Puerto Rican lightweight Felix “El Diamante” Verdejo (27-1, 17 KOs), scored a first round knockout over Will Madera (15-1-3, 8 KOs), from Albany, New York making quick work of him, Thursday night in the ESPN main event from the "Bubble" at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It was all boxing early in the opening round but late in the round Verdejo hurt Madera badly with a right and followed up with his attack sending him to the canvas finishing him off at 2:59 of the first round.
Featherweight prospect Martino Jules (10-0, 2 KOs) Allentown, Pennsylvania, won a majority decision over Aleem Jumakhonov (8-3-2, 4 KOs) of Tajikistan. It was fast paced in the early rounds as Jules and Jumakhonov stood close inside. Jules began to box away in the third firing the jab as he began to bleed from his nose Jumakhonov pressed. In the fourth, Jules could not keep Jumakhonov off him as the pressured continued with limited punches but Jules stood close as he continued to bleed from the nose.
Half ways through the fight in the fifth, Jumakhonov continued to press as Jules continued to mix it up staying in range. In the closing seconds, Jumakhonov landed a solid overhand right. In the sixth, Jumakhonov began to attack the body backing Jules. The Tajik fighter continued to apply the pressure in the seventh as Jules could not keep him off, boxed away. The eighth and final round, was all action with Jumakhonov stalking and Jules letting his hands go. In the judges scored it 78-74, 78-74, and 76-76 as it was a tough win for the prospect.
Heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson (5-0, 5 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio finished Hector Perez (7-3, 3 KOs) of Tamarac, Florida quickly in a round. Using the jab early, Anderson was relaxed in the opening round an overhand right floored by Perez as he did not beat the count as the fight was done at 1:48.
Lightweight Kenny Davis Jr (3-2-1) won a majority decision over Eduardo Sanchez (0-1) in opening up the ESPN telecast. Davis and Sanchez came out banging in the opening round. Sanchez tagged Davis with solid punches as he was busy in round two. Continuing to stay busy in round three, Sanchez was in control outworking Davis but a left hook to the body by Davis, floored Sanchez in the closing seconds of the round. Davis hit Sanchez on the way down as the referee warned Davis after reviewing the call in between rounds. The fourth and final round saw Davis looking for that one punch as Sanchez kept staying busy however Davis was deducted a point for spitting out his mouthpiece as Sanchez stood busy. In the end the judges scored the bout 38-36, 38-36 and 37-37 as Davis pulls off a questionable decision.
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