The main event in Las Vegas featured a grudge match in the welterweight ranks, while the undercard was loaded with firepower from some of the sport’s most intriguing prospects. By night’s end, fans witnessed everything from tactical masterclasses to explosive stoppages.
In the highlight attraction, Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan finally settled their long-brewing rivalry over Mayer’s WBO welterweight world title. From the opening bell, Mayer established her jab and used well-timed hooks to keep Ryan on her back foot. Ryan found occasional success inside, especially in the later rounds, but never built enough momentum to turn the tide. Despite suffering a cut over her left eye from a clash of heads in the eighth round, Mayer controlled most of the fight and earned a wide unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 98-92).
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In the co-main event, WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. returned to the ring after a 10-month layoff, making quick work of Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas. The pair traded heavy shots in the first two rounds, but Norman’s jab and body attack sapped Cuevas’s strength. A left hook in the third dropped Cuevas hard. Though he beat the count, the referee stopped the bout at 2:59 when Cuevas failed to respond to instructions.
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Featherweight contender Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington vaulted closer to a title shot with a ruthless third-round stoppage over tough Mexican brawler Jose Enrique Vivas. Carrington overcame Vivas’s early pressure, turning the tide with clean hooks and uppercuts on the inside. A thunderous three-punch combination in the second floored Vivas, setting the stage for the finish. By the third, Vivas’s legs were gone, prompting the referee’s intervention at just 53 seconds. Carrington now sets his sights on a title opportunity, and with names like Nick Ball and Stephen Fulton in mind, he is eager to test himself at the highest level.
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Emiliano Fernando Vargas returned from a hand injury with a statement second-round knockout of Giovannie Gonzalez. Vargas found the mark with a brutal uppercut-left hook sequence that ended matters at 2:08. Tiger Johnson announced himself in a new weight class by stopping Kendo Castañeda in the fifth round. Johnson’s pinpoint body work paid off, sending Castañeda to the canvas in the final moments of the fight. A follow-up salvo forced the referee’s hand at 2:00. Dedrick Crocklem, a promising prospect out of Tacoma, Washington, wasted no time in dispatching Dionne Ruvalcaba via first-round TKO. Relentless pressure and vicious body shots saw the referee wave it off at 2:50. Emmanuel Chance shined in his professional debut, cruising to a unanimous four-round decision over Miguel Guzman (40-36 on all three cards).
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Image Credit: Top Rank