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 – April 1, 2019 – Unbeaten 122-pound prospect Angelo Leo and Filipino Neil Tabanao talk training camp just days away from their ShoBox: The New Generation main event showdown Friday, April 5 live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT) from Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas.

The ShoBox tripleheader co-feature will see unbeaten super featherweight prospect Xavier Martinez (13-0, 9 KOs) squaring off against experienced Filipino John Moralde (21-2, 11 KOs) in a 10-round bout and undefeated Mayweather Promotions’ 130-pound prospect Andres Cortes (10-0, 6 KOs) facing Jahmal Dyer (9-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round bout in the telecast opener.

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/.

Leo, (16-0, 8 KOs), who started boxing at the age of eight, has dreams of emulating his biggest boxing inspiration, Roberto Duran, by one day becoming a world champion. He draws inspiration not only from Duran’s aggressiveness in the ring, but also from his tactical fighting style. The 24-year-old from Albuquerque, N.M. has sparred with elite boxers such as Leo Santa Cruz, Jessie Magdaleno, Nonito Donaire, and Tomoki Kameda and assures he is more than prepared to withstand Tabanao on April 5.

Tabanao, 25, made his pro debut in 2012 in his home country of the Philippines. He will make his television debut this week as he looks to move up the super bantamweight ranks. Tabanao won the WBO Oriental Featherweight Title in 2016 with a third-round technical knockout of Ibrahim Balla to then lose it to former 122-pound world champion Issac Dogboe. He suffered two consecutive defeats after losing to Dogboe but has admirably rebounded by winning his last four bouts.

Here is what the fighters had to share ahead of their matchup:

On what they know about their opponent:

Leo: “Tabanao is definitely not a pushover. He has 17 wins and 11 of those by knockout, so we definitely know that he can punch. I’ve seen a video of him, he likes to counter off the high guard. He’s fought a former world champion, Isaac Dogboe, and went the distance with him. So, he is a tough competitor for sure, but I think with my boxing and ring IQ, I can get the victory.”

Tabanao: “Angelo Leo is a good fighter. We need to use a good strategy to win this fight—and we have it. We trained very hard targeting his weaknesses. He’s in for a surprise this Friday.”

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

Leo: “A win over Neil Tabanao will probably set me up for another 10-round fight and after that I will hopefully be competing on a world title eliminator. I think in the next two or three fights I’ll get a world title shot.”

Tabanao: “I want to be recognized in the world of boxing. Leo is a step towards that goal. He doesn’t know what he’s in for.”

On training camp:

Leo: “I had a very good training camp. I have a very good team. My dad, is my head trainer, he is the one in charge. Luis Chavez is my other trainer. He lives in New Mexico trainer and comes down when I fight. Steve Cartledge and John Sinclair are helping me with my strength and conditioning. We started increasing the rounds in my sparring and we are trying to get the conditioning up as well. I have been training super hard for this fight. I feel that I’m in tip-top shape.”

Tabanao: “I had a good training camp. I trained with my coach Sonny Dollente at Mabuhay Boxing Camp at Dujali Davao del Norte in The Philippines. We worked hard on perfecting our strategy; we are ready to counter whatever Leo may do on Friday night.”

How does it feel to fight on national television?

Leo: “It feels like a dream come true to fight on national television. I’ve been working so hard for this moment. Finally, I get to show everybody who I am and what better way to do it than as the main event on TV. I’m going to take full advantage of this opportunity. Everyone will see what I’m all about.”

Tabanao: “It means a lot to me to be able to fight on national television. I hope this is the first of many televised fights. I want to become a renowned and successful boxer to be able help my family. I’m determined to do it.”

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