We're two fights into the PPV card from Cancún. I'll do a live-blog of the main event. Here's what's happened up to this point:
In the opening bout, highly touted prospect Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. and Jorge Cardenas fought to a majority draw. One judge scored the bout 77-75 for Vasquez Jr, and the other two scored it even. I think it's important to note that all three judges were Mexican (as is Cardenas). I had Vasquez Jr. winning 78-74, but it was far from an impressive performance. His record now stands at 9-0-1 (8 KOs). Vasquez Jr, who is trained by his father (a former three division world champion), never fought as an amateur, which doesn't seem to bode well.
In the second bout of the evening, Jorge Linares scored what could be considered a knockout-of-the-year candidate when he stopped a game Gamaliel Diaz in the 8th round. Though Linares dropped Diaz in the fourth round, I had the fight even coming into the 8th. Linares was clearly the better fighter, and his edge in hand speed was noticeable, but Diaz had started to take control of the fight by coming forward in rounds 5, 6 and 7. Linares didn't throw nearly as many punches, but when he let his hands go, he was able to score. Diaz went down on a beautiful straight right hand and lay on the canvas for several minutes, though ultimately he appeared to be okay. I'm sure this KO will eventually be available on YouTube, so look out for it. It's up there with Abraham-Gregor and Donaire-Darchynian.
Hometown boy Rudy Lopez is currently fighting Naoki Matsuda in a rematch of their bout earlier this year. In that one, Matsuda rose from the canvas to knock Lopez out in the 5th. I'll keep you updated on the comments section.