Last night I had the pleasure of calling the action ringside exclusively for everyone here at The SkinNYC!
In the card’s opener undefeated Abie Han (16-0, 10 KOs) defeated Rahman Yusubov (13-6, 11 KOs) in a 6 round fight. Abie’s left hook seemed like it was magnetically linked to the chin of Yusubov as he found a home for it all night long. He did not have the power to ever seem to hurt Yusubov, and to his own credit he continued moving forward pressing the action all night even causing a swelling under both eyes of Han.
In Heavyweight action another undefeated prospect Andy Ruiz Jr (14-0, 8 KOs) defeated Homero Fonseca (9-5-3, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision winning 80-72 on all three score cards. It was a very entertaining fight from the get go, both men landing bombs all night.There was a few shaky moments for Fonseca but he showed a very big heart and never give up attitude. I personally had it 6 rounds to 2 final score of 78-74 for Ruiz.
Our next bout featured brother in law to former champion Antonio Margarito, Hanzel Martinez. Undefeated flyweight from Tijuana, Mexico with a record of 15-0 and 12 KOs he faced hard punching Miguel Tamayo of Sonora, Mexico with a record of 12-3 (11 KOs). This contest didn’t last long, Tamayo landed a good 1, 2 combination on Martinez that received some cheers from the crowd but it only seemed to spell the end for him as Martinez landed a straight right to the jaw that ended things 1:37 seconds into the first round, Tamayo got to his feet but was not stable enough to convince the referree to allow the bout to continue.
The televised portion of the card featured Johnny Garcia 12-0 (8 KOs) vs Yordenis Ugas 11-1 (5 KOs). Both men went into the fight sporting 11-0 records, and in typical Sho Box fashion two undefeated prospects faced off in the ever so popular “somebody’s 0 has to go” type fight. Ugas was a considerable favorite from many ringside journalists even going in as an 8-1 favorite over Garcia. Me personally, I did my homework ahead of time and knew that this was not going to be an 8-1 type of fight. Garcia proved just that, he was the aggressor the whole night pressing the action and forcing Ugas to retreat. His non stop punching and relentless pressure made him a fan favorite in the arena. The fight did have its moments and both fighters landed bombs on one another, it was Ugas who would score the only knockdown of the fight but it seemed to be more of a balance issue than anything as Garcia never really appeared hurt. I predicted a Garcia victory and at the end of the night I was right. Two of the judges had it scored 76-75, 76-75 for Garcia and our third judge had it 76-75 for Ugas.
In the main event Diego Magdaleno 22-0 (8 KOs) fought Fernando Beltran Jr 36-8-1 (26 KOs). It was a very sharp performance from Magdaleno as he battered Beltran all night with perfectly timed counter punches and leading combinations. He fought with a lot of intensity, however it wasn’t until Beltran landed a big shot of his own that dropped Magdaleno in round 4 that the fire was completely lit. Magdaleno got up and immediately went on the attack to Beltran, hurting him and punishing him throughout the remainder of the round. It was a great performance, Diego never missed a step in there and slowly set up the perfect finish. In the 7th round he finally got his man to the ground with his relentless attack, Beltran was able to beat the count however a brutal on slaught there after prompted the Beltran corner to throw in the towel at 2:28 of the 7th round.
The card was televised live on Showtime apart of their long running series highlighting up and coming fighters, Sho Box: The New Generation. For more pictures please visit www.facebook.com/insidedaropes