By Mark DeSisto and Ryan Burton at ringside

At the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, junior welterweight Walter Estrada (38-13-1) won an upset eight round split decision over former lightweight champion Nate Campbell (33-7-1). Campbell seemed to really turn old overnight. He was rocked, outworked and didn't seem to have the same fire as “The Galaxy Warrior” we all know. The end scores were 77-74 for Campbell, 75-76, and 77-74 for Estrada. Retirement could be near for Campbell.

Undefeated light middleweight prospect Erislandy Lara (14-0, 9KO) made short work of Missouri’s Tim Connors, scoring a TKO at 1:38 of the opening round.  In a battle of southpaws, former Cuban amateur champion Lara floored Connors (10-2, 7KO) heavily with a right jab. Connors looked stunned as he beat the ten count but a follow up barrage of punches by Lara, punctuated by a straight left, deposited Connors on the canvas again, forcing referee Joe Cortez to waive off the bout.   

In a junior middleweight bout, Keith Thurman improved his record to 15-0 by defeating Favio Medina (23-3-3) via TKO at the 2:34 mark of the fourth round.

It was evident from the opening bell that Thurman was the faster and much stronger fighter. Towards the end of the round Thurman landed a left uppercut that appeared to break Medina's nose as blood began to flow profusely.

The Mexican showed tremendous heart exchanging power shots in the second round but Thurman's advantage in power gave him the clear edge in the exchanges.

Thurman fought at a more controlled pace in the third and fourth round and the broken nose was definitely affecting Medina's breathing.   Late in the fourth round they began exchanging power punches again as Thurman staggered Medina with a right uppercut and finished him a left hook to the head.

Super middleweight prospect Bastie Samir (7-0) stopped Billy Cunningham (4-8) in the second round at the 1:56 mark.

Samir started out strong with an emphasis on going to the body in the first round. Cunningham was hurt on several occasions but stayed on his feet and survived the round. Samir came out faster in the second round dropping Cunningham 3 times with hooks and uppercuts. Referee Jay Nady waived the fight off after the 3rd knockdown.

In tonight's opening bout, Michael Finney (6-0 6 KOs) kept his perfect record intact by stopping Clayvonne Howard (2-5-1) at the 1:26 mark of the second round in their welterweight bout. The Las Vegas product was simply too much for his hopelessly overmatched opponent and should be moving up to 6 round fights soon.