Fighter Of The Week 1/23-1/29: Alexis Rocha

The race for the next great welterweight has been between two men for quite some time. Vergil Ortiz and Boots Ennis. Boots Ennis and Vergil Ortiz. Those are the two men that are going to carry the torch of great welterweights into the next generation. Perhaps some added Conor Benn to that discussion, but Alexis Rocha was seemingly always the man left and ignored. It's becoming harder and harder to deny the 25-year-old from Irvine, California. Rocha picked up a knockout of the year candidate, the leader in the clubhouse for that award for sure, as well moved his record to 22-1 (14) may have gotten himself a fight with Terence "Bud" Crawford, plus our takes Fighter of the Week Award.

George Ashie was a replacement for Anthony "Juice" Young. Golden Boy tried to sell that hype and sell Ashie the Ghanaian, as a current-day Ike Quartey. That sales job ended as soon as the fight started. Lex seized control of the fight from the opening bell as Rocha, a southpaw, came out aggressively firing his jab and hurting Ashie just moments into the fight. A straight left rattled Ashie in the second and the tone was set for the fight. A left hand again rocked Ashie in the third, who was holding on for life. Then towards the end of the third, a massive right hook put Ashie down to end the third. At this point, the only question remaining was will Ashie survive, and he was clinging on to do so. However, we got a resounding answer in the seventh when another massive right hook from the California native put Ashie down and out in sensational fashion. It was the 14th stoppage and 22nd win in 23 fights for the resurgent Rocha. Who said post-fight, “[Crawford] is the fight that I want next, let’s go...Everyone always asks me if I’m ready. I won’t know until I’m in there with him. I’m ready for the big names. I know whoever I fight, I’m gonna take it up every level, every step.”

The loss to Speedy Ellis now seems like a distant memory, a blip on the radar at this point. Rocha has won six in a row since the lone setback of his career and has emerged as a world title contender between those four names mentioned (Ortiz, Ennis, Benn, Rocha) he may very well be the first to a primary world title and should he pick up that win a unification bout with Ortiz, should Ortiz beat Stanions and be elevated to super champ when Spence vacates, becomes the likely scenario.