Joe Smith Jr. scored an emphatic 9th round stoppage over Eleider Alvarez in a scheduled 12-round light heavyweight bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

In round four, Alvarez began to bleed from the nose. Smith dominated most of the action as he landed hard power shots throughout the contest.

In round nine, Smith landed a big right to the jaw that was followed up by a left that sent Alvarez through the ropes. He could not beat the count at 24 seconds.

Smith, 174.9 lbs of Long Island, NY is now 26-3 with 21 knockouts. Alvarez, 174.6 lbs of Montreal is 25-2.

Smith said, “Coming into this camp, I knew I had to work on my boxing. I wanted to be sharp, throw a lot of straight punches. I watched his fight with {Sergey} Kovalev, and Kovalev kind of set the way to beat him. So we watched that and worked off of it. I knew coming in today I had to box a little more because he’s got that great right hand. He caught me with it a couple times, but I can take a punch, too.
 
“Every time he hit me, I wanted to come and stop him in his tracks, and I did that. I stuck to my game plan, and it was a great fight.
 
“I feel this one is a big one. I really needed it. I wanted to prove I’m not just a knockout guy. I proved my boxing ability, too, and I showed that tonight.”

Brant Stops Kopylenko after 5!

Former middleweight belt-holder Rob Brant stopped Vitaliy Kopylenko after round five of their scheduled 10-round middleweight fight.

In round two, Kopylenko began to swell under his left eye. The eye got worse and was almost closed that forced the fight to be stopped after the 5th frame.

Brant, 161.1 lbs of St. Paul, MN is 26-2 with 18 knockouts. Kopylenko, lbs of The Ukraine is 28-3.

Brant said, “My punch output was high, but I felt like I threw a lot of quality shots, especially with a veteran like Vitaliy. I’m not going to try and pronounce his last name out of respect, but he’s a crafty veteran. He’s been around for a long time.
 
“I spent a lot of time in camp with them. It’s been a three-month camp with them. Between the advice they have given me and being around Terence Crawford and Jamel Herring, it teaches you to relax a little more.”

Rodriguez stops Laureano in 1

Julian Rodriguez stopped Anthony Laureano in the opening round of their scheduled 10-junior welterweight bout featuring undefeated fighters.

In round one, Rodriguez landed a three-punch combination that put Laureano down. Rodriguez put Laureano down again with a hard right. Rodriguez sealed the deal as he landed four unanswered blows, and the fight was stopped as Laureano fell for a the 3rd time at 2:50.

Rodriguez, 141.5 lbs of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ is 20-0 with 13 knockouts. Laureano, 145.9 of East Hartford, CT is 13-1.

“Previous to the shoulder injury, I was more of a brawler,” Rodriguez said. “I was coming in with bigger shots, but once I noticed the arm wasn’t holding up in that way, it forced me to focus more on my footwork, using my jab, and more of a different style. Now I feel like I have all the tools.”

Collard Stops Williams in 2

Clay Collard racked up his 5th win of 2020 by stopping Maurice Williams in round two of a scheduled eight-round middleweight bout.

In round two, Collard dropped Williams with a straight right. Later in round, Collard landed a hard combination that made referee Tony Weeks stop the fight at 1:54.

Collard, 159.8 lbs of Burley, ID is 9-2-3 with four knockouts. Williams, 158.2 lbs of Oklahoma City, OK is 7-2.

“I’m just a fighter. I like getting out there as often as possible and entertaining the fans. I appreciate all the love and support from the fans, and I enjoy putting on a show for them,” Collard said. “Listen, I’ll fight as often as possible. I love fighting on these Top Rank shows, and I look forward to the next one. This has been quite the ride.”

Duke Ragan made a successful pro debut with a opening round stoppage over Luis Alvarado in a featherweight bout.

In round one, Ragan dropped Alvarado with a hard right hand. Alvarado got to his feet but the fight was stopped at 1:54.

Ragan, 125.5 lbs of Cincinnati, OH is 1-0 with one knockout. Alvarado, 126.8 lbs of Pasco, WA is 1-2.

Robert Rodriguez stopped Abel Soriano in the opening round of a scheduled six round fight featuring undefeated bantamweights.

In round one, Rodriguez dropped Soriano with a straight left to the body. Moments later, a barrage of punches that was finihed by a right hook made Soriano take a knee. Soriano was cut over his left eye, but that would not matter as another straight left put Soriano down for a 3rd and final time at 2:59.

Rodriguez, 119.7 lbs of Riverside, CA is 9-0-1 with five knockouts. Soriano, 119.8 lbs of Bellvue, NE is 10-1.

In a battle of undefeated junior welterweights, Israel Mercado won a six-round unanimous decision over Adrian Valdovinos.

Mercado, 136.6 lbs of Pomona, CA won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 and is now 8-0. Valdovinos, 137.2 lbs of Hanford, CA is 5-1-1.

Wendy Toussaint won a eight-round unanimous decision over Isaiah Jones in a middleweight fight.

Toussaint, 156.4 lbs of Huntington, NY won by scores of 80-72 and 79-73 twice, and is now 12-0. Jones, 157.2 lbs of Detroit, MI is 9-3.

Ricardo Sandoval stopped Raymond Tabugon in round seven of a scheduled 10-round flyweight bout at the Fantasy Spring Casino Resort in Indio, Califoenia

In round two, Sandoval dropped Tabugon with a left hook.

Sandoval continued to beat down Tabugon until the bout was stopped in round seven,

Sandoval, 111.8 lbs of Riverside, CA is 18-1 with 13 knockouts. Tabugon, 111.2 lbs of General Santos City, PHL is 22-12-1.

“It was a great fight,” said Ricardo Sandoval. “It was a great fight for the people. Raymond was a tough opponent with a lot of experience. I needed that kind of experience. I think we’re ready for a world title. Whoever gives me the opportunity, we’ll take it. I’ll be ready. Now it’s on to the next fight to get closer to a world title.”

Oscar Negrete won a 10-round unanimous decision over Alberto Melian in a bantamweight bout.

Negrete, 117.4 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won by scores of 98-92 twice and 97-93 and is now 19-2-2. Melian, 117.6 lbs of Buenos Aires, ARG is 6-2.

In round one, Melian was cut over the right eye from a punch.

“It was a tough fight,” said Oscar Negrete. “I have to recognize that Alberto Melian is an amazing fighter. He came to win. He won the public’s respect tonight. I did what I had to do to win the fight. We want an opportunity to fight for a world title. I deserve it. We worked extremely hard to get here.

Sulem Urbina remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Noemi Bosques in a super flyweight bout.

Urbina, 112.6 lbs of Phoenix, AZ won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 12-0. Bosques, 113.6 lbs of St. Petersburg, FL is 12-15-3.

“I thought it was an exciting fight for the fans,” said Sulem Urbina. “I tried to get the stoppage, but she had a strong will. I learned a lot from my opponent. It was an honor to fight her. I hope Golden Boy keeps an eye out for me.”

Leonardo Baez won an eight-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Moises Flores in a featherweight bout.

Baez, 123.8 lbs of Mexicali, MX won by scores of 80-72 on all cards and is now 18-2. Flores, 124 lbs of Guadalajara, MX is 24-3.

“My opponent was an interim champion,” said Leonardo Baez. “He had more experience than me. That’s why we trained hard in the gym. I want bigger fights and tougher opponents.”

Anthony Reyes and Diuhl Olguin fought to a no-contest after a headbutt forced the bout to be stopped at 53 seconds of round three of their scheduled six-round super bantamweight bout.

“At first I was doing good,” said Anthony Reyes. “I was still warming up. My opponent was very experienced. Unfortunately, the headbutt happened. The cut was pretty deep.” “I feel unsatisfied,” said Diuhl Olguin. “The fight was barely going to start. My opponent was a great counter puncher. I was pressuring and unfortunately the headbutt occurred.”

Oscar Acevedo remained undefeated by winning a six-round majority decision over Dan Murray after a headbutt forced the fight to end 23 seconds early.

Acevedo, 134 lbs of Los Angeles won by scores of 59-55 twice and 57-57, and is now 7-0. Murray, 134.2 lbs of Lanoka Harbor, NJ is 5-3.

“I think I did good, said Oscar Acevedo. “Better than my last fight. He was tough and came to fight. Now back to the gym to get better.”

In a battle of undefeated super featherweights, Anthony Garnica won a four-round majority decision over Luis Alvarado.

Garnica, 126.4 lbs of Oakland, CA won by scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38, and is now 5-0. Alvarado, 128 lbs of Pasco, WA is 1-1.

“It was a good fight,” said Anthony Garnica. “He was a tough opponent. He came to fight. I executed the game plan. I settled down through the rounds and got it done.”