WBC champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber’’ Wilder (42-0, 41 KOs) of Tuscaloosa, Alabama settled his unfinished business with Cuba's Luis “King Kong’’ Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs) in successfully defending his title by scoring a seventh round knockout in the rematch Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas headlining the PBC on FOX PPV. Ortiz got Wilder's attention in the opening round as he snuck in a quick left. Jabbing away in the second, Wilder and Ortiz measured as they continued to figure each other out as Ortiz was the more productive. The straight left kept landing for Ortiz in the third but Wilder answered back with a straight right hand. Ortiz kept the straight left coming as he backed Wilder to the ropes in the fourth.
Working the jab in the fifth, Ortiz was patient as he had Wilder backing up. A stiff jab by Wilder in the sixth was his best punch thus far in the fight as he snapped Ortiz's head, the Cuban stuck to the plan continuing to box and counter. A wild left by Ortiz barely connected and backed Wilder as the champ responded with his haymaker, later in the round Ortiz got caught by Wilder solid straight right that flattened Ortiz as he struggled to get up referee Kenny Bayless waived it at 2:51 of the seventh.
Newly crowned four division world champion “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19 KOs) won a hard fought unanimous decision over Miguel “El Michoacan” Flores (24-3, 12 KOs) in winning the vacant WBA super featherweight title. Flores came out attacking as Santa Cruz was relaxed and measured with the jab. Stalking in the second, Santa Cruz began to dig the body with the left hook as Flores kept punching away. A right by Santa Cruz in the third shook up Flores as Santa Cruz began to let his hands go. Flores began to circle around and keep his distance in the fourth as Santa Cruz was on the offensive.
Working patiently in the fifth, Santa Cruz connected Flores as he extended and landed flush. Fighting at a very fast pace in the sixth, Santa Cruz just outworked a fading Flores. A right hand by Flores in the seventh landed cleanly but Santa Cruz kept pressure coming. In the eighth, referee Tony Weeks deducted a point away from Flores for holding as Santa Cruz kept fighting his fight.
In the ninth, Santa Cruz landed a solid right hand and later complained about a low blow as referee Tony Weeks told him to stop holding Flore's head down. A clash of heads in the tenth caused a cut above the left eye of Santa Cruz as he was bleeding. In the championship rounds Flores targeted the cut and kept his distance boxing. It wasn't the best Santa Cruz performance as he outworked Flores, credit to Flores in going the distance.
In the end the judges scored the bout 117-110, 117-110, 115-112 for Santa Cruz.
Weslaco, Texas's Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa (20-0-1, 15 KOs) made the first defense of his WBA super bantamweight title against former champion Julio Ceja (32-4-1, 28 KOs) as they fought to a draw. Figueroa ripped Ceja from the start backing him to the ropes and showing he was the much superior fighter. Trading away in round two, Ceja got his shots in as Figueroa stood in the pocket. Figueroa kept connecting in the third but Ceja held his own despite getting tagged. Working away in the fourth, Figueroa began boxing as he continued to outwork Ceja.
The champ came out ripping away in the fifth but Ceja stood in their with him getting some shots in. Staying close in the sixth, Ceja cut the distance as Figueroa traded, later in the round Ceja's lip was busted. Halfway through in the seventh continuing on the inside, Figueroa and Ceja did not hold back. In the eighth the fighting continued as the taller fighter Figueroa kept staying in Ceja's range.
Late in the fight in the ninth, Figueroa began sticking the jab and move away slowly as Ceja worked his way in ripping the body. Ceja continued to rip the body in the tenth and landed a huge left hook that snapped Figueroa's head. In the championship rounds Ceja displayed his willingness as he continued to go at Figueroa and outworked the champ. The twelfth and final round Figueroa and Ceja went at each other to the final bell in what was a fun fight.In the end the judges scored the fight 115-113 for Figueroa, 116-112 for Ceja, 115-113 for Figueroa and 114-114 draw.
Featherweight Eduardo Ramirez (23-2, 10 KOs) of Mexico took advantage of the pay per view opportunity scoring a fourth round knockout over Leduan Barthelemy (15-1-1, 7 KOs) in a rematch in opening up the FOX Pay per view. The southpaw Barthelemy was flashy in the first as Ramirez charged and looked to make it a rough fight. Sticking the jab in round two, Barthelemy used his quickness to keep off Ramirez. Staying close to Barthelemy in round three, Ramirez outworked Barthelemy. Ramirez kept the pressure in the fourth as he connected Barthelemey with a solid straight left that dropped the Cuban. Barthelemy was up on his feet and turned away from referee Russell Mora forcing him to waive at 2:59.
Super lightweight prospect Omar "El Relámpago"Juarez of Brownsville, Texas scored a six round knockout over Michigan's Kevin Shacks in a six-round bout.
New Jersey's Vito Mielnicki Jr. (3-0, 3 KOs) looked promising in scoring a second round knockout over Marklin Bailey (6-6, 4 KOs) in a welterweight bout. The young 17 year old prospect Mielinicki worked the jab effectively and was patient as he backed up Bailey. Snapping Bailey's head back with the jab, Mielinicki finished him in the second hurting Bailey as the referee Russell Mora stepped in to stop the fight at 2:31.
Dustin Long (3-1-2, 3 KOs) of Tennessee scored a highlight knockout over Deontay Wilder's youngest brother, Marsellos Wilder (5-2, 2 KOs) in a cruiserweight bout. It was a slow paced first round as Wilder and Long were limited. In round two, Wilder popped the jab tagging the taller opponent Long. Wilder staggered Long in the third round as he was patient in picking his spots. However a huge left hook by Long in the fourth, knocked Wilder out as referee Jay Nady immediately waived it at 1:51 of the fourth.
Ukrainian super featherweight Viktor Slavinskyi (10-0-1, 6 KOs) _ Mexico'Rigoberto Hermosillo (11-1-1, 8 KOs) of Mexico in a super lightweight bout.
Featherweight Angel Alejandro (8-0, 4 KOs) of Dallas, Texas won a hard fought unanimous decision over Mark John Yap (30-15, 15 KOs) of the Philippines in a six round bout. Alejandro boxed well throughout the fight as Yap was aggressive. Tagging Yap with big punches Alejandro circled as the Filipino pursued. Yap was bleeding from the nose in the fifth as Alejandro popped the jab and stuck to the plan boxing the aggressor. Credit to Yap for fighting on despite being bloodied in the final round as Alejandro finished strong in staggering Yap in the closing seconds in route to a unanimous decision victory. Scores were 59-55, 58-56, and 58-56.
John Gemino (21-12-1, 10 KOs) of the Philippines scored a fifth round knockout in handing lightweight prospect Arnold Alejandro (11-1, 10 KOs) of Dallas, Texas his first loss. Gemino sent Alejandro to the canvas to start off as Gemino attacked continuously throughout the opening round. However a solid right by the Filipino did it as Alejandro was laid out on his back, referee Robert Byrd immediately waived it at 1:45
Huntington Park, California's super featherweight José Manuel Gómez (11-0, 4 KOs) stopped Miami's Daniel Placeres (8-2-1, 7 KOs) in three rounds opening up the Wilder Ortiz 2 preliminary card from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. A short right hand by Gomez floored Placeres in the opening round as Placeres quickly got up. Gomez sent Placeres to the canvas a second time in round two with a crunching left hook to the body as he was able to get up finishing the round. Placeres was down a third time in the third as he continued to fight but somehow the referee let him continue and finished the round. However the corner had seen enough as the fight was waived off at the end of the third.
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