Memorial Weekend Recap
Alexis Rocha destroyed Anthony Young and maintained his position as the top-ranked welterweight by the WBO. In a completely one-sided beatdown. Rocha committed to the bodywork and broke down a courageous Young. By round four, the writing was on the wall, and Young was showing some wear and tear. Rocha got to it in the fifth and unloaded a barrage of thudding hooks to the head and body that finally put down his game opponent. The overwhelmed opponent was unable to make it to his feet, and the bout was waved off. Giving Rocha the 5th-round TKO, moving his record 23-1 (15) and scoring his seventh consecutive victory.
In another complete mismatch, hard-hitting lightweight Oscar Durate demolished rugged Texas contender D'Angelo Keyes. Keyes was badly cut in the second round and dropped in the third and seventh. After being battered around, Keyes made it to the corner after barely beating the count and had the bout waived off on the advice of the doctor. Giving Durate the stoppage and moving his record to 26-1-1 (21).
The undercard featured another seventh-round stoppage on the stool. However, this one was much more competitive and minted a new champion. In just his seventh pro fight, Oscar Collazo, the Puerto Rican sensation, rallied to overwhelm Melvin Jerusalem and make him quit on the stool to capture the WBO Strawweight title. Collazo began to step on the gas in the fifth round after falling behind on the cards. A straight left from the southpaw stunned Jerusalem. Collazo continued to back Jerusalem up during the sixth round as he was showing signs of being worn down. Collazo saw his man breaking down and landed a series of hooks that overwhelmed Jerusalem. As the bell rang, the champ appeared as a broken fighter, and his corner agreed. The bout was waived off. Giving Collazo the 7th-round KO in just his seventh pro bout and moving his record to a perfect 7-0 (5).
A series of hooks and crosses stunned Jerusalem again, this time late in the round as Collazo had Jerusalem up against the ropes. A sweeping left cross momentarily staggered Jerusalem early in the seventh round. Jerusalem fought back in spurts to his credit but boxed cautiously from a distance. Collazo continued letting his hands go with more aggression, putting Jerusalem on the defensive.
The incredible story of Luis Alberto Lopez, the unconventional, underrated featherweight from Mexicali, Mexico, keeps his incredible run going. Back in early 2019, Lopez emerged on the scene when he upset highly touted Dallas-based prospect, Ray Ximenez. A few months later. Lopez dropped a very competitive decision to Reuben Villa. It appeared at that time Lopez was destined for being a stepping stone or fringe contender for the remainder of his career. Over the next four years, he stopped undefeated prospect Cristian Baez, and next up was decisioning Andy Vences. He then stepped up and destroyed the undefeated 130-pound Gabe Flores, blowing out Isaac Lowe. Then did the unthinkable and went over to Leeds and spoiled Josh Warringotn's homecoming. Now he absolutely demolished Michael Conlan. The 5th-round stoppage of Conlan moved Lopez's record to 28-2 (16) and marked the first successful defense of his IBF strap.
In the co-main, non-stop pressure from hard-hitting little man Nick Ball proved to be worthy of the hype. The non-stop relentlessness was far too much for an extremely tough Ludumo Lamati. Lamati was competitive in the early going, using his jab and reach to disrupt the pressure and timing of his 5'2 opponent. However, Ball's relentlessness would eventually break Lamati down. By the final round of the scheduled 12-rounder, Ball was fresh and Lamati was in survival mode. A stiff left hand stunned Lamati, and the pint-sized Brit poured in the power shots as the towel was thrown in. Lamati appeared to be a beaten man but didn't seem to be in terrible shape, with just under a minute to go in the fight when the towel was thrown. However, Lamati collapsed in the corner and needed Oxygen. He was taken to the hospital after the fight.
Two other Brits were in world title fights and had mixed results. In a fight that featured three knockdowns and was still a snooze fest, Lawrence Okolie was not able to overcome the knockdowns as well as two points deducted for holding in a contest he likely should have been disqualified for. Okolie seemed to be winning a fair amount of rounds with his jab in a fight that was incredibly difficult to score. However, it was Chris Billiam-Smith, who was scoring with the cleaner harder shots, even if they were few and far between. What appeared to be close in terms of rounds was wide on the cards due to the knockdowns and took the decision unanimously by scores of 112-112, 115-108, and 116-107.
Mauricio Lara did the best he could and succeeded in giving his world title away to Leigh Wood at the Manchester Arena in Manchester. Lara never stepped on the gas and never put the combinations together that we have grown accustomed to. Wood put on a master class performance and outboxed Lara. He used his jab and mixed in some right hands. He actually, and inexplicably had Lara going backward at times, specifically in the early going. Wood rolled to a wide decision by scores of 118-109x2, 116-111. Lara never really got going and never posed a threat to Wood, who recaptured his WBA featherweight that he lost to Lara back in February and improved his record to 27-3 (16).
On Friday, Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions aired its first-ever show on DAZN dubbed Most Valuable Prospects and two prospects shined brightly. Kevin Hayler Brown, the Cuban standout who defeated Andy Cruz in the amateurs. In just his third professional bout Brown took on a massive and very dangerous challenge in Julian Smith. Brown put on a boxing demo, but never picked up the pace and never had Smith in any serious danger. He rolled to a points victory in a fight that was probably closer than it should have been. He took the decision unanimously 96-94x2 and 98-92 and went the 10-round distance for the first time and moved his record to 3-0 (2).
In the main event, undefeated 19-year-old lightweight/junior welterweight blue chip prospect Ashton Sylve from Long Beach, California, ended his knockout streak and went the distance for the first time in his career. However, he impressed in this fight perhaps more than any other in going to the 8-round distance for the first time and taking apart Adam Kipenga. Sylve and sweeping every round on every scorecard, winning 80-72 x3.
