Ringside Report: Cancio Impresses On Golden Boy/DAZN Show, And Acosta Gets Upset

Deep in the desert of Indio under triple digit temperatures, lies the venue, Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino, for one of this year’s most anticipated rematches.

The fight between the regular WBA Super Featherweight Champion Andrew “El Chango” Cancio (20-4-2) and Alberto “El Explosivo” Machado (21-1) has been highly anticipated since the shocking ending to their first bout. All week, media members and fans here in Southern California have been buzzing over this rematch and discussing possible scenarios on how this may play out.

Andrew Cancio shocked the boxing world by dethroning Machado via knockout back in February of this year. Since then, “El Chango” was recognized by the City of Blythe with a key to the city.

Cancio did not allow the new found fame to distract him as he continued to work his regular job while preparing for the rematch.

His opponent, Alberto “El Explosivo” Machado is coming for the title he lost which he felt had everything to do with being distracted with some personal issues while preparing for the first fight. With personal issues behind him, he was very motivated in training camp and determined to once again have that WBA title around his waist.

Here are how tonight’s fights unfolded.

Main Event: Andrew Cancio vs. Alberto Machado

Both men came out in the first round as they were looking to make statements but it was Cancio who looked as though he wanted it more than Machado. Cancio went straight to the body knowing that it was a point of weakness in the first fight. In the second round, Cancio suffered a nasty cut to his left eye which saw blood coming down his face rapidly. In that same round, Cancio hit Machado with a body shot and finished it with a combo upstairs. I then tweeted out…

Abe Gonzalez Tweeted from ringside while watching bouts before filing to NYFights.

..that Machado didn’t look right walking back to the corner at the end of the second round. In the third round, Cancio came out and landed a hard left hook to the body sending Machado to the canvas which did not allow for him to get up and make the ten count. Your winner is Andrew Cancio who remains the WBA Super Featherweight Champion.

Co-Main Event: Angel “Tito” Acosta (20-1) vs. Elwin Soto (14-1)

This was an incredible fight! In the second round, Soto lands this huge looping right hand that rocked Acosta and sent him to the canvas to score a knockdown. Acosta was in real trouble but weathered the storm. After this round, Acosta made the appropriate adjustments with distance and feints that saw him score while Soto missed with his shots. Soto fell in love with his one punch at a time game plan which had him lose the majority of the rounds. Going into the twelfth round, Soto knew he was really behind on the cards and needed something big to try to win the fight. That moment came when he landed a huge left hook that literally froze Acosta and saw him trying his best to defend himself. The referee immediately jumped in to stop the fight in what many are calling a very questionable stoppage. Your winner and new WBO Light Flyweight Champion Elwin Soto. After that big win, this is what the new champion had to say:  “The truth is I feel nice,” said Elwin Soto. “It feels great to accomplish this. I worked very hard, and put a lot of effort into this.” He then mentioned,  “To be honest I thought I was going to lose and thank god I landed that punch and won the fight. This is victory means a lot and dedicate this belt to my family.”

Luis Feliciano 11-0) vs. Fernando Carcamo (23-9)

Luis Feliciano used a methodical approach throughout this fight. Feliciano was making large deposits of body shots early which led to some big left hooks upstairs. As he started to wear him down in the middle rounds, Carcamo’s body started to give in and his corner stopped the fight. Luis Feliciano wins by sixth round knockout. Here is what Luis Feliciano had to say after the fight. “In the first round he was a little slow so I was able to pick him apart. I knew it was going be a tough fight. He had a weight advantage and we knew that, but that’s why we worked the body, and eventually we knew that would set up the late KO. We continue to move forward.”  He also added, “Well I know every time that I was throwing my shot he was going to counter to the body. He’s a tough guy, heavy hitter. I wanted to take my time, be patient. I knew it was going to go ten rounds, and that would set up at a late KO. The important thing is we got a KO and the win.”

Blair Cobbs (10-0-1) vs. Robert Redmond Jr. (7-1-2)

Unlike earlier fights, Blair Cobbs came out really aggressive to try to make a statement this evening and he did just that.  In the second round, a crushing right hook by Cobbs sent Redmond Jr. down for a knockdown. Redmond Jr.’s right eye was almost shut and Cobbs started to land that left hook consistently. The tide changed a bit in the fourth as Redmond Jr. showed tremendous heart and landed big shots on Cobbs. In the fifth round, Cobbs took back control of the fight with the lead right jab and straight left to the body and head. In the sixth round after Cobbs landed some combos, the doctor came up onto the canvas and waved off the fight by direction of the corner. Your winner is Blair Cobbs by way of knockout in the sixth round.

Aaron McKenna (7-0) vs. Daniel Perales (10-17-2)

Aaron McKenna continues to impress as he established his dominance from the start of the first round. A left hook upstairs which was part of a four punch combo led to a knockdown in the first round. Although McKenna was caught a few times with a left hook by Perales, it wasn’t enough to any real damage. In the second round, McKenna poured it on and was just too much for the smaller Perales. Aaron McKenna remains undefeated and a super welterweight to keep an eye on in the future.

Anthony Garnica (1-1) vs. Gilberto Duran (3-2)

Fighting out of Legends Boxing Gym is Anthony Garnica who is a fighter that is being brought up slowly in hopes of stardom later on in his career. In the first round, it was a straight right hand that sent Gilberto Duran to the canvas for a knockdown. Rounds two through four saw Garnica landing clean four punch combinations and a right uppercut that seemed as though it couldn’t miss. In the end, Anthony Garnica wins by unanimous decision as all three judges had this one 40-35.

Emilio Rodriguez (3-1) vs. Clay Collard (1-1-1)

As the opening card of the night, Emilio Rodriguez kept clipping his opponent with a counter left hook but somehow, Collard just kept moving forward showing a tough chin. In the fourth and final round, both men went for broke leaving it all in the ring. The fight went to the score cards and the judges saw this one  40-36, 38-38 & 38-38 for a majority draw.

Two things you can almost expect when coming to a Golden Boy Promotions event in Indio, CA: The first is that there will be a ton of action and the second is that there is at least one fight that doesn’t play out as originally expected. Tonight was no different as Elwin Soto pulled off a huge win with a dramatic twelfth round knockout of Angel Acosta.

We also saw this evening a new champion in the 130 pound division that is motivated and hungry to make a statement in his division. With a possible fight with JoJo Diaz in the future, more exciting sold out crowds at Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino will be on the horizon.