Alantez Fox brought it back. That’s how bad their super-middleweight fight was on the DAZN-streamed undercard for the Jaime Munguia-John Ryder mnin event at Footprint Center Saturday night.

The booing started in the second round. It got louder, even louder, until a near capacity crowd just bored. It started doing the wave. Yeah, that wave. Hands up, stand up and sit down, going from section to section in an undulating ring around the arena. Hey, it was better than watching the fight.

By the way, Fulghum (10-, 9 KOs), of Houston, won it, scoring a majority

 decision over Fox (28-6-1, 13 KOs), of Upper Marlboro MD. 

Not so sweet stoppage

Gabriela “Sweet Poison” Fundora 12-0 (9KOs) made her first women’s IBF Flyweight title defense VS Christina Cruz 6-0. The fight was a battle of the sweet science of hit but not get hit, no one fighter looked dominate in the match. One fighter did control the ring through out the fight and was more active with her combinations and stunning her opponent. Fundora was using her ring IQ to cut off the ring and edging out the rounds in her favor in a very close fight. More over as the championship rounds rolled along Gabriela showed the heart of a warrior and took the fight over effortlessly out boxing Cruz. With less than a minute left in the 10th and final round referee Chris Flores stepped in and called a end to the fight in a controversial fashion. Cruz was not hurt and was simply walking away with her guard up still  defending herself. Visibly upset Cruz pleaded her case of why it should not have been stopped with some ringside having it a drawing going into the final round. Coming out on top and staying undefeated Fundora moves to 13-0 (10KOs) in a post fight interview Fundora praised Cruz “Cruz is a good fighter and glad she stepped up” also “I looked to her because she was an olympian and had a picture on my wall as a kid” ending her statement by saying “Cruz is an amazing fighter and it was an honor to share the ring”. When asked about the stoppage Fundora stated “I unleashed on her, and she turned around indicating she no longer wanted to fight”

One can only ask if she deserves a rematch or does the co-promotions between Golden Boy Promotions and Sampson Promotion look to set up a fight for undisputed later this year, Seemingly the road block to undisputed is Marlen Esparza who holds the other 3 tittle and has an upcoming fight that she can not look past herself. Just as her smile, the future is bright for the undefeated fighter of Coachella, CA….David Galaviz

David Picasso scores unanimous decision in U.S. debut

David Picasso wasn’t looking for a masterpiece. 

Just a victory.

He got it.

In his first appearance in the United States, Picasso, an unbeaten featherweight from Mexico City, scored repeatedly early, tired midway, then held on and held off Erik Ruiz in the late rounds.

All of it was enough for Picasso (27-0-1, 15 KOs) to secure a unanimous  decision over Ruiz (17-10-1, 7 KOs), a fighter from Oxnard, Calif., who from round to round got more aggressive in a 10-rounder in the first DAZN-streamed fight on the Munguia-Ryder card at Footprint Center.

Daniel Garcia scores crushing first round stoppage

It was over before a lot of arriving fans ever got to their seats.

Daniel Garcia finished the non-DAZN portion of the Jaime Munguia-John Ryder card in a flash at Footprint Center. Daniel Lugo may have seen it coming. But he couldn’t do much about it.

Garcia (8-0, 6 KOs), an unbeaten  lightweight from Denver, sent a right hand flying over the edge of  Lugo’s upraised gloves. Boom, it landed, crashing off Lugo’s chin and driving his head up and around. By the time some fans looked up, it was over.

Lugo (4-2, 1 KO), of Phoenix was down and out, a stoppage loser at 1:51 of the first round.

Gregory Morales scores unanimous decision, rocks Ron and the crowd

In the third bout of the night Gregory Morales (15-1, 9KOs) of San Antonio, TX faced Ronal Ron (14-4 ,11KOs) in a super featherweight fight 

In a  feel-out first round both fighters saved all their energy for the last 20 seconds of the round with both having success landing punches. It picked right back up in the second. However as the round came to an end, Morales showed head movement and landed some crisp punches. In the theme of the fight, Morales and Ron saved all the excitement for the end of the round. They got the crowd a little excited. There were theatrics coming from Ron. He spit his mouth piece out around the 2:20 mark. A few second later, he was warned about a head butt. The pace of the round had significantly picked up, with both fighters finding their rhythm and timing. Ron was briefly stunned early in the 5th round by a well placed left from Morales.

 As the crowd started chanting “Goyo”, it gave Morales extra motivation, landing a few lefts directly to the chin of Ron. 

A left hook by Morales landed. Over the last three rounds, Morales picked up the production of his pace and dazed his opponent with a multitude of punches. The last round served as the best round for Morales as he landed some great combos that made the crowd get even loader. Morales improved to 16-1 (9KOs), scoring a unanimous decision. In fight that brought the crowd to its fight in the final round.the crowd a good fight. —–David Galaviz

Toe-to-Toe: Gael Cabrera scores knockdown wins decision in tough bout

It was power against resilience.

Gael Cabrera, a Mexican featherweight from Sonora — just south of Arizona, had the power. He needed it, all of it to win. 

Miguel Ceballos, one of two AZ fighters on the Munguia-Ryder card, had the resilience, almost enough of it to score an upset.

But the power prevailed. A straight right hand from Cabrera (4-0, 3 KOs) put Ceballos down in the first round. Then, Cabrera held on, withstanding repeated bursts of energy from Ceballos (2-1, 2 KOs), of Peoria AZ.  Cabrera appeared to tire, but he still had enough power in both hands to keep Ceballos off him. The result: Cabrera won a unanimous decision in a hard-fought fight.

First Bell: Munguia-Ryder card begins with a quick stoppage

It should have been a matinee. But Jonathan Canas turned it into a short subject.

Canas, a lightweight from Santa Ana CA, needed only 64 seconds to finish Kameeko Hall in the opening bout Saturday afternoon on the card featuring Jaime Mungia-John Ryder at Footprint Center.

Canas, still perfect with three knockouts in three fights, delivered a body-to-head combo that put Hall, a winless fighter from Brunswick GA, onto one knee. It was the body shot that hurt him the most. When Hall (0-4) tried to get onto his feet, he got sick to his stomach. At 1:04 of the first, it was over for everybody but the maintenance crew. It had to clean up the mess.

William Zepeda stopped former world title challlenger Mercito Gesta in round six of their 12-round lightweight bout at The Commerce Casino in Commerce, California.

Zepeda began his relentless offensive assault in round two and in round three began to swell the eyes of Gesta. In round five, Zepeda viciously battered Gesta all over the ring. Zepeda landed a staggering 217 power punches through five rounds. In round six, Zepeda beat up Gesta on the ropes as he landed about 20 unanswered shots and the fight was stopped at 1:31.

Zepeda, 134.3 lbs of San Mateo Attenco, MEX is 29-0 with 25 knockouts. Gesta, 134.2 lbs of Mandaue City PHI is 34-4-3.

“I am ready for the big fights out there – whether it be Devin Haney or even a Shakur Stevenson. Those are the guys who have the belts and that’s what I want next,” said William Zepeda. “There are incredible fights for me in my division, and I trust that Golden Boy will do what they can to get me to become a World Champion. I am ready to go home, rest and recover peacefully at home.”

Victor Morales remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Edwin Palomares in a featherweight fight.

In round 10, Morales was cut over his right eye.

Morales landed 162 of 434 punches. Palomares was 136 of 564.

Morales, 126 lbs of Vancouver, WA won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 96-94 and is now 19-0-1. Palomares, 125.4 lbs of Mexico City is 18-5-2.

“I hoped I showed Oscar and the team tonight that I am a warrior in the ring, and I can push through anything,” said Victor Morales Jr. “I am happy we get to take our belt back home with us.”

Yokasta Valle defended the IBF/WBO Minimumweight titles with a 10-round unanimous decision over Maria Santizo.

Valle landed 98 of 292 punches. Santizo was 79 of 435.

Valle, 105 lbs of Matahalpa, NIC won by scores of 100-90 and 99-91 twice and is now 29-2. Santizo, 104.2 lbs of Gutamala City, GUA is 11-4.

“I knew she was going to bring everything,” said Yokasta Valle. “She was training in Los Angeles to get incredible sparring and I knew she was well prepared for our fight. I am going to take a week off and enjoy the Costa Rican beaches and get back to training so I can be ready to fight on November 4 no matter who the opponent is.”

Darius Fulgham remained perfect with a second round stoppage over Ricardo Luna in a scheduled eight-round light heavyweight bout.

In round one, Luna was cut on his forehead. In round two, Fukgham landed a left hook to the side of the head that put Luna on a knee. Luna got to his feet, but the fight was a waved off at 1:30.

Fulgham, 170.8 lbs of El Paso, TX is 7-0 with seven knockouts. Luna, 170.8 lbs of Mexico City is 25-11-2.

Eric Priest remained undefeated with an eight-round majority decision over Simon Madsen in a middleweight bout.

Priest landed 121 of 284 punches. Madsen landed 104 of 360.

Preiest, 158.8 lbs of Wichita Falls, TX won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 76-76 and is now 11-0. Madsen, 158.6 lbs of Cancun, MEX is 13-2.

Daniel Garcia won a six-round unanimous decision over Erick Benitez in a lightweight fight.

Garcia, 132 lbs of Denver, CO is 7-0. Benitez, 131.6 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 4-5.

Alejandro Reyes won a six-round majority decision over Roberto Gomez in a super lightweight bout.

In round five, Reyes was bleeding over the left eye.

Reyes, 139.6 lbs of Mexicali, MEX won by scores of 59-55, 58-56 and 57-57 and is now 11-0. Gomez, 140 lbs of Mexico City is 5-2.

Gael Cabrera won a six-round super lightweight bout over Juan Centeno in a super featherweight bout.

In round three, Centeno was cut on the lip. In the same round, Cabrera was cut on the right eyebrow.

Cabrera, 126.2 lbs of Sonora, MEX won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 2-0. Centeno, 127.6 lbs of Managua, NIC is 8-9-4.

Jordan Cervantes won a four-round unanimous decision over Giovanny Meza in a super lightweight bout.

Cervantes, 136.4 lbs of East LA, CA won by scores of 40-36 on cards and is now 1-0. Meza, 137.2 lbs of El Paso, TX is 0-5.

Jorge Chavez stopped Alberto Nieves in round five of their scheduled six-round featherweight contest.

In round five, Chavez dropped Nieves with a hard right to the body. Chavez went right back to the same area that put Nieves down again and the fight was stopped at 1:34.

Chavez, 125.2 lbs of San Diego, CA is 6-0 with five knockouts. Nieves, 125.2 lbs of Aguadilla, PR is 4-3-1.

Grant Flores needed just 51 seconds to take out Terrance Jarmon in their scheduled four-round super welterweight fight.

In round one, Flores put Jarmon down with a hard flurry and he did not get up at the count of 10.

Flores, 150.8 lbs of Coachella, CA is 2-0 with two knockouts. Jarmon, 152.9 lbs of Atlanta, GA is 3-4.

Daniel Garcia remained undefeated by stopping Aldimar Silva in round two of their four-round lightweight bout.

In round two, Garcia dropped Silva with a left hook to the body and the fight was waved off at 2:14.

Garcia, 130.6 lbs of Westminster, CA is now 5-0 with four knockouts. Silva, 129.4 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is 22-23.

Leonardo Sanchez remained undefeated with a second round stoppage over Mychaquell Shields in a four-round super featherweight bout.

In round one, Sanchez was bleeding from his nose. In round two, Shields was deducted a point for holding. Later in the round, Sanchez dumped Shields on the canvas with a left hook and the bout was stopped at 2:33.

Sanchez, 129.6 lbs of Cathedral City, CA is 4-0 with three knockouts. Shields, 130 lbs of San Diego, CA is 0-2.

BROOKLYN, NY –Keith “One Time” Thurman (29-0, 22KO) returned to the ring from a 22-month hiatus and retained his WBA World Welterweight title, defeating Josesito Lopez (36-8, 19KO) by majority decision in the main event of a PBC on FOX card in front of 9,623 fans at the Barclays Center.

The fight was anything but a breeze for the 30 year-old champion, who for the first time in his career found himself in serious danger of being stopped midway through the contest.

But in the early goings, Thurman looked sharp — his movement on point, his punches accurate.  As the second round drew to a close, both fighter’s threw simultaneous left hooks. Thurman’s shorter and crisper hook, however, was the only one that reached the intended target and exploded on Lopez’s chin, sending him to the mat.

In the 4th round, the 34 year-old Lopez began finding his target a bit more, but was seemingly two Thurman punches in exchange for landing one of his own.

In the 7th, Lopez finally caught Thurman with a left hand that wobbled the champ.  For the next minute-plus, Lopez cranked up the heat. The fighter they call “Riverside Rocky” stalked a wounded Thurman and time and again snapped his head back with punches thrown from all angles.  Thurman was somehow able to weather the storm, however, and by the end of the round was landing return fire on Lopez.

Thurman regained his composure and control in the 8th, snuffing out any momentum Lopez hoped to build upon from the previous round.

Credit California’s Lopez, who round after round was willing to take some of Thurman’s best shots in order to try to land a big punch of his own.  And make no mistake, the punches Thurman were landing would have dropped and stopped the vast majority of opponents.

At the end of the championship rounds, Jimmy Lennon, Jr. read scores of 113-113 (Don Ackerman), 115-112 (Steve Weisfeld), and 117-111 (Tom Schreck), for Thurman.  The 113-113 Ackerman was controversially close. 15rounds.com scored the contest 117-110 for Thurman.

It was Thurman’s first time back between the ropes since winning the WBC middleweight title via split decision against Danny Garcia in March 2017.  Since then the 30 year-old Floridian has had his right elbow surgically repaired and also suffered a left hand injury that required months to heal. Due to inactivity, Thurman was forced to vacate his WBC strap in April 2018.

Thurman has stated that he’d like two tune-up type bouts before he rumbles with the other A-side talent in the stacked welterweight division.  Of course, the PBC also has champions Errol Spence, Jr. (IBF), Shawn Porter (WBC), and Manny Pacquiao (WBA interim and Thurman mandatory) under promotional contract.  A less realistic future opponent for Thurman is Terence Crawford (WBO), who is under contract with Top Rank.

The veteran Lopez is now 0-3 in world title fights, having come up short against Canelo Alvarez (2012) and Andre Berto (2015).  His signature win remains his against former world champion Victor Ortiz, who he retired after 9 rounds.

“He had me buzzed and shaken up in the seventh round, but I tried to stay on the outside away,” Thurman said afterward.  “I was a little off in my prediction of how long his arms were. He lunged in and was really willing to commit to the knockout.”

With regards to facing his WBA mandatory challenger, Thurman said, “I would most likely definitely take the Manny Pacquiao fight this year. I feel good. That was a beautiful fight. I’m ready to fight wherever Pacquiao wants it.”

Polish Puncher Kownacki Stops Washington In 2

Polish-born Brooklyn-based heavyweight Adam Kownacki continues to thrust himself into the mix in the heavyweight division.  Tonight, it took the 258.5 lb. man they call “Babyface” less than a round and a half to blast out former title challenger, Gerald Washington (19-3-1, 12KO).

The 29 year-old Kownacki came out firing from the opening bell willingly exchanging with his 6’6” counterpart.  About midway through the opening round, Kownacki hurt Washington with a right for the first time. He continued his onslaught, firing away for the rest of the round, but Washington managed to survive.

In the second, Washington came out recharged, and the big Californian quickly unloaded on Kownacki, who was sporting a cut over his left eye.  Once his offensive attack wish finished, however, it was Kownacki’s turn. The 6’3” Pole threw a hammer of a right hand that wobbled Washington, and he followed it up with a flurry that resulted in Washington hitting the mat hard.  Washington just barely beat referee Harvey Dock’s ten count and was able to continue, only to be met just seconds later by more Kownacki fists, prompting Dock to step in and stop the fight at the 1:09 mark of round 2.

Kownacki has now fought 6 of his last 7 fights at the Barclays Center, which has become his second home.  And as per usual, he again enjoyed enjoyed hometown support as hundreds of his Polish fans decked out in their country’s red and white, filled the arena.

“It’s amazing to have this support from the Polish fans,” Kownacki said post-fight.  “It definitely gives me extra energy.”

Further, in his last five fights, the father-to-be has defeated opponents whose combined records tally 109-6-2.  The win streak now includes victories against former title challengers Washington and Artur Szpilka, as well as former IBF Heavyweight Champion, Charles Martin, who Kownacki outpointed in September.

Washington’s only other career defeats also came via stoppage, first against WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder and later against undefeated contender Jerrell “Big Baby” Miller.

“I trained hard for this fight. I prepared for 10 hard rounds, but I’m glad I got it done and ended it as fast as I did,” Kownacki said.

He continued, “We stuck with the game plan. I’m a pressure fighter. I worked on sitting down on my punches and I proved that I have great power when I do that.”

“King Tug” One Step Closer To Title, Decisions Marrero

In just his eleventh professional fight, Tugstsgot “King Tug” Nyambayar (11-0, 9KO) inched one step closer to a championship belt, defeating veteran Dominican southpaw Claudio Marrero (23-3, 17KO) via unanimous decision in a 12-round WBC featherweight title eliminator that kicked off the nationally televised FOX portion of the card.  Scores were 114-113, 115-112, and 116-11, all for the Mongolian, Nyambayar.

It wasn’t easy and it certainly wasn’t pretty, but Nyambayar, a former 2012 Olympic silver medalist grinded and countered his way past the crafty 29 year-old Dominican, Marrero.

Nyambayar, 26, had his first major success in the third round when he hurt and momentarily wobbled the former title challenger, Marrero, with a right hand.  He followed this up with a brief flurry, but ultimately called off the attack when Marrero quickly regained composure.

As the fight progressed, there were times when Nyambayar was patient, but calculating.  Other times, especially in the middle rounds, he was passive — too passive, letting rounds slip away.

Marrero took advantage of “King Tug’s” passiveness, especially in round 5 and 9, when he aggressively came off his stool, firing away on his almost-unsuspecting opponent.

About a minute into the tenth round, referee Benjy Esteves docked Marrero a point for landing a half-hearted right hand during a break.  Shortly after, Nyambar landed a low-blow that doubled Marrero over in pain. The fight was stopped to allow Marrero time to recover and no point was deducted from Nyambayar.

Nyambayar is now in place as the mandatory challenger for Gary Russell, Jr.’s WBC Featherweight title.

“We had a really good camp so this is just me putting the pressure and pace that we worked on in camp and using it in the ring,” Nyambayar said.  “This sets me up for big fights. Whatever big fights are presented to us, we’ll take it.”

Colbert Earns Hard Fought UD Against Hernandez

Brooklyn’s Chris “Lil’ BHopp” Colbert turned away his stiffest competition to date, earning an 8 round unanimous decision against Chicago’s Josh Hernandez (8-2, 7KO) in a super featherweight contest.

Considering Hernandez’s resume, 7KOs in 8 wins, Colbert fought a smart fight early on, allowing Hernandez to be the aggressor, luring him in close, and skillfully countering.  Colbert was by no means reluctant to exchange with his 23 year-old counterpart, but he had no reason to do so.

But as the the rounds bore on, the 22 year-old Colbert began to tire, and his lateral movement slowed.  Hernandez kept the heat on and seemingly backed Colbert against the ropes or into a corner for long stretches in each of the last 4 rounds.  Hernandez would unload and Colbert would absorb. And then Colbert, who trains out of Atlas Cops & Kids in Flatbush, Brooklyn, would unload and Hernandez would absorb.  But these weren’t 50/50 exchanges and Colbert consistently bested Hernandez when the two traded blows.

In the end, all three judges scored the contest widely for Colbert, 79-73.

The result marks the second career loss for Chicago’s Hernandez, who was fighting outside of Illinois for the first time in his career.  His only other defeat came via stoppage against Gavino Gauman in April 2017, a loss he avenged just three months later.

“He put up a great fight,” Colbert said, giving Hernandez well-deserved credit.  “Today I decided not to give the crowd a boxing lesson, I decided I wanted to show them that I can stand and fight with anybody if I choose to.”

He went on, “I have very high-quality fight and I’m getting better and better as we go. I’m looking forward to getting more opportunities.”

Russell Scores TKO2 Over Almazan

2016 US Olympian Gary Antuanne Russell (8-0, 8KO) easily disposed of Mexican-American Roberto Almazan (7-9, 2KO), scoring 3 knockdowns inside 2 rounds to earn a TKO victory.

Russell, the 22 year-old younger brother of WBC World Featherweight champion Gary Russell, Jr., threw fists fast and furious from the opening bell, smothering his 20 year-old counterpart, preventing him from mounting any counter attack.

About a minute into the bout, after a brief exchange near the blue corner, Almazon took a knee. He claimed he was pushed down, but referee Shada Murdaugh disagreed and administered a ten count.

Maryland’s Russell knocked down Almazon down twice more in the 2nd, once courtesy of left-right combo, and the second via a flurry of punches that culminated with one final right that forced Almazon to a knee for the last time. Murdaugh stopped the fight at the :59 second mark of round 2.

“I listened to my corner’s directions and they told me that the hook was going to be there when he shot his left hand,” Russell said afterward. I went to my hook position and I was ready to catch and fire.”

“This is nothing new to me” he continued. “I just try to execute what I’m told and sharpen my craft. We’re going back to the drawing board and we’ll be patient.”

Booker Gifts De Angel 10th Career Defeat via UD

In the first fight of the FS1-televised portion of the card, undefeated southpaw Chordale “The Gift” Booker (14-0, 7KO) worked hard to earn a wide 8 round unanimous decision against Colombian slugger Juan De Angel (21-10-1, 18KO) in a middleweight contest.

Booker set the range early and controlled most of the action with his jab, peppering in straight lefts with precision.  As the punches added up, De Angel slowed down. Eventually in the 7th round, a Booker left uppercut dropped De Angel down to a knee.  The Colombian beat the ensuing ten count and powered through the rest of the 7th and 8th rounds to hear the final bell.

In the end, all judges scored the bout widely for the 27 year-old Stamford, CT fighter: 80-71 and 79-72.

Booker now joins the likes of Austin Trout and Caleb Plant, who’ve also secured wins against De Angel.  The result makes it 9 losses in 9 fights in America for the Colombian.

“I’m about to make a list of fighters that I want to face to propel me to the next level,” Booker said post-fight. “ I’m going to keep climbing and fighting better opponents. I thought I had a good performance today, but not great. I feel like I showed that I have a lot I can do in this sport.

Fulton Drops Olea Twice En Route To TKO5

Philadelphia’s Stephen Fulton (15-0, 7KO) improved his already perfect record, recording a 5th round TKO stoppage against Colombian Marlon Olea (14-4,12KO) in a featherweight bout slated for 8.

Fulton battered Olea from the onset and eventually broke through late in the 4th round when he dropped Olea to a knee courtesy of a beautifully thrown left hook.  The 24 year-old Fulton picked up where he left off in the 5th and again landed a crisp left on the button that brought Olea to a knee. Referee Shada Murdaugh decided that was enough punishment and called a stop the fight at the 1:39 mark of round 5.

Olea’s winless streak on US soil continues, as he drops to 0-4.  All his wins have come in his native Colombia.

Duncan TKOs Garcia-Flores In 3

Undefeated middleweight Mark Duncan (3-0, 3KO) returned to the Barclays Center for the second time in 34 days and scored a TKO3 against Daniel Garcia-Flores (0-3) in a bout scheduled for 4.

The Maryland-native Duncan, who last fought at the Barclays Center in December on the Charlo brother’s undercard, battered Garcia-Flores early and often.  Punches and damage quickly accumulated and midway through the 3rd round, the ringside physician jumped up on the apron and signaled to the referee to stop the contest.  The official time of the stoppage comes at the 1:15 mark of round 3.

Irby Counters His Way Past Figueroa

Maryland’s Tyrek Irby (6-0, 2KO) remained perfect, earning a 4 round unanimous decision over Jonathan Figueroa (2-2, 1KO) in a welterweight scrap.

It was a contrast of styles as the 27 year-old Connecticut fighter, Figueroa, charged for all twelve minutes, while the 25 year-old Maryland man, Irby, slickly countered his way to an easy decision.  Scores read 39-37×2 and 40-36 for Irby.

Deets Stuns Wilder, KOs Him In 4th

In a shocking upset, 33 year-old veteran William Deets (7-12, 3KO) came from behind to KO Marsellos Wilder (3-1, 2KO) with just :25 seconds remaining in their 4 round cruiserweight contest.

Wilder, the 29 year-old younger brother of WBC Heavyweight Champion, Deontay Wilder, was easily outpointing his rugged counterpart, having won each of the first 3 rounds. The Alabama-native Wilder first hurt Deets with a huge left near the end of the first that put Deet’s on unsteady legs, sending him stumbling back to his corner after the bell.  At various times during the next two-plus rounds it looked like Wilder could stop Deets but he never sealed the deal.

Then late in the fourth, Deets flipped the script.  The Nebraskan connected with a huge left hook — a punch he’d attempted and misfired with at least ten times during the bout — and flattened Wilder.  Wilder initially got to his feet during the referee’s ten count, but stumbled to the ropes where his legs failed to keep him steady. The official time of the KO came at the 2:35 mark of round 4.  The result marks the first professional defeat for Wilder, whose brother was on hand to witness to bout.

Time will tell if anything changes, but as of now, Wilder’s next contest is slated to take place next month in the UK on the undercard of Chris Eubanks, Jr. v. James DeGale.

Cruz Stops Florez In 2

In the second of the non-televised swing bouts, Puerto Rican welterweight Miguel Cruz (18-1, 12KO) made quick work of his Colombian counterpart, Luis E. Florez (24-12, 20KO) blitzing him out of the ring inside 2.  The official stoppage came at at the 2:21 mark of round 2. Cruz bounced back nicely from suffering his lone career defeat courtesy of Josesito Lopez last April.

Glanton Stays Perfect, TKOs Fenderson In 2

In the first of two non-televised swing bouts, Atlanta’s Brandon Glanton (8-0, 7KO) battered fellow light heavyweight Jerhed Fenderson (4-9, 2KO) en route to a second round TKO in a contest slated for 4.  The official time of the stoppage came at the 2:49 mark of round 2

Teal Opens Card With A Bang

In the first of thirteen fights from the Barclays Center, Florida super middleweight Mycheal Teal (2-0, 2KO) needed :30 seconds to dispose of winless Jacob Landin (0-3) of Texas.