Marrero blasts Zambrano in 90 seconds to lift WBA & IBO gold in Fox Sports 1

Photo from Idris Erba/Mayweather Promotions

‎Carlos Zambrano (26-1 w/12 KOs) and Claudio Marrero (22-1 w/16 KOs) took care of the main event duties tonight as the headliner of the Fox Sports 1 show for Premier Boxing Champions from the Sam’s Town Live arena inside the Sam’s Town resort in Las Vegas. The bright lights ‎came on for the scheduled 12 round Interim WBA and IBO Featherweight title bout but they quickly shut out for one of the men in the ring.

Marrero seek and destroyed Zambrano in moments as he hunted him down along the canvas, circled and positioned himself after slipping some of the Peru native’s offense and landed a picture perfect two-piece on his foe. The Santo Domingo representative pawed at his man, flicked a jab then followed up with a crisp 1-2 combination that shattered Zambrano’s guard and chucked him to the canvas like a slab of concrete. Zambrano turned over then was in a prayer-like position with his forehead to the mat and knees bent in probably some horrible pain. An ultra-cocky Marrero hopped unto the corner of the ring adjacent to his opponent and sat on the top turn buckle as the referee said all of the 8-count. Once the match was called off Zambrano banged his gloves on the canvas ala De La Hoya’s reaction to the Bernard Hopkins defeat and Marrero was declared the victor with an impressive KO win at just (1:30) of Round number 1.

Photo by Armando Romo

The loss is the first of Carlos Zambrano’s professional career and the triumph propels the Dominican Republic’s Claudio Marrero to the front page of the sports section in any newspaper as a guy to look out for at featherweight.

GALLIMORE ENDS ROSARIO’S UNBEATEN STREAK WITH TKO ‎IN SIX

The co-main event of the evening showcased another international battle featuring the Dominican Republic’s Jeison Rosario (12-1) taking on Jamaica’s Nathaniel ‘Banana’ Gallimore (18-1-1) for a 10 round middleweight clash. In the opening round both 160ers landed good shots at close range but Rosarios’s were a little deadlier inside the pocket. The Dominican Republic representative carried some solid power into the ring and landed a monster hook to the chin of Gallimore that clearly had him hurt during the opening round. The Jamaican clinched then shuffled his way to safety by avoiding anything else that flush and boxed for the following few rounds. Rosario cut the ring off and had his moments with the left hook but was never able to string more than a few punches together and a combination or too could’ve definitely changed the tempo of the match in his favor. The fight was close for the next couple of rounds until a game changer in the 6th.

A Gallimore left hook landed flush dropping Rosario to the canvas like a bag of hammers. He barely caught himself and seemed ready to go but beat the count and marched on. Another left hook followed by an over hand right sent ‎him to the canvas again, and he still beat the count. Gallimore applied the pressure, caught his man with some winging blows and had Rosario out on his feet. The final time he saw the mat from another punch the referee stood above him and called a stop to the match. Rosario looked up at him and stared in disbelief however, the right call was made and any more damage would’ve been bad enough to shorten his boxing career.

The official time of the win for Nathaniel Gallimore came at (2:15) of the 6th round by way of TKO.
Juan Heraldez (12-0) vs. Alfonso Olvera (8-4-1)

(Welterweight Bout – 8 Rounds)

‎A pair of 147ers in Heraldez and Olvera met as a featured fights on the main card. Both men strategically marched along the ring unleashing counters and quick 1-2s. A two-punch combo late in Round 1 landed clean by Heraldez as Alfonso had his chin straight up in the air during an exchange. The right hand-left hook combination hit its mark sending Olvera crashing backwards to the canvas like a redwood tree. He beat referee Tony Weeks’ count and managed to survive the few seconds left in the first round.

‎Heraldez had allot of success for the next couple of rounds walking his man down and landing the left hook as a lead or counter because of Olvera’s bad habit of dropping his right hand. It was not until Olvera jabbed his way into his foe’s chest and trudged forward late in Round 3 or midway in Round 7 that he slowed down Heraldez’ constant momentum. But, he let his man lead way too much and never asserted himself into the match as he should have opting also to counter-punch even though he had the slower hands. A well-conditioned and poised Heraldez stayed true to his game plan of taking the fight away from his man by walking him down and landing a great left hook to the head or body and mixing in an over hand right and doubling it up almost every round. To his credit, Olvera took allot of clean over hand rights or straight punches, but he did not do enough to win rounds or return fire when needed.

‎RESULTS: Juan Heraldez remains unbeaten defeating Alfonso Olvera via unanimous decision with scores of 79-72, 78-73 and 78-73.
Ladarius Miller (13-1) vs. Jesus Gutierrez (14-2-1)

(Super Lightweight Bout – 8 Rounds)

Photo by Armando Romo

Miller and Gutierrez met in a battle of super lightweights with almost identical records in a crossroads match. ‎The more polished Miller rolled back, side stepped punches, and check hook punched his way along the four corners of the ring in order to avoid his foe’s relentless pressure. Gutierrez was extremely well conditioned and maintained an amazing pace where he rarely let his man get any breathing room. He crowded him and cornered him before throwing a jab or hook but, while he got into position he took too long to set his feet and throw. He thought about the punches too much and if you have to think about, it’s already too late. All of the chasing that he did had its hot and cold moments since he missed just as much as he connected bringing with him a Marcos Maidana march or Victor Ortiz-style bounce to his movement and footwork. The power also lacked as Miller countered Gutierrez coming in and had a target right in front of him for rounds 2 through 6 that he fully exploited. Yes, Gutierrez did some his punches in but the blows did not seem to have the desired effect on ‘Memphis’ Miller and the Las Vegas resident gladly stood and traded with his shorter opponent. Miller stayed composed and side stepped away before launching a counter right over the top that connected or some uppercuts and left hooks in close quarters.

Finally, Gutierrez power changed the course of the battle going into the 7th Round when Miller stopped using his legs and seemed a bit fatigued. In the last minute there was a great action sequence where Gutierrez landed a vicious right upper cut ‎and follow-up right hand on his foe. The punch snapped Miller’s head back and forced him to scramble backwards along the ropes and into the blue corner clearly stunned from the punches. The Gutierrez faithful came unglued and cheered wildly as their man bent over and ripped away at his foe with hooks to the head and body with roughly 30 seconds before the round came to an end. Nonetheless, Miller found his composure and landed multiple big hooks to the head and body of his man to take back command of the round.

Going into the 8th and final round it seemed as if Gutierrez needed a KO to win the match but, it was Miller who closed the show as he ripped away at his man with a barrage of punches, breaking him down at close range with a shoe-shine type of offense. This paid dividends as he drove Gutierrez back along the corner and landed a flush shot that sent him to the mat. The proud warrior beat the referee’s count but was in bad shape and ‘Memphis’ Miller came in for the finish; ripping away at his man with a vicious flurry that went unanswered prompting the referee to step in and call off the action.

RESULTS: ‎Ladarius ‘Memphis’ Miller stops Jesus Gutierrez via TKO at (2:34) of Round 8.

Layla McCarter ‎(39-13-5) vs. Szilvia Szabados (15-10)

(Women’s Welterweight Bout – 8 Rounds)

The first fight on the Premier Boxing Champions telecast once it switched over to Fox Sports 2 featured Szabados and former 6-time champion, McCarter. Both warriors completely skipped the feeling out process and went head-to-head for the first two rounds. The fighters clashed in the center of the ring trading big bombs at close quarters, giving the fans exactly what they came to see and they applauded their efforts which came by way of countless hooks, jabs and crosses. The women made it a fun phone booth ‎fight and also gave as good as they got with the edge going to the former title holder. Nonetheless, Szabados stood her ground eating one or two hooks while her chin held up to the punches.

In Round 3, McCarter turned it up during the last 30 seconds or so, raking away at her foe’s face with 1-2, 1-2 combinations to the head and then sneaking in some blows to the body. The last combination caught Szabados flush on the chin forcing her mouth piece to go flying out of her mouth thus punctuating another McCarter round. ‎The same approach was taken by the ex-belt holder in Rounds 5 and 6, she was coming in with her 1-2 combination exploiting her opponent’s lack of a tight defense. The Las Vegas resident saw this and then made the adjustment to follow up with a left hook to the body. That drastically changed the look of the bout as Szabados was being broken down methodically by her seasoned opponent.
Towards the middle of Round 6 Szabados looked mentally frustrated and started to turn her body every time the left hook landed from McCarter. In Round 7, her output had really dropped and now she was covering up and fighting McCarter’s fight. Layla took command, pressed forward and ripped at her foe with multiple combinations to the body, prompting Szabados to turn away and give her back to her as she retreated towards the ropes. The referee had seen enough and called a halt to the action.

‎RESULTS: Layla McCarter stops Szilvia Szabados via TKO at (0:56) of Round 7.