Zuffa Boxing has its official debut in the books, with a solid if somewhat bland card on Friday night from the Meta APEX (formerly UFC APEX) on Paramount+.
Overall, it was perfectly fine. From a broadcast production standpoint, it looked good and there were no obvious flaws. This isn’t easy to pull off. All the fights took place without serious incident, and the pacing was brisk, with no delays between bouts, though all but one went the distance.
Let’s get the basics out of the way with the recap. Full post fight show is here.
Callum Walsh Gets Decision Over Carlos Ocampo
In his first fight in the middleweight division, Callum Walsh of Ireland (16-0, 11 KOs) remained undefeated with a decision over battle-tested Mexican veteran Carlos Ocampo of Ensenada (38-4, 26 KOs). Scores were 98-80, 98-80, and 97-91.
It was a solid performance by Walsh, testing his power and skills after moving up, but try as he did, he couldn’t get Ocampo out of there early.
Walsh said he wasn’t too happy with the performance after hoping to improve on his appearance in September on the Canelo vs Crawford undercard. “But at the end of the day, he’s a solid veteran, you know, who’s fought good fighters. Been in there with the best of them, won’t be beaten by the best of them.
“I think I had a pretty much a shutout,” added Walsh, who called Ocampo an awkward opponent. “He was doing weird things that I was like, I don’t even know what to do! It was a bit tougher than I expected, but he had a good chin, and he’s a good opponent.”
Rodriguez Rolls Over Deanda
In the co-main, Mexican Olympic bronze medalist Misael Rodriguez of Riverside, California (16-0, 8 KOs) delivered per his pedigree with a TKO4 win after opponent Austin Deanda of Amhurst, Virginia (17-1, 11 KOs) retired after the fourth round. Deanda was taking a good deal of punishment in a major step up from the Virginia club circuit, and there was no reason to continue.
Rodriguez is trained by Robert Garcia, who was hard on Rodriguez in the corners. After the fight, Rodriguez said he didn’t mind. “Listen, I really enjoy working with Robert. He makes me better. We like going at it, and we always have to be improving.” As one sided as the fight was, Rodriguez is fun to watch and will be welcome back.
Julian Rodriguez Delivers Fight Of The Night In Upset Win
We predicted the opening bout could steal the show, but we didn’t predict the outcome. “Sugar” Cain Sandoval of Sacramento (17-1, 15 KOs), a popular California prospect with a solid fan base, lost to Julian Rodriguez of New Jersey (25-1, 15 KOs), and it wasn’t even close. The judges gave Rodriguez the victory by scores of 99-91, 99-91, and 98-92.
“I’m a professional, and I won the fight clean, but man, he’s a fucking dog,” said Rodriguez of his opponent.
“Everyone on this level, we’re here for a reason. So, he made some adjustments. He started putting more pressure. And I had to adjust,” said Rodriguez. “I had to stay calm. That’s where the mental toughness comes in. I’m still learning. I’m enjoying the process, you know. And it takes fights like this for me to get better as a fighter.”
Rodriguez lived up to his “Hammer Hands” nickname, taking it to Sandoval with sensational body punching, pressuring the pressure fighter and shutting down his power. It’s the second upset win for Rodriguez in a row, who won by knockout upset of Most Valuable Promotions prospect Avious Griffin in June.
Rodriguez, who says he wants to be the first Zuffa welterweight champion, showed his class by asking fans to send their prayers to Sandoval and his family on behalf of his daughter, who is reported to be fighting cancer.
Jai Opetaia Confirms March 8 Debut For Zuffa
Sitting ringside on Friday was Zuffa Boxing’s first major signee, cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia of Australia. Opetaia offered his thoughts and confirmed he would make his Zuffa debut on Friday, March 8. No opponent has been confirmed yet.
“I’m pumped to be a part of it. I’m pumped to be here. So, let’s go,” said Opetaia, who called Zuffa Boxing a new chapter.
“They’re here, whether people like it or not. It’s something to be proud of, being amongst it. I’m convinced these guys can get these big fights over the line. So that’s why I’m here,” explained Opetaia, who said his goal is to be Zuffa’s first undisputed champion.
March 8 will mark Opetaia’s first professional fight in the United States. “People from my neck of the woods, we dream of stuff like this, to be on big cards. It’s a massive opportunity for me, and I’m really and I’m ready to go to war.”
Asked why he signed with Zuffa, Opetaia was candid that he wasn’t sold at first.
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure about it,” saying he was convinced it was the right move after spending a week in Las Vegas with Dana White and visiting the UFC Performance Institute.
“I spent a week at the Institute, at the UFC, this sporting place. Man, the team environment, the way he looks after all the fighters, it’s sort of made me respect Dana White more. You don’t know until you see it yourself,” saying he’s proud to be a part of the venture.
Zuffa Schedule
Zuffa Boxing 2 will take place on Friday, February 1, also at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. Former super lightweight champion Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (14-3, 9 KOs) will face Diego Torres of Mexico (22-1, 19 KOs) in the 10-round lightweight main event.
Former WBC interim super welterweight champion Serhii Bohachuk of Ukraine (26-3, 24 KOs) takes on WBA Welterweight titleholder Radzhab Butaev of Russia, now training in Indio, California (16-1, 12 KOs) in the co-main event in a 10-round bout at middleweight.
Opening the main card, former light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Ukraine (21-2, 17 KOs) will face Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic of Serbia (29-3, 21 KOs) in a 10-round bout.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.