Angelo Leo won a 10-round unanimous decision over Neil Tabanao in a super bantamweight bout at Sams Town in Las Vegas.

Leo, 123 lbs of Las Vegas won by scores of 100-89 and 100-90 twice and is now 17-0. Tabanao, 122 1/4 lbs of Philippines is 17-5.

“It felt good to make my SHOWTIME debut tonight, to show my fans and the rest of the world my skills and now it’s just up from here,” Leo said. “He was a tough fighter. I’d give my performance an eight. He had a punch. I had to stay cautious in the beginning and take my time and get on the inside.”

“Leo is a good fighter,” Tabanao said. “I know I lost the fight. I did what I could but he was really good. I started strong but on the second half he took over. He fought very well on the inside. He’s really good at short range. He deserved the win.”

Leo said he needs to work on his defense. “I need to keep it a little tighter and not leave any room for opportunities for my opponent,” he said. “I’m ready for whatever my team brings to me for my next fight. I know [Mayweather Promotions CEO] Leonard Ellerbe has my back and my best interests.”

Xavier Martinez stopped John Moralde in a round three of a scheduled eight-round junior lightweight fight

After battering Moralde for two rounds, Martinez dropped Moralde with a hard left hook. Referee Tony Weeks let the fight continue, only to stop seconds after the knockdown at 1:11.

Martinez, 131 3/4 lbs of Sacramento, CA is 14-0 with 10 knockouts. Moralde, 131 1/2 lbs of General Santos City, PHL is 21-3.

“I came into this fight wanting to make a statement,” Martinez said. “It’s SHOWTIME and that means it’s go time. I wanted to show everybody who I am and I feel like I did that tonight. I wanted take him out early, I had that in my head and I did it.”

“He kept smirking at me when we first started so I wanted to wipe that smirk off his face real quick,” Martinez said. “So it went from him smirking to him getting serious really fast. I was looking to get the knockout, but in my head I was thinking if it doesn’t happen, just keep working him. But I didn’t have to. I took him out on the third.”
Andres Cortes won an eight-round unanimous decision over Jahmal Dyer in a junior lightweight bout.

In round three, Cortes wobbled Dyer at the end of the round with a right. Dyer came back to drop Cortes with a little right on the inside. Cortes was able to right himself and stun Dyer a couple of times.

Cortes, 132 1/4 lbs of Las Vegas, NV won by scores of 79-73, 78-73 and 78-74 and is now 11-0. Dyer, 130 1/2 lbs of Baltimore is 9-2.

“The knockdown didn’t affect my performance at all,” said Cortes, who was fighting for the sixth time at Sam’s Town Live. “I was off balance but as you saw, I was able to come back and almost knocked him out. I got too greedy and felt like I was coming off too strong. He was a good opponent, so it was my mistake. I give my performance tonight a 6, I didn’t like it at all. I feel like I could’ve done a lot better but it’s okay.”

Dyer, who had a seven and a half-inch reach advantage, said he didn’t feel like he won the fight. “He just outperformed me,” he said. “I could have thrown more punches. IN the fourth, we were both exchanging and I just happened to catch him with a good shot.”

Cortes said he was looking for the knockout the entire fight and his defense could have been better. “I should have kept my distance a little more and that would have made the fight a little easier. I’ll be back soon and do a lot better,” he added.

LAS VEGAS – March 18, 2019 – Undefeated Mayweather Promotions 130-pound prospect Andres Cortes and once-beaten Jahmal Dyer talk about their respective training camps in advance of their eight-round matchup in the ShoBox: The New Generation telecast opener on Friday, April 5 live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT) from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas.

The ShoBox tripleheader is headlined by top 122-pound prospect Angelo Leo (16-0, 8 KOs) squaring off against Filipino Neil Tabanao (17-4, 11 KOs) in a 10-round bout and super featherweight Xavier Martinez (13-0, 9 KOs) taking on John Moralde (21-2, 11 KOs) in the 10-round co-featured attraction.

Tickets for the Mayweather Promotions’ Sin City Showdown are priced at $25, $50 and $75 and can be purchased by visiting: https://mayweatherpromotions.com/events/.

Cortes (10-0, 6 KOs) was influenced by his older brother and current trainer, former three-time national champion, Luis Cortes, and started his career in boxing at a very young age. He moved up the ranks in the amateurs amassing 150 amateur fights and making it to the finals of the Youth World Championship in 2014 and 2015. He faced rising stars including Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez before turning pro in 2016. Born and raised in Las Vegas, the 22-year-old Cortes was discovered by Floyd Mayweather at a sparring session with current WBA Super Featherweight Champion, Gervonta Davis. He signed with Mayweather Promotions shortly after.

Unlike Cortes, Dyer (9-1, 5 KOs) started boxing late in life. He was 19 when his father suggested he pick up boxing to bring some structure into his life. After a brief amateur run, the 27-year-old from Baltimore, Md. turned professional in early 2017. He trains at Charm City Boxing Gym with former boxer and now head trainer, David Sewell. Although Dyer consider boxing his full-time job, he also works the night shift at a milk factory six days a week to provide for his wife and children.

Here is what the fighters had to say ahead of their of their television debut on April 5:

How does it feel having your first televised fight on SHOWTIME on April 5?

Cortes: “It feels good, but at the same time I feel this is part of my destiny. I grew up watching ShoBox fights, and I’ve always secretly known I was going to end up there, on TV. Now that it’s actually here, I feel like this is where I’m supposed to be. The moment is here and it’s really time to shine. Tune-in on April 5th, a star will definitely be born that night.”

Dyer: “I am excited at the possibility of being able to showcase my boxing to the viewing audience and show people what I can do. But other than that, it’s just another day at the office. Once that bell rings, it will be me and my opponent in the ring. The crowd, the lights, and the cameras will all get drowned out by that crazy voice that has always been inside my head telling me to push, work, fight, and never give up.”

On the progress of training camp:

Cortes: “My training camp has been going really good. It’s the longest camp I’ve had. I’ve been training for about 10 weeks. You can expect me to be 100 percent come April 5th.”

Dyer: “Training camp has been going great so far. I am in the best shape of my life. I am a gym rat and I’m always in shape. Even when I don’t have a fight lined up, I train twice a day at the gym and run five to 10 miles every day. It’s just a routine that I have always stuck with. Plus, I just had a fight on March 2, so I have pretty much just stayed in the gym and I’m feeling very sharp.”

Are you doing anything new this camp or making any adjustments to prepare for this fight?

Cortes: “My strength and conditioning has been very strict. More so than in previous camps. I’ve been focusing on my nutrition. Everything is going to be right in place when fight night comes around.”

Dyer: “I have always had tough fights and have always been able to overcome challenges. Inside and outside of the ring. The only thing new about this fight is that it is my first eight-round fight. I’ve been training to go hard and to go the distance.”

On what they know about their opponent:

Cortes: “I don’t see anything special on Dyer. I just see another opponent. He’s just there for me to beat. I see that he is tough but comes with nothing special.”

Dyer: “I don’t know much about Andres Cortes and, frankly, had never heard of him before I was offered this fight. Since then, I have looked him up and I know he is a good fighter. But I don’t think he has ever been taken into deep waters. How a fighter deals with adversity is what distinguishes a good fighter from a great fighter. I have no doubt about my grit and determination – I have always had abnormal amounts of it. Part of it may be from my upbringing and part of it may be in my DNA. But I don’t think even Andres Cortes himself knows whether he has that kind of grit and determination because he has never been tested. I will gladly administer the test.”

On what a win from this fight will do for their career:

Cortes: “It will definitely set things higher; it will set higher standards for me. The sky is the limit from this fight on. Just to getting my name out there will bring a lot more opportunities for me.”

Dyer: “Winning this fight will change my life. I am approaching this fight, both mentally and in training, like it is the unified world title – like it is the fight of my life. I have been through so much and sacrificed so much both in and out of the ring to get to where I am now. This is my opportunity to finally show the world what I can do and kick open the doors to my future in boxing. I don’t plan on knocking. I plan on kicking the doors wide open. Winning this fight will catapult my boxing career and, hopefully, I can focus full-time on boxing.”

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