Garcia won a wide-yet-uninspiring decision while Jennings may have put on a career-best performance by securing a late stoppage. Photographer Darryl Cobb Jr. was there to capture moments for your viewing pleasure.
Mikey Garcia UD12 Juan Carlos Burgos (118-110, 118-110, 119-109)
This mismatch was interesting for about 3 rounds. The fighters just felt each other out in the first round, Burgos hurt Garcia in the second, and Garcia hurt Burgos in the third. After that Garcia pretty much just cruised to an unspectacular decision. Burgos' mental and/or physical resignation certainly had something to do with that, but Garcia didn't appear to exert much effort into finishing his prey off.
In any event Garcia made the first and probably only defense of his WBO super featherweight title. Higher divisions (with the hopes of eventually fighting Manny Pacquiao) await.
Bryant Jennings TKO10 Artur Szpilka (2:20)
Through 4 rounds this was a relatively even chess match but after being dropped by a body shot in round 6, it was all downhill for Szpilka. Jennings even kicked it up a notch in the final round when his trainer Fred Jenkins warned him that he might not be awarded the decision. Even the worst robberies in boxing usually aren't that bad, but it motivated Jennings to finish Szpilka off. "BY" destroyed the body throughout the fight and the head finally followed in round 10. A left hook did the trick. Szpilka was stopped on his feet moments later.
Jennings says he's ready for a world title shot (which he also alluded to during his media day).
TopRank.TV Undercard:
Sean Monaghan TKO1 Matt Vanda (2:51) - freak accident
Julian Rodriguez KO1 Neyeine Muang (1:51) - body shot
Felix Verdejo TKO1 Lauro Alcantar (0:21) - highlight reel
Jesse Hart UD6 Derrick Findley (60-54, 60-54, 60-54) - shutout
Alberto Machado TKO2 Nuwan Jayakody (1:34) - sudden counter right hook
Francisco Vargas TKO1 Eligio Lopez (1:59) - blowout
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Garcia-Burgos took place at the Madison Square Garden Theater on Saturday, January 25, 2014. A photo gallery of the event, courtesy of Darryl Cobb Jr, is available atop this page.
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Ryan Bivins is a staff writer for Bad Left Hook. You can contact him on twitter (@sweetboxing) or through email (rgbivins@gmail.com).