What to Know
- In the before-the-bell undercard action supporting the Garcia vs. Benn fight card, Alexis Rocha and Vlad Panin led the way with solid victories.
- Abel Gonzalez, and Sean Garcia also scored wins.
- Fights took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in the traditional Mexican Independence Day card.
Alexis Rocha Rolls Past Jose Ramirez
It was a disservice to boxing fans and the fighters to schedule the contest between former world champion Jose Ramirez of Avenal, California (29-4, 18 KOs) and top-ten-ranked contender Alexis Rocha of Santa Ana (27-2-1, 16 KOs) so early. The Golden Boy welterweight contest seems to have been buried by ongoing friction between promoters.
This aside, Ramirez and Rocha delivered solid action for ten rounds, with Rocha prevailing by a wide unanimous decision. Scores were 98-91, 98-91, and 97-92.
After the fight, Rocha said he thought the fight was closer. He said he was determined to stay patient and composed through the fight.
Ramirez was far more competitive than in his loss to Devin Haney, but he lost some steam along the way to the younger Rocha. Rocha was more active in the ring and landed harder shots to the body and several excellent right and left hooks.
Rocha had to deal with a cut high on the hairline from an accidental head clash between orthodox and southpaw fighters suffered in the ninth round. It appeared Rocha scored a knockdown against Ramirez, who stumbled back and seemed to put his glove on the canvas. Referee Celestino Ruiz told a protesting Ramirez, “Don’t worry, we’ll go to the replay.” Scorecards didn’t reflect a knockdown, but Rocha didn’t need it.
Knockdown or trip?? 😳
[ #GarciaBenn | LIVE on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/Ywuwnh2XqX
— Paramount Boxing (@ParamountBoxing) September 12, 2026
With blood still streaming down his face, Rocha put his stamp on the win with a strong final round for the performance he was looking for. He has made runs at title shots but fallen short in the past. Rocha hopes to finally cross the finish line this time.
Rocha says he wants the winner of the main event. “I’ve seen them all week. It’s what I want, it’s what I’ve dreamed of,” said Rocha. Rocha said he hopes his Golden Boy stablemate Garcia wins because it’s an easier fight to make, but says it doesn’t matter as long as he faces a world champion.
Vlad Panin Has Big Ambitions
Welterweight Vlad Panin of Los Angeles, a native of Belarus (25-2, 17 KOs) wasted no time going after Dakota Linger of West Virginia (17-8-3, 13 KOs), landing a vicious body shot that backed Linger up and had him in survival mode in the first round. He survived only to face two more rounds of wicked offense from Panin.
Linger, a former strongman competitor, is the type of opponent too tough for his own good. After another hard body shot with Linger retreating, referee Thomas Taylor wisely jumped in to stop the punishment at 1:22 seconds of the fourth round.
Panin credited Linger for hanging tough. Both men took the fight on two weeks’ notice. Linger said he had to go to the body because Linger was taking the headshots well.
Panin has big ambitions to advance his career. “I’m ready for anybody. I like these type of cakewalk fights. If they want to give me another cakewalk, they can give me Richardson Hitchens, Devin Haney, the winner of this event,” said Panin, saying Zuffa Boxing can move him as quickly as they want.
“I’m trying to become a 12-round fighter, so I’m ready for whoever it is, man. Put them all in front of me … I’m a six-foot-tall welterweight who can punch, who can box, who’s got speed, punching power, and I’m a fight for whoever,” said Panin.
Additional Undercard Results
In a contest between unbeaten super featherweights, Oswaldo Molina of Guadalajara, Mexico (10-0, 4 KOs) held onto his unbeaten record with a decision win over Pablo Rubio of Whittier, California (15-1, 5 KOs). Scores were 60-54, 59-55, 59-55.
“It was a hard-fought match,” said Molina. “This is what it’s all about. I had a lot of fun.” Molina then became emotional, saying, “This is the first time I’ve fought in a major arena like this, and that’s why all the emotions are coming out like this.”
Abel Gonzalez of Safety Harbor, Florida (8-0, 6 KOs) got off to a rough start, suffering a knockdown by Raul Solomon of Long Beach (16-4-1, 14 KOs) in the first round. Gonzalez kept his wits about him and proceeded to win an eight-round unanimous decision by three scorecards of 77-74.
Sean Garcia of Victorville (8-1-1, 2 KOs) started the Garcia family off with a majority decision win over Abraham Morales of Oxnard (4-2, 2 KOs). Garcia scored a knockdown on the way to scorecards of 58-54, 58-54, and 56-56, showing some of the same hand speed that has helped make his brother Ryan so successful in the ring.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
