Premier Boxing Champions and TGB Promotions held another fight card at the outdoor arena of Dignity Health Sports Park, on Saturday evening.
The buildup to this one created the idea of a real rumble taking place in what most fight fans consider the modern day coliseum.
WBC Champion Shawn Porter (29-2-1) was coming off of an impressive twelve round decision over Danny “Swift” Garcia.
Porter hds publicly mentioned how he has taken this fight seriously and was not overlooking the challenger.
Yordenis Ugas (23-3) has won his last eight fights to include a unanimous decision in September against Cesar Barrionuevo. All week there has been talk of a sparring session between both Ugas and Porter which both men refused to speak about into detail.
Here is how this evening's bouts played out.
Main Event: Shawn Porter vs Yordenis Ugas
The first three rounds pushed the crowd to start booing because of the lack of punch output by both men. This fight was more about Ugas’ counter right than Porter’s lunging punches. In the seventh, Ugas landed a crushing counter right that Porter did not like and may have hurt him a bit as well. In the championship rounds, Ugas pushed the action with the straight right hand while Porter landed body shots when both men were in close proximity. The fight was close and the judges saw the contest 116-112 (Porter), 117-111 (Ugas) and 115-113 for Porter, who retains the WBC crown.
Francisco Santana (25-6-1) vs Abel Ramos (23-3-2)
This one started off a little slow but turned into an entertaining bout. In the first round they were feeling each other out but in the second, Santana connected with a left hook sending an off balance Ramos to the canvas. In the third round, Ramos came back and worked the body which put him back into the fight. Ramos continued to pick things up in rounds four through ten which was more left hooks to the body and overhand rights. The tenth round, both men finished the fight strong leaving the card in the hands of the judges. The judges scores were 95-94,97-92 & 98-92 for Abel Ramos, who won by unanimous decision.
Damien Vazquez (14-0) vs Juan Carlos Payano (20-2)
The first round in this one brought out the boo birds early but the action increased in the second round when Payano hurt Vazquez with a overhand left. In the third, Payano kept landing his overhand left and it continued to hurt Vazquez who had no answer for it. In the fourth, Payano suffered a cut underneath his right eye but did not allow that to distract the good work he was doing in the ring. Rounds five through eight saw Payano continue to dominate leading him to a unanimous decision victory. (80-71, 79-73 &79-73)
Efe Ajagba (8-0) vs Amir Mansour (23-3-1)
All I can say is, wow! Efe Ajagba is the real deal and he is going to be a contender in the heavyweight division for years to come. In the first round, Efe caught Mansour with a right hook sending him to the canvas. The second knockdown came from a left hook and really hurt his opponent. In the second round, Efe poured on the pressure and was just too much for Mansour. Efe Ajagba wins by second round knockout.
Robert Guerrero (34-6-1) vs Hevinson Herrera (24-16-1)
The “Ghost” Guerrero was back in action and looked good moving around in the first round after a long layoff. As usual, he was utilizing his lead jab to set up his combinations which he did well. Their were moments in the fight where he should have gotten Herrera out of there but at this stage of his career, that’s probably a lot harder to do. At the end of the fifth, Herrera’s corner stopped the fight leading to a fifth round knockout victory for Robert Guerrero.
What is becoming a familiar site with these PBC events, this card hosted fourteen fights total in an effort to give fans their money's worth. There were a lot of young, up and coming fighters looking to show their skills in front of the hardcore fans who showed up to Dignity Health Sports Park right when the doors opened and stayed well after the main event. Here is how the action went for those non-televised cards.
Viktor Slavinskyi (7-0-1) vs Luis May (21-12-1)
As the opening fight this afternoon, Slavinskyi started the afternoon off with a less than busy round one. He was looking for a single shot at a time and was not as active as he could have been. In the second, Slavinskyi got the straight right jab going to set up some nice four punch combinations. Although Slavinskyi was off balance at times, he did enough to earn himself a unanimous decision with the judges seeing it 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55.
Isaac Avelar (15-0) vs Juan Antonio Lopez (13-5)
What a fight! One thing is for certain, Isaac Avelar is one tough customer. He was landing good combinations rounds one through four but Lopez kept finding a home for that wide looping left hand. The last round should be a serious contender for round of the year as both men unleased savage combos upstairs that would probably knock out a regular fighter. In the end, Isaac Avelar wins by unanimous decision with the judges seeing it 77-75, 77-75 and 78-74.
Jesus Cuellar (28-3) vs Carlos Padilla (16-9-1)
Jesus Cuellar showed he still has a little something left in the tank as he came out in the first round very aggressive. Cuellar had a good left hook going in this one and in the second, that same hook landed flush sending Padilla to the canvas and ending the fight. Jesus Cuellar wins by second round knockout.
George Carranza (1-3) vs David Gomez (Debut)
In his pro-debut, David Gomez started off slow as he was probably a little nervous. In the third round, it was a right hook to the body that sent Carranza to the canvas. Carranza did beat the ten count however Gomez jumped on him and finished him off. David Gomez wins his debut by third round knockout.
Justin Cardona (1-0) vs Phillip Bounds (0-1)
Although this was only his second professional fight, Justin Cardona looked like a fighter that already has a few fights as his approach was a lot more polished than his opponent. Cardona showed good patience by setting up his big right hands with a lead left jab. Cardona cruised to a unanimous decision victory which all three judges had it 40-36.
Reuben Rodriguez (4-0) vs Jeremiah De Los Santos (0-1)
Rodriguez was the busier fighter in this four round bout where the left hook to the body and counter right hook were the key to his offense. The right hook led to De Los Santos’ eye to almost close from swelling. In the end, all three judges saw this contest 40-36 for Reuben Rodriguez who stays undefeated.
Elimantas Stanionis (7-0) vs Samuel Figueroa (11-1)
Stanionis is a big, tough fighter who showed how strong he is right from the beginning as his left hooks to the body were heard quite a few rows back. It was the combination of the left hook to the body and then to the head that was working for him all afternoon. Figueroa was successful when moving laterally but he got himself in trouble when he stayed in the pocket to exchange. Stanionis dominated the fight and it led to a unanimous decision victory with all three judges seeing it 80-72.
Jose Perez (6-1) vs Carlos Trevino (6-13-1)
It was a good rugged fight for the young Jose Perez out of Oak Hills, CA. There was some back and forth action but it was Perez who was holding his own by landing good counter right hooks. Trevino did not cave in and was successful when he was in close with Perez but it just wasn’t enough to win the fight. Jose Perez takes the unanimous decision win with all three judges seeing it 40-36.
Rolando Romero (7-0) vs Nicolas Atilio Velazquez (10-4)
Earlier this week, the fighter that goes by “Rollie” , spoke to Michael Woods on the TalkBox Podcast and predicted a knockout. In the first round, he did exactly that which came from a crushing right hook. Put Rolando Romero on your watch list immediately as he has a bright future.
It was a cold Saturday evening in Carson, CA but that did not stop the hardcore fans from staying late and supporting some of the young fighters trying to develop their profile and fan base. Overall, the non-televised cards made it worth the price of admission for the fans this evening.
This evening, we saw quite possibly the next big thing in the heavyweight division while also getting a debatable decision in the main event. After a successful show in downtown L.A, PBC & TGB Promotions were able to successfully execute another event which fulfilled the desires of the hardcore boxing fans.