GIOVANI SANTILLAN STOPS ALEXIS ROCHA AND BECOMES THE NEW NABO WELTERWEIGHT TITLEHOLDER
In an explosive main event, San Diego’s Giovani “Gallo de Oro” Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs) maintained his undefeated record and took home the NABO Welterweight Title from Santa Ana’s Alexis “Lex” Rocha (23-2, 15 KOs). Scheduled for 12-rounds, Santillan handed Rocha his first career loss via knockout, slowly breaking him down and sending Rocha to the mat twice in the fifth round. It was in the sixth round where Santillan used a flurry of right hooks and left uppercuts that finished the fight at 1:13. The fight night was presented in association with Top Rank, took place at the Kia Forum, and was broadcast on DAZN. “I feel good. It was the outcome we were looking for. You never know how these types of fights will go,” said Giovani Santillan. “Alexis is a great fighter, and he’s tough. He got up twice and he’s never been stopped before! It’s different with all these people here and when you’re the b-side. He brought all his fans and his supporters which makes boxing a great sport. 2024 is going to be a great year for me now with this performance.” “I am sorry to all my fans,” said Alexis Rocha. “I will be back.” Special guests for the night included Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Oscar De La Hoya, Partner of Golden Boy Bernard Hopkins, Hall of Fame Trainer Freddie Roach, Current WBA World Champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero, Former four-time World Champion Mikey Garcia, Former World Champion Sergey Lipinets, and a number of current and former Golden Boy fighters including Former World Champion “Zurdo” Ramirez, Eric Priest, Jorge Chavez, Azat Hovhannisyan, John “Sugarcane” Cañas, Gabe Rosado, and Jousce Gonzalez. In the co-main event, John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-0, 9 KOs) won via fourth round knockout in a WBA Super Flyweight Title Eliminator against Ronal Batista (15-4, 9 KOs). Scheduled for 12-rounds, “Scrappy” handed out popcorn to his fans as he gave one of the night’s impressive performances. Batista went down in the fourth after a flurry of punches, Ramirez stopping the fight with a left hook to the body in the fourth. “I was slow cooking him and I wanted to eat him. I eventually gave up and took him out,” said Scrappy Ramirez. “This was a result of staying focused and making the necessary adjustments.” Also on the DAZN broadcast in a 10-round flyweight fight that went the distance, Rialto’s Ricardo “El Niño” Sandoval (23-2, 16 KOs) secured a tight, unanimous decision victory against Victor Sandoval (37-4, 23 KOs). The toe-to-toe action featured the two flyweights exchanging heavy blows throughout the fight, however, “El Niño” was more effective. The judges scored the bout 97-93, 97-93, and 96-94. In the night’s championship fight, the Coachella Valley’s Gabriela Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs) maintained her undefeated record and took home the IBF Flyweight Title in a match against Arely “Ametralladora” Muciño (32-4-2, 11 KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico. Scheduled for 10-rounds, Fundora used her long reach and jab and sent Muciño down twice in the fifth round. The corner waved the towel after seeing Muciño hurt and unable to keep up with Fundora at 1:18 in the fifth. Opening the broadcast, Joeshon James (8-0-2, 5 KOs) of Sacramento, California pulled the upset, with a first-round knockout win at 2:52 against David “Dynamite” Stevens (13-1, 9 KOs). Stevens hit the mat twice, the referee calling the fight in the final seconds. Opening fight night, highly decorated national champion of San Fernando, Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (1-0) made a successful professional debut in a four-round lightweight fight against Clarice Morales (0-3-1) of Toledo, Ohio. The fight started with high impact action and had the crowd on their feet, Verduzco taking control of the fight from start to finish.
