Golden Boy Promotions and Cancun Boxing initiated their new partnership in exciting fashion as Jose "Chiquiro" Martinez (20-0-1, 13 KOs) captured the NABO Super Flyweight Title by defeating Jesus Martinez (23-3, 11 KOs) via a brutal shot to the liver in the fourth round of the scheduled 10-round main event of the latest edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at the Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Jose Martinez hurt his opponent in each and every round, dropping him with shots to the body in the third and fourth rounds, the latter of which Jesus Martinez was unable to recover from. The fight was officially stopped at :19 of the fourth round.
"I'm very happy with the win," said Jose Martinez. "I thought that it would last longer, but the goal was accomplished. The knockout is what we wanted, though we were prepared to go the distance. I'll let my promoter, Miguel Cotto Promotions, decide what's next for me. This victory is for Puerto Rico. I want to thank all the Puerto Rican people for their support."
Alexis Rocha (10-0, 7 KOs) scored an impressive first-round knockout win against Pascual Salgado (12-8, 8 KOs) of Cartagena, Colombia in a scheduled eight-round welterweight fight. Rocha, the native of Santa Ana, Calif. with a composed southpaw style, calmly walked Salgado down before slipping a right hand and countering with a shot to the liver. Rocha landed a few shots on Salgado before he got to his knees, but it was very clear that the stoppage, which occurred officially at 1:46 of the first round, was caused by the body shot.
"I started off by throwing my jab, and I was patient," said Alexis Rocha. "He [Salgado] was throwing a lot of straight right hands, so when he threw the right hand, I slipped it and came back with my left hook [to the body]. My coach is always telling me to have fun, be patient and relax. I don't want to just rely on one punch. I want to mix it up and be just as good at defense as I am at offense."
Vergil Ortiz (8-0, 8 KOs) opened the ESPN Deportes and ESPN2 transmission with a devastating first-round knockout win against Evandro Cavalheiro (9-4, 5 KOs) of Santa Catarina, Brasil in what was scheduled to be an eight-round super lightweight fight. Ortiz, the native of Dallas, Texas who has never heard the final bell of a fight, landed a hard right hand that dropped Cavalheiro.
The referee gave Cavalheiro five minutes to recover, thinking it was a shot behind the head. The fight risked being ruled a no contest, but after review by the Cancun Boxing Commission, the fight was correctly ruled a TKO win for Ortiz with an official time of :21 of Round 1.
"I hit him on the side of the head, but the referee saw something different," said Vergil Ortiz, Jr. "I knew he was done, but for a second I thought I'd get disqualified or get a no contest. Then I heard it was ruled a technical knockout, and I was delighted. In 2018, I hope to fight for a small title."
Maricela Cornejo (9-2, 2 KOs), the super middleweight of Los Angeles, California who signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions just yesterday, scored a six-round split decision victory against Irias Hernandez (2-1, 2 KOs) of Tijuana Mexico. Cornejo won with two scores of 58-56, while one judge scored it 55-59 for Hernandez.
Joaquin Cruz (11-1, 1 KO) of Tlanepantla, Mexico defeated Humberto Morales (11-18-2, 7 KOs) by majority decision over eight rounds of super flyweight action. Cruz won with scores of 78-74, 79-74, while one judge had it a 76-76 draw.
Jose Aguilar (7-4-1, 1 KO) of Cancun, Mexico scored a six-round split decision win against Jesus Trevino (13-3, 10 KOs) of Torreon, Mexico in a welterweight fight. Aguilar won with scores of 56-58 and 54-60, while one judge had the fight 58-56 for Trevino.
Jose "Churrito" Gonzalez (7-0, 6 KOs) of Puerto Morelos, Mexico, opened the night's festivities with fourth-round TKO victory against Alejandro Gutierrez (1-6) of Cancun, Mexico in a scheduled four-round lightweight fight.
Martinez vs. Martinez was a 10-round fight for the vacant NABO Super Flyweight Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Cancun Boxing. The event was sponsored by Tecate, "THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING" and Hennessy, "Never Stop, Never Settle." The event took place on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017 at The Poliforum Benito Juárez in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
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