ShowtimePPV: Canelo vs. Angulo Undercard Results Recap

March 8th, 2014
MGM Grand Garden Arena
MGM Grand Hotel and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Will Tomlinson (21-0-1) vs. Jerry Belmontes (18-3)

Junior Lightweight Bout – 10 Rounds

In the final match of the preliminary card Tomlinson and Belmontes both took a calculated angle in order to capture victory in their match. As both men looking to counter punch one another, the pace was slow for the first couple of rounds making the fight take longer to sizzle. Once it did, both fighters traded some hard shorts every so often that resulted in a roar from the crowd. Belmontes’ power won the fans over though as his shots were more fan friendly and visibly hurt his man, backing him up every time that they landed eventually creating a cut over Tomlinson’s face. Belmontes also fought smart and moved out of the pocket once he hurt Tomlinson thus avoiding any return fire as he cruised to the final bell.

Result: Jerry Belmontes defeats previously unbeaten Will Tomlinson by Unanimous Decision. Judges see it (99-91), (98-92), (98-92).

Francisco Vargas (18-0-1) vs. Abner Cotto (17-1)

Junior Lightweight Bout – 10 Rounds

Mexico’s Francisco Vargas and Puerto Rico’s Abner Cotto added another chapter to the famous “Puerto Rico Versus Mexico” boxing rivalry with a very entertaining and high-paced battle. The action was seldom along the ropes as both junior lightweights traded hard uppercuts and combinations at close range for the entire bout in the middle of the ring with Vargas a bit more the aggressor. Going into the second half of the fight the fighters still traded shots at close quarters but the pace slowed down. Cotto was able to steal some of those rounds by landing cleaner and more consistent shots. To his credit, Vargas adjusted, finding success in a looping right hand that caught his man off balance after an exchange even if the punches didn’t seem to have the same pop as before. Neither man let up on their desire to win, exchanging power shots down the stretch before the final bell sounded yet Vargas’ work rate and pressure likely helped him take the final couple of rounds.

Result: Francisco Vargas remains unbeaten defeating Abner Cotto by Unanimous Decision. Judges see it (97-93), (97-93, (96-94).

Joseph Diaz (8-0) vs. Jovany Fuentes (5-3)

Super Bantamweight Bout – 8 Rounds

Diaz took to the ring and was impressive in every round employing a solid straight left that rarely missed its mark. With each stanza Diaz increased the use of that punch to set up body shots or follow up with an over hand right that Fuentes had allot of trouble avoiding. In the 4th, Diaz stepped up the offensive output by opening up with 4 or 5-punch combinations, really putting a stamp on his dominance. Heading into the 5th he continued that approach and while Fuentes’ heart wouldn’t let up thus keeping him alive in the bout, it was his body that would fall short of that same attitude. Towards the closing seconds of the 5th, Diaz charged his man with multiple combinations landing cleanly, incidentally one punch hit its mark full force to the body. Jeovany Fuentes was given the count by the referee which overlapped the final bell of the round and even though Fuentes beat the count the referee waived him in to reaffirm his condition to continue which is when Fuentes didn’t oblige giving the ref no choice but to call the fight off.

Result: Joseph Diaz remains unbeaten defeating Jovany Fuentes by TKO at (2:59) of round 5. (Since the round ended and Jovany could not continue, the end is considered in the 5th round since the count started in that round.)

Keandre Gibson (8-0-1) vs. Antonio Wong (11-7-1)

Junior Welterweight Bout- 6 Rounds

This 140-pound affair started off evenly matched with both men having their moments in the opening round as they traded crisp left hooks and over hand rights. However, Gibson shifted the entire momentum of the bout in the 2nd round with one simple tweak to his approach: move forward. As soon as Gibson exposed the flaw of Wong which was his inability to adjust if fighting going backwards, he was able to detonate some lethal firepower in the form of quick straight rights or short hooks. Gibson walked his man down and popped his foe’s head back with combination after combination visibly hurting Wong. The hand speed difference became more and more apparent as the rounds progressed and in the 4th, Gibson close the show landing almost everything that he threw prompting the referee to stop the match.

Result: Keandre Gibson remains unbeaten defeating Antonio Wong via 4th round TKO at (1:51).

Steve Lovett (7-0) vs. Francisco F. Molina (2-2)

Light Heavyweight Bout – 4 Rounds

To open up the boxing event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Lovett and Molina clashed as the first match of the night. However, the bulk of the clinging and banging was done by the more talented and powerful Lovett who landed almost at will from the opening round. The over matched Molina made it to the second round but just a few seconds in was sent to the canvas by a clean punch from Lovett leaving the referee with no choice but to call a stop to the match.

Result: Steve Lovett remains unbeaten defeating Francisco Molina by 2nd round TKO.

By: armando romo jr
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