PR Mutes Mexico: Jose Pedraza Takes Title From Ray Beltran On ESPN

GLENDALE, Ariz (Aug. 25, 2018) — Jose “Sniper” Pedraza is now a two-weight world champion. Pedraza scored an 11th round knockdown and won a unanimous decision to dethrone WBO lightweight world champion Ray Beltran on Saturday evening at the Gila River Arena.

Scores were 117-110, 117-110, and 115-112 for Pedraza, who was previously the IBF 130-pound champion of the world.

With the victory, Pedraza (25-1, 12 KOs) is expected to fight WBA lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko on Dec. 1 to unify two of the division’s titles. Pedraza returned from a 14-month layoff in March and won two bouts to earn the shot at Beltran.

Said Beltran, who fell to 35-8-1: “I thought it was a good, close fight. The knockdown made the difference. I got caught with a really good shot.”  

The storm came in a hurry, as Isaac “Royal Storm” Dogboe blasted out Hidenori Otake via TKO at 2:18 of the opening round to retain his WBO junior bantamweight world title. Dogboe (20-0, 14 KOs) knocked down Otake (31-3-3, 14 KOs) down twice in the round, and a follow-up flurry forced referee Chris Flores to call a halt to the bout.

Dogboe won the title with a thrilling 11th-round TKO against Jessie Magdaleno in April. This time, he had a shorter night at the office.

“This was a great performance. I’m glad I got to showcase my skills on ESPN,” Dogboe said. I’m very thankful for the opportunity. I have a lot of respect for Otake for standing up after getting dropped. When I hit him with that powerful hook and dropped him the first time I felt the holy spirit.

“Now, I want to face all the champs. Lets do this. I’m ready to unify all the titles.”

In the ESPN-televised six-round special attraction, Mikaela Mayer (7-0, 4 KOs) knocked down Edina Kiss in the first round en route to a third-round TKO after Kiss did not come out for the fourth round. Mayer, a 2016 U.S. Olympian, is 4-0 in 2017.

“I’m happy with my performance. I was technically sound,” Mayer said. “I thought I had it in the bag. I wanted to stop her. If I had one more two more rounds, I would’ve finished it.”

In other action:

Super Featherweights: Robson Conceicao (9-0, 5 KOs), unanimous decision, 8 rounds, Edgar Cantu (7-5-2, 1 KO). Scores: 80-71, 80-71, 80-71.

Conceicao said: “It was a very good fight. I trained very hard, and little by little, I’m showing what I’m capable of doing inside the ring. I wanted to go the full eight rounds. This was my first time fighting to eight rounds, and I wanted to test myself. I felt great. I’m ready to fight more rounds in my next fight.”

Super Bantamweights: Carlos Castro (21-0, 9 KOs) unanimous decision, 8 rounds, Diuhl Olguin (12-12-2, 9 KOs). Scores: 80-72, 79-73, 77-75.

Castro said: “It was a four-week camp with a new trainer, new everything. I’ll take the win and the rounds. That’s what I needed. I’m going back to the drawing board. I know I could’ve stopped this guy, but I’m happy with the win.”

Featherweights: Francisco De Vaca (19-0, 6 KOs) unanimous decision, 8 rounds, Jesus Serrano (17-7-2, 12 KOs). Scores: 78-73, 78-73, 79-72.

* De Vaca knocked down Serrano with a right hand in the fourth round.

De Vaca said: “I’m happy with the win, but I felt I could’ve done better. I look forward to my next fight soon. Fighting in front of my hometown fans was really special. Serrano was a tough guy, and we put on a great fight for the fans.”

Lightweights: Antonio Lozada Jr. (40-2-1, 34 KOs), Draw, 8 rounds, Hector Ambriz (12-7-2, 6 KOs). Scores: 78-74 Lozada, 79-73 Ambriz, 76-76.

Light Heavyweights: Trevor McCumby (24-0, 19 KOs), TKO 3, :40 Jessie Nicklow (27-9-3, 9 KOs).
* Nicklow stopped on his feet.

McCumby said: “I’m happy with my performance. I got in there and got the win. I could’ve boxed a little more, but it felt good to make my return and end it in style.”

Bantamweights: Breenan Macias (3-0, 2 KOs), KO 2 Philip Adyaka (7-12, 4 KOs), 3:00.
-*Right hand puts Adyako down, referee Tony Weeks immediately calls a halt to the bout.

Super Welterweights: Sagadat Rakhmankul (3-0, 1 KO), unanimous decision, 6 rounds, Christian Aguirre (7-3, 3 KOs). Scores: 60-54, 59-55, 59-55.

Super Lightweights: Arnold Barboza Jr. (19-0, 7 KOs) TKO 5 Luis Solis (23-10-4, 20 KOs), 3:00.