WBC heavyweight world titleholder Deontay Wilder puts his title on the line against Luis Ortiz on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
In their first battle in March 2018, Wilder survived a rough seventh round to stop Ortiz in the 10th. The fight was so close that at the time of the stoppage, Wilder was winning by just one point on all three judges’ scorecards (85-84).
But before Saturday’s rematch, the undercard features two title fights and a few prospects trying to make a name for themselves.
In the co-main event, former featherweight world titleholder Leo Santa Cruz moves up in weight to face Miguel Flores for the vacant WBA junior lightweight title. And Brandon Figueroa, who owns the WBA “regular” junior featherweight belt, meets Julio Ceja in a 12-round battle.
Leduan Barthelemy vs. Eduardo Ramirez, rematch, 10 rounds, junior lightweights
Fight in progress …
Juarez dominates Shacks
Junior welterweight prospect Omar Juarez (6-0, 3 KOs), 20, of Brownsville, Texas, knocked out Kevin Shacks (3-5-3, 3 KOs), 29, of Lansing, Michigan, in the sixth round of a one-sided fight.
Juarez nearly ended the fight in the first round in which he scored two knockdowns and landed several thunderous punches. He dropped him with a left hook to the body and later with a left to the head. In the sixth round, he dropped Shacks to all fours with a right hand and referee Vic Drakulich counted him out at 1 minute, 59 seconds.
Mielnicki stops Bailey in second round
Welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. (3-0, 3 KOs), a 17-year-old from Roseland, New Jersey, who had to get a special permit to box in Nevada because of his age, knocked out Marklin Bailey (6-6, 4 KOs), 25, of Durham, North Carolina, in the second round.
Mielnicki rocked him with a left hook-right hand combination and followed with a series of punches that again hurt Bailey, who is trained by former women’s boxing star Christy Martin. A right hand then sent Bailey into the ropes, and referee Russell Mora stopped it at 2 minutes, 31 seconds.
Long drills M. Wilder
Cruiserweight Dustin Long (3-1-2, 3 KOs) scored a sensational one-punch, fourth-round knockout against Marsellos Wilder (5-2, 2 KOs) offrom Tuscaloosa, Alabama, who is Deontay Wilder’s 30-year-old younger brother.
There was very little action in the fight through the first three rounds, but it ended explosively when Long, 37, of Johnson City, Tennessee, crushed Wilder with a left hand square on the chin that dropped him hard, flat on his back. Wilder hit his head on the canvas and referee Jay Nady immediately stopped the fight without a count at 1 minute, 51 seconds.
Slavinskyi outpoints Hermosillo
Los Angeles-based Ukrainian junior lightweight Viktor Slavinskyi (11-0-1, 6 KOs), who is trained by Jose Santa Cruz (Leo Santa Cruz’s father), outfought Rigoberto Hermosillo (11-2-1, 8 KOs), 27, of Mexico, to win a unanimous decision. The judges had it 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56.
It was a rough, physical fight in which the fighters exchanged various fouls. Slavinskyi suffered a cut over his right eye in the fourth round. It appeared to be from an accidental head butt. Hermosillo lost his second decision in a row.
Alejandro outpoints Yap
Featherweight Angel Alejandro (8-0 4 KOs), 19, of Dallas, won a unanimous decision against Mark John Yap (30-15, 15 KOs), 30, of the Philippines, who gave a him a solid test. In the end, Alejandro, whose older brother Arnold lost his undefeated record in the previous fight, was 58-56 on two scorecards and 59-55 on the third. Both Alejandro brothers are part of Mikey Garcia’s promotional company.
Gemino flattens Alejandro
Lightweight Jhon Gemino (21-12-1, 11 KOs), 27, of the Philippines, scored an upset as he knocked out Arnold Alejandro (11-1, 10 KOs), 23, of Dallas in highlight-reel fashion in the third round.
Gemino, who was coming off a second-round, knockout loss in July, dropped Alejandro with a left hand and nearly stopped him in the first round. In the fifth round of their scheduled eight-rounder, Gemino dropped Alejandro flat on his back with a right hand on the chin, and referee Robert Byrd waved it off at 1 minute, 45 seconds.
Gomez drops Placeres three times
Junior lightweight Jose Manuel Gomez (12-0, 5 KOs), 23, of Huntington Park, California, easily disposed of Daniel Placeres (8-3-1, 7 KOs), 31, of Miami, stopping him at the end of the third round of their scheduled eight-round fight.
Gomez knocked down Placeres three times, once in each round, before Placeres’ corner threw in the towel at the end of third round.
Still to come:
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Title fight: Leo Santa Cruz vs. Miguel Flores, 12 rounds, for vacant WBA junior lightweight title
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Title fight: Brandon Figueroa vs. Julio Ceja, 12 rounds, for Figueroa’s WBA “regular” junior featherweight title
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Shon Mondragon vs. Juan Centeno, six rounds, junior featherweights
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