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.

Gabriel Flores Jr. remained undefeated as he won a 10-round unanimous decision over Josec Ruiz in a lightweight bout at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

The bout was elevated to the main event after the Jose Pedraza Mikkel LesPierre bout was scrapped after LesPierre’s manager tested positive for Covid-19

Flores registered a knockdown when he landed a left hand that was followed by a barrage of punches.

Flores dominated the bout and won by scores of 100-89 on all cards.

Flores, 132.4 lbs of Stockton, CA is now 18-0. Ruiz, 132.4 lbs of Miami, FL is 21-3-3.

In a battle of undefeated bantamweights, Robert Rodriguez stopped Adrian Servin in round two of a scheduled six-round bout.

In round two, Rodriguez dropped Servin with a right hook. Rodriguez continued to land hard straight lefts that snapped Servin’s head back, and referee Robert Hoyle stopped the bout at 2:48.

Rodriguez, 120.3 lbs of San Antonio, TX is 8-0-1 with four knockouts. Servin, 118 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 9-1-1.

Clay Collard upended his 2nd straight undefeated fighter as he won a six-round split decision over Damid Kaminsky in a super middleweight clash.

In round one, Kaminsky was cut around the left eye from a punch. Collard continued to outwork Kaminsky and Collard had swelling around his right for the better part of the 2nd half of the fight.

Collard won two cards by 58-56 scores. Kaminsky took a card 58-56.

Collard, 163.6 lbs of Cache Vallet, UT is 7-2-3. Kaminksy, 164.1 lbs of Los Angeles is 6-1.

In a battle of undefeated super featherweights, Frevian Gonzalez won a four-round unanimous decision over Jose Martinez.

Gonzalez, 129.4 lbs of Cidra, PR won by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice, and is now 3-0. Gonzalez, 127.8 lbs of Los Angeles, CA is 2-1.

Victor Rodriguez remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Justin Horsley in a super lightweight bout.

Rodriguez, 140.2 lbs of Stanton, CA won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 3-0. Horsley, 140.7 lbs of Las Vegas is 0-2.

Photos by Mikey Williams / Top Rank

ARLINGTON, Tex. ––Truth is stitched in red across the waistband.

It’s no lie.

Errol Spence Jr. delivered truth in a jab, power and quickness again and again over 12 rounds that left Mikey Garcia looking exhausted, undersized and overmatched in a Fox pay-per-view bout in front of a crowd of more than 47,000 at AT&T Stadium.

It was every bit the one-sided massacre Spence promised, or perhaps threatened, a few days before opening bell.

“They said I wasn’t too smart,’’ Spence (25-0, 22 KOs) said after retaining the International Boxing Federation’s version of the welterweight title. “They said I couldn’t box. You saw it today. I can punch and I can box.’’

Truth is, Spence could pretty much do whatever he wanted against Garcia, a former featherweight champion and a current lightweight champ who was fighting at 147 pounds for only the second time.  On the scorecards, Garcia (39-1, 30 KOs) didn’t win a round. The judges scored it 120-108, 120-107, 120-108, all for Spence.

“He really is the Truth,’’ said Garcia, who was Spence’s equal only on the pay scale. According to contracts filed with the Texas Commission, both fighters collected a minimum of $3 million.

Garcia took some solace in the fact he was never knocked down by power shots set up by a Spence jab that consistently rocked back his head.

“I was able to hold on,’’ said Garcia, who said he talked his brother and trainer Robert out of stopping the fight in eighth or ninth round.

For Garcia, it not clear what’s next. He took a risk in jumping up in weight to fight the biggest man in the welterweight division. He could go down in weight to defend his 135 pound title.

For Spence, the victory further enhances his pound-for-pound  credentials. May, it also put him in line to fight Manny Pacquiao, who was at ringside.

“It would be an honor for me to fight him next,’’ Spence said.

From his ringside seat, Pacquiao said:

“Why not?’’

The why-not reasons were there, again and again. Don’t doubt Spence. There’s never much Truth in boxing. For now, however, he is the undisputed version.

David Benavidez roars back with second-round stoppage of J’Leon Love

It was called a comeback. It was that and more.

Luis Nery says hello to U.S. market with sensational stoppage

Mexican bantamweight Luis Nery’s introduced himself to the U.S. market with a performance that will created an appetite for more.

Arreola TKO winner

Chris Arreola opened the Fox pay-per-view telecast of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium with a stoppage. Call it bang for the buck.

Charles Martin gets victory in low blow DQ

It was a low blow. Actually, there were four of them, if you were counting. A heavyweight bout that could have been stopped for boredom after a couple of rounds was stopped in the eighth when Gregory Corbin of Dallas (15-1, 9 KOs) was disqualified for his fourth low blow. Charles Martin (25-3-1, 23 KOs), of Saint Louis, got the victory in the final bout before the start of the pay-per-view telecast of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium. 

Lindolfo  Delgado, a young super-lightweight from Mexico,  added to his rep as prospect with a powerful first-round knockout of James Roach (5-2, 5 KOs) of Grove, OK, in a swing bout on the pay-per-view portion of the Garcia-Spence card at AT&T Stadium.

Oh, Brother: Marsellos Wilder flashes Deontay’s power for first-round stoppage

Marsellos Wilder is a lot like his better-known brother, Deontay, the World Boxing Council’s heavyweight champ. He punches wildly. He punches powerfully. In the Wilder family, power prevails and it did again Saturday with Marsellos (4-1, 3 KOs) scoring a first-round stoppage of Mark Sanchez (0-3) of Midland, Tex., on the Spence-Garcia undercard at AT&T Stadium

Featherweight Fernando Garcia rolls to 12-0 record with KO win

Dallas super-lightweight Rashidi walks down, breaks down foe for sixth-round stoppage

No stopping San Antonio bantamweight Jesse Rodriquez in TKO win

Milwaukee super-welterweight wins split decision. Anybody for a rematch?

Bantamweight Morales flashes more of everything in scoring unanimous decision

Oklahoma City bantamweight Aaron Morales (6-0, 3 KOs) employed quicker hands, quicker feet and was more accurate from more angles angle, scoring a unanimous decision over Fernando Robles (2-1) of McAllen, Tex., in the fifth bout of the Spence-Garcia featured card.

In the card’s fourth bout, the judges — one of the few people at AT&T Stadium to actually to be in their seats — went back to work, all three scoring a four-round cruiserweight bout for Adrian Taylor (9-1, 4 KOs) of Mesquite, Tex., over William Quintana (7-13, 3 KOs) of Kearney, Neb.

Third bout ends in second-round TKO

The card’s third bout didn’t last much longer. Luis Coria (11-2, 6 KOs), light from Moreno Valley, Calif., finished it with two rounds, scoring a swift stoppage of Omar Garcia (6-8, 1 KOs) of Monterrey, Mex.

Second bout on Spence-Gracia card ends in quick stoppage

There were only echoes at empty AT&T Stadium and one the biggest was caused by Dallas super-middleweight Burley Brooks, who who went crashing to the canvas head-over heels in first-round stoppage delivered by Randy Mast (2-0, 1 KO) of Springfield, MO in the second fight of 17 on card featuring Spence-Garcia.

The corner side of Team Garcia went to work early.

Robert Garcia, Mikey Garcia’s brother and trainer, had to hope the show would end as it opened. It began at empty AT&T Stadium with Garcia-trained Robert Rodriguez (3-0) of San Antonio, winning a unanimous decision over California super-flyweight Fernando Ibarra (0-1) in an afternoon matinee.

About five hours and 16 fights later, Mikey Garcia would face welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. in a Fox pay-per-view televised bout.