Tejada stuns Mascarenhas to win the WBC US Silver Super Lightweight Title
| UNCASVILLE, CT – CES Boxing’s ‘Summer Heat 2025’ delivered on its name and then some Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena, with a night full of upsets, thrilling battles, and a newly crowned champion.
In the main event, undefeated junior welterweight prospect Nicolas “TNT” Tejada (12-0-1, 8 KOs) edged past Wilson “Ill Will” Mascarenhas (11-2, 5 KOs) via 8-round split decision, capturing the WBC US Silver Super Lightweight Championship in the process. The victory marks a career-best win for Tejada and snaps Mascarenhas’ 11-fight win streak dating back to his pro debut. Tejada, 25, who coaches the after-school boxing team at Haverhill High School, looked the visibly larger man from the outset and used that size to his advantage early. In round 2, Tejada rocked the New Bedford native with a series of power shots that had the crowd roaring. But Mascarenhas, known for his resilience and slick movement, battled back in rounds 3 and 4 behind sharp footwork and combination punching. Tejada ultimately took over down the stretch, imposing his will and walking Mascarenhas down with pressure and volume. The judges scored the bout 77-75 (Mascarenhas), 77-75 (2x) for Tejada. “Rounds 1-to-4 felt pretty close, but I thought I dominated rounds 5-to-8,” said Tejada. “The game plan was perfect, everything we trained for was kind of just second nature in there. Skill-wise, he was definitely the toughest guy I’ve faced, but in the ring he felt smaller than me. I was pressing the action. I was in his face the whole fight.” Tejada, who is half-Dominican on his father’s side, said the belt is headed back to Haverhill. “I definitely want to get right back on the horse and keep the momentum going. It’s a good feeling to bring that belt back to Haverhill. I know the kids at Haverhill High will be excited to see it.” The main event also represented a welcome collaboration between two leading New England boxing promoters. “Jimmy Burchfield and CES Boxing have been the standard bearer for boxing in New England, and Boston Boxing Promotions has also contributed to boxing in the region,” said Peter Czymbor of Boston Boxing Promotions. “It’s great to be working with CES, and I hope we collaborate more in the future on fights like these that New England fans want to see.” Bridgeport’s Jacob “Lefty” Marrero (10-0, 8 KOs) impressed in his CES debut, pitching a shutout over rugged Puerto Rican veteran Alberto Mercado (17-8-1, 4 KOs). Marrero’s sharp counters and ring generalship were on full display, as he swept all eight rounds on the scorecards. Scores were 80-72 (3x). In a battle of unbeaten prospects, Mexico’s Sean Diaz (9-0, 2 KOs) earned a hard-fought split decision over Stratford’s Joseph “J-Elite” Chisholm (5-1, 5 KOs) in a high-level super bantamweight scrap. Two judges had it 58-56 for Diaz, while one gave the same score to Chisholm. Stamford’s Douglas Marroquin (7-0, 4 KOs) survived a clash of heads and a nasty gash in round 1 to stop Jamall Roby (2-6, 1 KO) in round 2 of their middleweight bout. The blood seemed to bring the beast out of Marroquin, who unleashed a furious assault in round 2 after trapping Roby in the neutral corner. A final uppercut dropped Roby just as the referee jumped in to end matters at 1:54. Newly signed lightweight prospect Gianni Liguori (3-0, 2 KOs), fighting out of Branford, CT, blanked Anthony Mora (6-4-1, 4 KOs) over four rounds in an all-Connecticut showdown. Liguori’s jab and timing kept him in control throughout. Scores were 40-36 across the board. Scituate, RI’s Tyler Macari (1-0, 1 KO) made good on his highly anticipated debut, dropping Pittsburgh’s Kevin Spraags (2-6, 2 KOs) with a sharp combination in round 1. Referee Johnny Callas waved it off at 2:59 after a barrage of unanswered punches. The fight of the night honors went to Providence, RI’s Ayowole Tom Jones and Winchester, MA’s Jhonny Dos Santos, who battled to a spirited 4-round majority draw. Each man hit the canvas once in a wild back-and-forth affair that had fans on their feet. All three judges saw it 37-37. Hartford’s Jonathan Figueroa (5-2, 4 KOs) scored a fourth-round stoppage over Edgar Sagui (1-3) of Guatemala, while New Haven’s Anuel Rosa (6-0-1, 4 KOs) kicked off the night with a statement, flattening Anderson Briceno (1-5, 1 KO) in the opening round of their super lightweight bout. With new stars emerging, prospects clashing, and belts changing hands, Summer Heat 2025 served notice that New England boxing is burning hotter than ever. For more information about CES SUMMER HEAT 2025 and all other CES Boxing events, visit cesfights.com. ABOUT CES BOXINGCES Boxing is one of the top promotions on the East Coast. Founded in 1992 by Jimmy Burchfield Sr., CES Boxing has promoted many world class fighters, including Jamaine Ortiz, Juiseppe Cusumano, Hank Lundy, Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo, Mariusz Wach, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Chad Dawson and Ray Oliveira. CES Boxing has promoted such super fights as “The Thriller on Triller: Tyson v Jones Jr.”, “Mayweather vs. Gotti III”and “The Contender: Manfredo v Pemberton”. ABOUT MOHEGAN SUN ARENA |