NEW YORK, NY — Puerto Rico versus Mexico highlighted five significant fights Saturday evening at the Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Former junior welterweight champion Subriel Matias (21-2, 21 KOs, Fajardo, PR) rebounded with a second round KO after losing his IBF title to Liam Paro in June.
The entire fight card was billed as Mexico versus Puerto Rico. The illustrious history of boxing has produced great champions and Hall of Famers from Puerto Rico and Mexico. Showcased with five fights, it was a clean 5-0 sweep for Puerto Rico televised live via PPV.
Image Credit: Amanda Westcott/Matchroom Boxing (Matias vs, Paro in June of 2024)
After a first round struggle against Mexican Roberto Ramirez (26-4-1, 19 KO’s), Matias managed two knockdowns in round two with a flurry of heavy punches. Now the question is who would oppose Matias next in his quest to regain a title at 140.
Matias said through former champion Raul Marquez about the tough first round “I didn’t expect that. He (Ramirez) was confident. I’m ready, I don’t know who I would fight. We would fight any champion in an eliminator.”
Image Credit: PPV.com
But Matias is aware the road will be tough to climb. The 140-pound division is stacked with superior talent including champions Teofimo Lopez, Devin Haney, and Jack Catterall who recently defeated Regis Prograis. Paro is the champion and Matias would seek redemption.
But an eliminator with Jose Valenzuela or Jose Ramirez, ranked 6th and 7th with the various sanctioning organizations, could be his next option. Regardless, Matias needed a commanding win and got it.
The other results: Bantamweight Jeyvier Cintrón (Puerto Rico) won a 10-round unanimous decision over Rashib Martinez (Mexico, 23-4-1, 11 KO’s) with judges scoring 99-89, 100-88, 99-90. The 29 year-old Cintrón (13-1, 6 KO’s) won his second consecutive fight at bantamweight…
Image Credit: WBO
Junior welterweight Alfred Santiago (from Puerto Rico of Dominican descent) (16-2, 7 KO’s) knocked out 32-year old Pedro Campa (36-4-1, 24 KO’s) in the first round with his third straight win….
Abimael Ortiz (11-1, 1, 5 KO’s), of Cidra, Puerto Rico, got the 10-round unanimous decision over Kevin Gonzalez (27-2-1, 14 KO’s, Mexico) with all three judges scoring 96-95, a close fight but Ortiz landed more punches in the final two rounds…
And super middleweight Luis Rodriguez (14-0-12 KO’s, Puerto Rico) disposed (20-2-1, 10 KO’s) Marcos Rodriguez of Mexico in the fifth round…
At the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and streamed on DAZN, undefeated IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis won his second consecutive fight in his hometown and successfully defended the title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Karen Chukhadzhian in a match of their first flight two years ago that Ennis also won.
Image Credit: Matchroom Boxing
Ennis had a difficult time landing punches for a knockout, regardless he is contemplating unifying titles in the division or moving up to 154, his promoter Eddie Hearn at Matchroom Boxing is in discussion of moving Ennis up in weight and taking on Mexican-American Vergil Ortiz Jr. for an interim title with a date possibly scheduled for February 22 in Saudi Arabia…
Upset of the night went to light heavyweight Manuel Gallegos (Mexico, 21-2-1, 19 KO’s) with his 9th round KO over the previously undefeated Khalil Coe (9-1-1, 7 KO’s), a promising prospect. Gallegos was a 24-1 underdog and could be in the mix at least for a ranking in his first fight at 175 and was impressive.
Image Credit: Matchroom Boxing
Coe went down four times during the fight. Gallegos was able to overcome the slugging power of Coe, landing 114 of 606, 19 percent in total punches compared to 94 of 280 and 34 percent for Coe. The ending came at seven seconds of the 9th when the referee put an end to the fight as Coe stopped jabbing after round 2. Said Gallegos about what is next and being in the title mix “Promoters will tell me what is ideal. Leave it in their hands.”
Former world champion Raymond Ford (16-1-1 8 KO’s) in his first flight at 130 got the 10-round unanimous decision over Orlando Gonzalez (23-4,13 KO’s)) who was knocked down twice…
The showstopper of the night, 22-year-old Mexican Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (21-0, 14 KO’s) the WBC super flyweight champion easily disposed of former world champion 25-year-old Pedro Guevara (42-5-1,22 KO’s, Mexico) with a knockout at 2:47 of round three. Rodriguez dropped Guevara twice, the first time he was stopped in 47 fights.
Image Credit: Matchroom Boxing
“I’m pretty happy,” Rodriguez said about his first title defense. “I really thought he was going to stand there and fight a little more, but right from the beginning he was moving. You saw tonight who I am.”
And there is a little donut who he is, Rodriguez is that special fighter and one of the young superstars of the sport. His right hook is quick and a left from the southpaw stance is devastating, displayed in the third round as Guevara quickly got back up from a punch.
Eddie Hearn is looking at a unification fight for Rodriguez, a possibility with familiar face Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, the 27 year-old from Nicaragua, first from that country to win world titles in four weight classes and destined for the Boxing Hall of Fame…
Top Rank Boxing and ESPN showcased lightweight contender Keyshwan Davis Friday night. Davis knocked out Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos in the second round before a sold-out crowd of 10,568 at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
Image Credit: Top Rank Boxing
Despite missing weight by more than six pounds and having a noticeable size advantage on fight night, Lemos (29-2, 19 KOs) had no answer for Davis who knocked down Lemos three times in the second round, with a brutal left hook/right-hand combination. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. stopped the fight as Lemos tumbled to the mat.
“I had no hesitation. Me and my team, we stuck to our guns,” Davis, an Olympic Silver medalist champion said. “We said if he comes in too much over we ain’t gonna fight. But he followed his game plan, and he didn’t come too much over so we had a fight and we gave a spectacular night.”
Image Credit: Top Rank Boxing
Davis added: “I didn’t feel no power in him. I actually sat back on the ropes one little second, and I let him throw his overhand that he loves and I felt it on my shoulder.”
Davis landed 76.5 percent of his power shots, while Lemos connected on only 13 punches. That told the story of the one-sided fight that electrified the sold-out crowd.
Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and contributor at LatinoSports.com – X (Twitter) @Ring786 Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso
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