Mayweather vs. Berto: Prelims Results Recap

Sanjarbek Rakhmanov (2-0- vs. Farkhad Sharipov (4-5)

(Junior Welterweight ‎Bout – 6 Rounds)

‎The final fight before the pay-per-view went on the air live featured Rakhmanov putting on a hook-to-the-body clinic on Sharipov. There wasn’t one minute in every round of their 140lbs match that Rakhmanov was not stepping in, digging low, and ripping away at his foe’s body with double or triple left hooks. Surprisingly enough, Sharipov welcomed the punishment as he willingly walked backwards if not circled back along the ropes then planted his feet and waived his opponent in, taunting him to give him his best. Rakhmanov gladly obliged continuing the relentless body attack via left hook, right hook, jab upstairs then a hook back to the body. This went on for the entirety of the 18 minute battle. The Andijan native kept a solid pace of coming forward and walking his man down as he dipped, ducked and did damage. His offense was his defense as his outpouring of punches prevented his foe from firing back anything meaningful en-route to a clear cut points verdict.

Result: Sanjarbek Rakhmanov remains unbeaten defeating Farkhad Sharipov via Unanimous Decision with scores of 60-53 on all of the judge’s score cards.

Ishe Smith (27-8) vs. Vanes Martirosyan (36-2-1)

(Middleweight Bout – 10 Rounds)

‎The star attraction of the undercard portion of the High Stakes event featured a pair of well-known fighters colliding in a middleweight match as a showchase bout leading into the PPV main card. For the first 5-6 rounds it was all Martirosyan as the Glendale fighter stayed at range against his man popping sharp jab, keeping Smith at bay. The former IBF title holder struggled to get in on the inside as the early rounds progressed. Late in the 3rd stanza, Martirosyan caught Smith leaning down and with his hands low landing a straight right hand that knocked the Las Vegan off of his feet sending him to the canvas. From that point on the Californian took over the wheel for the bulk of the bout. Martirosyan also moved and worked his angles making his foe very stationary, hesistant to throw much heat.

In the second half of the fight Ishe Smith finally caught his opponent with a few lopping shots mainly because Martirosyan grew content boxing and moving with his hands dangerously low, sometimes at his waist ala Sergio Martinez. Unfortunately, the clean punches that scored for Smith did not have the game changing power needed to turn the momentum in his favor heading into the late rounds. He did catch his foe flush drawing the reaction from the crowd and his The Money Team stable mates but it was too little to late as the final minutes slipped away.

Result: Vanes Martirosyan defeats Ishe Smith via Majority Decision with scores of a ridiculous 95-95, 97-91 and 97-91.

Chris Pearson (13-0) vs. Janks Trotter (9-2-1)

(Middleweight Bout – 10 Rounds)

Canada’s Trotter muscled Pearson for the majority of their 10 round affair, eating some hard punches along the way, he leaned over digging away at his foe’s head or body with lead right hooks and step in left hands. He pushed Pearson along the ropes and into a corner of the ring every chance that he could, which was often, but other than bury his head into Pearson’s chest his punches did not connect as often as he would have liked. Trotter did not give up on the approach of smothering his opponent nonetheless, working away at the body as much as he could.

Towards the second half of the fight Pearson fought smart creating some distance between him and Trotter as he pawed away with him using the jab no longer content with counter punching with his back on the ropes. He started to time his man coming smartly using Trotter’s aggression against him. In the 6th round the Alberta native unleashed a 5-punch combination on Pearson when he had him along the ropes, Pearson calmly rolled with the punches before landing a thuding right hand counter shot that ‎leveled his foe sending Trotter to the canvas flat on his back. He beat the count but seemed to be on unsteady legs going into the 7th stanza. There, Pearson was able to really open up with some straight shots and power hooks at close range that had Trotter’s head bouncing around like a basketball. He made it to the end of the round but after trading leather with his foe Trotter stumbled back to his feet bad, barely staying upright as he hung on to the middle rope for dear life. Referee Chris Byrd had seen enough calling a stop to the match.

Result: ‎Chris Pearson remains unbeaten defeating Janks Trotter via TKO at (2:59) of the 7th Round.

Gervonta Davis (12-0) vs. Recky Dulay (8-2)

(Lightweight Bout – 8 Rounds)

Davis wasted absolutely no time rushing his man as soon as the fight started behind hard right hooks and straight left hands. After setting the punch up with a jab, a straight left hand bomb that ricocheted off of the top of Dulay’s head followed making him go down to one knee. The Manila representative beat the count but was knocked down again by a similar shot shortly thereafter. Again a Davis straight left hand power shot blasted Dulay who went down to the mat. He was able to get up before the referee finished the count but when asked if he could continue, he did not give the referee any kind of answer and just looked away at the ground. The reluctance of Dulay to go on gave the referee no choice but to call a stop to the match.

Result: ‎Gervonta Davis remains unbeaten defeating Recky Dulay via 1st Round TKO at (1:34).

Ronald Gavril (14-1) vs. Scott Sigmon (25-8-1)

(Super Middleweight Bout – 10 Rounds)

‎Gavril continues his climb back up the ladder not too long after the only loss on his ledger. The Bacau native employed a modified hunched over-guard come forward-type of approach against Sigmon. A tighter, crisper version of the look Ruslan Provodnikov gives his opponents but rather than be so flat footed and lack defense he mixed in a great variety of punches. Gavril also tweaked the look via  his own twist amplifying the march forward by slipping punches coming back his way with spring-like upper body maneuvering. Gavril’s offense roared as he would step in with a cracking left hook to the body or rip at his man with a crunching uppercut. The body assault paid dividends towards the second half of this 10 rounder with Sigmon backing up more and more as the rounds progressed, clearly slowing down. The Virginia native did his best to score some counter shots which landed but Gavril’s ability to walk through them probably deflated some of Sigmon’s courage. His corner saw him the worse for wear at the end of the 8th and the referee as well as the doctor decided that the fight should be stopped.

Result: ‎Ronald Gavril defeats Scott Sigmom via TKO at the end of the 8th Round. (doctor stoppage)

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Ashley Theophane (39-6-1) vs. Steven Upsher (25-5-1)

(Junior Welterweight Bout – 10 Rounds)

Theophane was on point tonight as he masterfully boxed his man over the course of 30 minutes. The British star’s stellar conditioning allowed him to slide in and out of the pocket after unleashing some great combinations unto his man. Left hook, right hook, ‎left hook or double left hook followed by a right cross scraped across the face of Upsher round after round after round. If the Philadelphia fighter didn’t cover up from the assault and opted to throw back a counter at Theophane, the London boxer slipped and ducked anything coming his way. His upper body movement was solid, his movement behind angles was always there and his jabs peppered the ring each and every round. Probably one of Theophane’s most complete performances as he works his way back up the ladder into title contention and being part of another major PPV main card in the not too distant future.

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Result: ‎Ashley Theophane defeats Steven Upsher via Unanimous Decision with scores of 100-90, 98-92 and 97-93.

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Trakwon Pettis (1-0) vs. Devante Seay ‎(0-1-1)

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‎(Super Lightweight Bout – 4 Rounds)

The first fight kicking off the live event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the “High Stakes event featured a pair of 135ers in Pettis and Seay. ‎Pettis was making his professional debut and looked like a real pro as he lit his man up with clean, power punches and straight shots that couldn’t miss. The firepower of Pettis sent his man to the canvas twice during the 1st stanza off of body shots alone. Each side of the body was worked and each time prompted Seay to go down to one knee. Pettis did not back off for a second early in the 2nd Round sending his man to the canvas again off of a vicious punch,  prompting the referee to call a stop to the action with less than a minute heading into the 2nd Round.

Result: Trakwon Pettis defeats Devante Seay via 2nd  Round TKO as he makes a successful professional debut.