Angel Acosta Stops Janel Rivera in 1

Former light flyweight world champion Angel Acosta needed just 77 seconds to take out Janel Rivera in their scheduled 10-round flyweight bout at the Fantasy Springs Resort in India, California.

Acosta hurt Rivera with a hard left hook and then landed about 20 unanswered shots and the fight was stopped.

Acosta, 112.8 lbs of San Juan, PR is now 23-3-1 with 22 knockouts. Rivera, 114 lbs of Vega Baja, PR is 18-9-3.

“I always train well for every fight, we knew Janiel was going to be a strong fighter and I didn’t want to under prepare for this fight,” said Angel Acosta. “I saw an opportunity to end the fight early and I took it. I had a great camp with Joel Diaz and I feel he got me ready for this. Naturally we trained to go the distance, but fortunately we ended it early and got a great victory. We want to go back to the gym train and look for another world championship shot, hopefully Julio Cesar Martinez or McWilliams Arroyo.”

Morales Decisions Torres

Victor Morales dropped Alberto Torres twice en-route to a 10-round unanimous decision in a featherweight bout.

Morales scored knockdowns in rounds five and 10, and cruised home to the 100-88 victory on all cards.

Morales landed 142 of 586 punches; Torres was 70 of 288.

Morales, 125.6 lbs of Portland, OR is now 16-0-1. Torres, 125.4 lbs of Sacramento, CA is 11-5-3.

“I felt great, I was in great condition, and I felt like I dominated the fight,” said Victor Morales. “I was enjoying myself. I could’ve gone 15 rounds. Opponent was an awkward southpaw, but I broke him down and let my hands go. I felt the head butt. I was hoping it was him that got the worst of it, and then shortly realized it was me, but that’s boxing especially when you’re fighting a lefty. But overall I feel great about my performance today.” 

Garcia Decisions Olguin

Rudy Garcia remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over Diuhl Olguin in a featherweight contest.

Garcia landed 124 of 465 punches; Olguin was 75 of 304.

Garcia, 125 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won by scores of 80-72 and 79-73 twice and is now 13-0-1. Olguin, 124.8 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 15-23-5.

“I knew the fighter was going to be tough,” said Rudy Garcia. “He has a lot of experience and I had to adjust because he kept coming in with his head. Obviously, I got a head butt that stung me so we had to adjust mid fight and got the decision.  I had to go back to the amatuer mentality and outpoint him.”  

Brenes Decisions Perez

Jimmy Brenes remained undefeated with a four-round majority decision over Hector Perez in a welterweight bout.

Brenes landed 90 of 271 punches; Perez was 50 of 233.

Brenes, 146.2 lbs of Masaya, NIC won by scores of 40-36 twice and 38-38 and is now 2-0. Perez, 145.8 lbs of West Los Angeles, CA

“Perez gave me a good fight, he came to do what he needed to do. I came in and did what I needed to do to win and I am happy the judges also saw it my way. I know I still have a lot to improve and that’s what we are going to do. We are going to go back to the gym, train, and get better; that’s how world champions are made,” said Jimmy Brenes. 

Tudor Decisions Stubbs

Eric Tudor remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Donte Stubbs in a middleweight bout.

Tudor landed 90 of 282 punches; Stubbs was 51 of 343.

Tudor, 154 lbs of Hollywood, FLA won on all cards by 60-54 scores and is now 3-0. Stubbs, 157.5 lbs of Riverside, CA is 6-5.

“I am happy that I was able to dictate the pace of the fight and we are fortunate for the outcome,” said Eric Tudor. “We knew he was going to be a tough fighter, my job was to just maintain my composure. He did get me with some shots that I wasn’t supposed to get hit with. I am very happy with my performance, like I said I was able to keep my composure and I am glad we were able to go the distance, that’s what we train for.” 




NEWLY CROWNED WBC, WBA, AND RING MAGAZINE FLYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION, MARLEN ESPARZA IS THE SPECIAL VIP GUEST AT FANTASY SPRINGS RESORT CASINO ON MAY 12

INDIO, CA (April 28, 2022) – Newly unified WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine Flyweight World Champion, Marlen Esparza is set as the VIP guest at Fantasy Spring Resort Casino on Thursday, May 12. The Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN fight card is headlined by former world champion, Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta (22-3-1, 21 KOs) of San Juan, Puerto Rico, facing fellow countryman, Janiel Rivera (18-8-3, 11 KOs) in a 10-round super flyweight fight. In the co-main event of the night, Victor Morales (15-0-1, 8 KOs) of Vancouver, Washington, will fight Alberto Torres (11-4-3, 4 KOs) of Sacramento, CA, in a 10-round featherweight fight. Los Angeles’ Rudy “El Tiburon” Garcia (12-0-1, 2 KOs) will take on the veteran Diul “Elegante” Olguin (15-22-5, 10 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico in an 8-round super bantamweight fight. Also on the card, Hollywood, Florida’s Eric Tudor (2-0, 2 KOs) will face Martez Jackson (5-6-3, 2 KOs) in a 6-round welterweight fight. Victorville’s Daniel Luna will make his professional debut in a 4-round featherweight fight against Johnathan Berry (0-1) of Duncan, Oklahoma. Lastly, Jimmy “Lone Wolf” Brenes (1-0, 1 KO) of Hialeah, FL will fight in a scheduled 4-round welterweight event against an opponent to be determined. All bouts will stream live on DAZN and on the Golden Boy Boxing Youtube page hosted by Beto Duran and Boxing Hall of Famer, Bernard Hopkins starting at 6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET.

Marlen Esparza was born to make history in boxing. Born in Houston, Texas, Marlen Esparza began her boxing career at 12 years old after growing up in a household that loved the sport. In May 2012, Esparza became the first American woman to qualify to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London, the first year that women’s boxing made its debut as an Olympic event. She would win the bronze medal in the women’s flyweight division. In 2017, Esparza became the first female fighter signed by Golden Boy Promotions, and to kick off her professional debut, Esparza took on Rachel Sazoff in a two-round match at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. She stayed busy the upcoming years fighting on the undercards of major events and fighting a total of five times at Golden Boy’s Coachella Valley home, Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. In 2019, Esparza had her first world title opportunity, the WBA Flyweight Interim World Championship; but unfortunately, the fight was stopped prematurely in the 9th round because Esparza was severely cut from an accidental headbutt, so the decision went to the scorecards. However, that first loss did not stop Esparza’s momentum as she came back stronger with back-to-back victories over former world title challenger Sulem Urbina and Shelly Barnett.

In 2021, Esparza had a successful year, with an unanimous decision victory against Ibeth Zamora Silva for the WBC Flyweight World Championship and successfully defended her new world championship title against former world champion Anabel “Avispa” Ortiz. On April 9, as part of the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs. Emmanuel Tagoe, Esparza faced her toughest challenge to date, taking on five-division world champion Naoko Fujioka. The fight pitted the #1 vs. #2 in the female flyweight division, granting them the honor of fighting for the first-ever Ring Magazine Female Flyweight World Championship. After 10-rounds of non-stop action from two of the mightiest female fighters in the flyweight division, the judges ruled in favor of Esparza unanimously, crowning her the new WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine World Champion.

As the VIP guest, Esparza will be in attendance for the fights and will be on hand to meet fans, sign autographs and take pictures inside the Special Events Center before the DAZN live stream begins. The meet-and-greet is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket to the event.

Tickets for Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN: Acosta vs Rivera are on sale now and are priced at $45, $35 and $25 plus applicable facility fees and service charges. Tickets are available at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling 1-800-827-2946, or by purchasing online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Acosta vs. Rivera is a 10-round super flyweight fight presented by Golden Boy. The event is sponsored by Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle,” and “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts.” The fight will take place on Thursday, May 12 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA, and will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN and on the Golden Boy Boxing Youtube.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and DAZN.com. Follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing and @DAZNBoxing. Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoy and https://www.facebook.com/DAZN. Follow on Instagram @GoldenBoy and @DAZNBoxing. Follow the conversation using #AcostaRivera #GBFightNight




Olympian Jimmy Brenes Wins Pro Debut

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (November 24, 2021) Welterweight Jimmy Brenes scored a first round TKO in the first round of his pro debut against Herbert Cruz Lopez (0-1) on the undercard of Hernandez vs. Esquivel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Brenes, who hails from Nicaragua, currently trains with Reniel Aponte and Mike Robles of KO Fitness Center in Hialeah, Miami. As a 95-15 amateur, Brenes competed in the Pan American Games, won Florida State Golden Gloves as well as the Florida State PAL Championship, before joining the Nicaraguan Olympic Team.

Trainer Mike Robles said, “He fought great. Very selective, not rushing anything, but very effective on his punches landed. Great performance coming from an elite amateur transforming to the pro style.” His opponent Herbert Cruz is a naturally bigger fighter who fought his pro debut two weight classes higher at 157 pounds. “So it’s showing our KO Fitness work. He displayed our work awesomely.”

At KO Fitness, Mike and Reniel also train Reniel’s son, the highly touted prospect Aaron Aponte (4-0, 2 KOs),who was also an elite level amateur turned pro in 2020, super featherweight Luis Melendez (17-1, 13 KOs), undefeated welterweight Harold Calderon (26-0, 17 KOs) and other up and comers.

The card was promoted by Eddie Hearn and Canelo Alvarez with the main card broadcast on DAZN.