SAN ANTONIO – Katsuma Akitsugi has grown accustomed to life on the road.

The promising southpaw prospect conquered yet another unbeaten opponent, thoroughly outworking San Antonio’s own Gregory ‘Goyo’ Morales over eight rounds. Judges Lisa Giampa (80-72), Wilfredo Esperon (78-74) and Jesse Reyes (78-74) all scored in favor of Akitsugi in their entertaining featherweight bout Saturday evening at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Akitsugi—a Japanese southpaw based out of Hollywood, California—set an aggressive pace from the opening bell, with Morales unable to turn the tide. Morales would land an occasional straight right hand, drawing a rise out the local crowd anytime he let his hands go. Akitsugi refused to allow momentum to shift, applying constant pressure to avoid getting robbed on the road.

The win was the second straight in an opponent’s home region, with Akitsugi (9-0, 1KO)—nicknamed El Cuete Japonecito (‘The Japanese Firecracker’) and a regular on the tough Thompson Boxing circuit in California—coming off a six-round win over Philadelphia’s Rasheem Brown (11-0 at the time) this past January in Atlantic City. Morales suffers his first defeat, falling to 13-1 (8KOs).

A move up in weight put 20-year old Tristan Kalkreuth back in the win column, as Kalkreuth knocked out Panama City’s Santander Silgado in the second round of their heavyweight bout. A jab, right hand combination by Kalkreuth put Silgado flat on his back, with referee Rafael Ramos waving off the contest at 0:46 of round two.

Kalkreuth (9-1, 7KOs) fought for the first time since a stunning six-round loss to .500 journeyman Demetrius Banks, admittedly not at his best as he fought through injuries in what turned out to be an unexpected setback. The Carrollton, Texas native decided to add roughly 20 pounds to his frame to test drive heavyweight. It worked to the point of resuming his winning ways, as he was too heavy-handed for the shopworn Silgado (30-12, 24KOs).

George Rincon survived a rough-and-tumble affair to remain perfect as a pro. The unbeaten southpaw from Carrolton, Texas prevailed in his first career ten-round affair, outpointing Mexico’s Alejandro Frias. Rincon scored a second-round knockdown and overcame an assortment of fouls to win on the scorecards of Ruben Carrion (96-91), Ellis Johnson (96-91) and Angel Ramos (98-89) in their featherweight bout.

Rincon jumped out to a strong start, flooring Frias with a straight left hand late in round two. Frias changed course, setting out to make things as uncomfortable as possible for the Texan. An exchange early in round six resulted in Frias tackling Rincon into and through the ropes, with Rincon wincing in pain after hitting the edge of the ring apron.

Frias was disciplined for the infraction as well as a headbutt in round seven that left Rincon with a cut along his forehead.

Rincon controlled the action down the stretch to score a lopsided victory, going past eight rounds for the first time and improving to 13-0 (7KOs). Frias falls to 13-6-2 (6KOs), suffering his second straight defeat.

Hector Valdez went the distance for the third straight time, though preserving his unbeaten record with a strong showing in his home state. The Dallas-based prospect ended a year-long layoff with an eight-round, unanimous decision win over Mexico City’s Daniel Moncada (15-6-2, 5KOs). Scores of 80-71, 79-72 and 78-73 were in favor of Valdez, who was credited with a fifth-round knockdown en route to his clear-cut victory.

Moncada arrived upset minded in the first half of the fight but fell out of sorts over the final four rounds. A knockdown was called in round five when Valdez landed a left hook, though Moncada insisted his trip to the canvas was the result of their feet getting tangled.

Valdez controlled the action the rest of the way, pushing for a knockout and daring Moncada to fight back. He instead settled for another solid showing, improving to 15-0 (8KOs).

Opening the show, Sacramento’s Santos Ortega (7-0, 3KOs) enjoyed his first knockout since the pandemic after halting Hollywood, Florida’s Jesus Martinez (30-16-1, 15KOs) in the second round of their featherweight bout. Ortega cut Martinez over his right eye in round two, sending him to the canvas for the full ten count mere moments later to produce his first knockout win since October 2019. Two decision wins followed for Ortega, whose previous two knockouts both came in the first round.

The above bouts served as part of the preliminary undercard preceding the four-fight DAZN telecast. Headlining the show, Victorville, California’s Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18KOs) returns to the ring—and to Texas—for the first time in 15 months, as he faces Ghana’s Emmanuel Tagoe (32-1, 15KO) in a scheduled 12-round battle of lightweight contenders. 

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox