Jaime Munguia Stops Sadam Ali in the 4th Round

VERONA, N.Y. (May 12, 2018): *Jaime Munguia *(29-0, 25 KOs), the dangerous
undefeated native of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, scored an emphatic
fourth-round technical knockout victory against *Sadam “World Kid” Ali *(26-2,
14 KOs) of Brooklyn, N.Y. to capture the WBO Junior Middleweight World
Title in the scheduled 12-round main event of HBO World Championship Boxing
at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y. Munguia was too big and
powerful for Ali, sending him to the canvas several times before a left
hook forced the referee to stop the fight at 1:02 of the fourth round.

“This victory is something huge for me,” said *Jaime Munguia. *”This is a
dream come true. Every fighter dreams of this. I want to thank the Nevada
Commission for making this opportunity possible as they didn’t allow me to
fight Gennady Golovkin. I want to show that I am ready to fight at the
highest level and with the best fighters.”

“He [Munguia] caught me early,” said *Sadam Ali.* “That’s what affected me.
I don’t want to give any excuses. He was the better man tonight. I have to
check with my team to see a what’s next for me.”

*Rey Vargas *(32-0, 22 KOs) engaged in a hard-fought 12-round war as he
defeated explosive Armenian contender *Azat “Crazy A” Hovhannisyan* (14-3,
11 KOs) to retain the WBC Super Bantamweight World Title in tonight’sco-main
event. Vargas used his significant length and reach advantage, though
Hovhannisyan made the fight very tough with his relentless aggression.
Vargas won with scores of 118-110, 116-111 and 117-111.

“I’m very happy,” said *Rey Vargas. *”This was a tough opponent, though he
fights dirty and has his bad habits. He head-butted me a lot. It was
important that I first take care of my head in this fight and then of
course land my punches. Right now, it’s time for me to rest and leave the
decisions to my managers.”

“I have great respect for Rey Vargas, but I felt I controlled the fight
with my aggression,” said *Azat Hovhannisyan.*” I landed the harder and
cleaner punches. He got too much credit for pitty-patter shots. I felt it
was close, but my constant attack won the fight.”

*George Rincon *(4-0, 2 KOs) of Dallas, Texas stopped *Corey Gulley *(2-2-2)
of Killeen, Texas by way of technical knockout at :37 of the second round
of a scheduled four-round super lightweight fight.

“This victory was all for my Uncle Beto in Mexico,” said *George Rincon*.
“Being able to adjust to a southpaw is always tough, but the plan worked
well. Now I just have to be ready for the next one.”

Veteran Mexican pugilist *Diuhl Olguin *(12-10-2, 9 KOs) scored a six-round
unanimous decision victory against *Kevin Rivers *(14-2, 10 KOs) of Palmer
Park, Maryland. Rivers was given one score of 58-55, which was overruled by
scores of 58-55 and 57-56 for Olguin.

“I’m super happy,” said *Diuhl Olguin. *”Giving it my all in the later
rounds when we were both tired was key to winning this fight. For my next
fight, I want to face someone of a higher level to demonstrate that I
really belong in this ring.”

*Alex Vanasse *(4-0, 4 KOs) of Palmer Park, Md. scored a third-round
technical knockout victory against *Ray Santiago *(2-8) of Albany, N.Y. in
a bout originally scheduled for four rounds of heavyweight action. Vanasse
landed a vicious flurry that forced the referee to call a halt to the bout
at 2:08 of the third round.

“This was a rematch,” said *Alex Vanasse*. “He [Santiago] called me out
because he said the referee called it off too early. In reality, the
referee saved his life. This time the referee called it off again and it
was even clearer that he needed to.”

*Luis Vargas *(3-0, 2 KOs) of Syracuse, N.Y. defeated *Damian Lewis *(0-8-1)
of Niagara Falls, N.Y. via unanimous decision over four rounds of
heavyweight action. Vargas was quicker and more explosive than Lewis, which
helped win with him scores of 40-36, 40-36 and 39-37.

“I got really tired in there, and Lewis can really take a punch,” said *Luis
Vargas. *”After this fight I want to lose some pounds and go back to my
normal weight of 154 pounds.”

*Lawrence Gabriel *(2-1-1, 1 KO) of Syracuse, N.Y. opened the night of
action with a second-round technical knockout victory against the
debuting *Brad
Vargeson *(0-1) of Syracuse, N.Y. After a close first round, Gabriel landed
a right hand followed by a few more shorter shots to drop Vargeson.
Vargeson got back to his feet on time, but the referee stopped the fight at
2:19 of the second round as he was clearly unable to continue.

“I felt good,” said *Lawrence Gabriel*. “He [Vargeson] got me a couple
times, but he didn’t really hurt me. I saw that he was bending over a lot,
so I looked for the shot to hurt him and stop him.”

*Ali vs. Munguia* was a 12-round fight for the WBO Junior Middleweight
World Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with
Zanfer Promotions. *Vargas vs. Hovhannisyan* was a 12-round battle for the
WBC Super Bantamweight World Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions
in association with Promociones del Pueblo. The event was sponsored
by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING” and Casa Mexico Tequila. The event
took place Saturday, May 12 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New
York.

Host of the May 12 event, Turning Stone Resort Casino is a Forbes Four-Star
Award-winning destination resort, which continues to distinguish itself as
a premier venue for fight-of-the-year level boxing. The May event will mark
Turning Stone’s 25th nationally-televised boxing event, cementing the
resort as a leading destination for nationally-televised combat sports.
Turning Stone features world-class amenities including four hotels, more
than 20 signature restaurants and dining options, two spas, an all-new
125,000 square foot Las Vegas style gaming floor, a cabaret-style Showroom,
a 5,000-seat arena, five golf courses, several bars, cocktail lounges and
nightlife venues with live entertainment every weekend.