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Artur Beterbiev retained his IBF light heavyweight title and remained unbeaten, going to 14-0 (14 KO) with a fifth round stoppage win over Radivoje Kalajdzic (24-2, 17 KO) in tonight’s ESPN main event.
Beterbiev put Kalajdzic down in the third round, and finished him off early in the fifth.
With Canelo-Jacobs going on, we didn’t have a chance to really dig into this card, but we do have full results and highlights for you.
World champ @ABeterbiev unleashes a barrage and scores a technical knockdown!!#BeterbievHotRod pic.twitter.com/Vx8TVUnDR3
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 5, 2019
Two warriors going back and forth on the ropes! #BeterbievHotRod pic.twitter.com/1fCwYSGucx
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 5, 2019
Gabriel Flores Jr KO-3 Eduardo Reis
This was a hometown showcase for 19-year-old prospect Flores, who goes to 13-0 (6 KO) with an absolute MONSTER of a KO in the third round:
With a HUGE left hook, @G_Squad_Nation KOs Pereira-Reis!!! #BeterbievHotRod pic.twitter.com/onggEdedTM
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 5, 2019
If you’re wondering why ESPN put a six-round showcase on the main card and not the ESPN+ prelims, it’s because Flores was responsible for this show selling around 10,000 tickets in his hometown. And the crowd was just absolutely insane for him, it was an electric atmosphere even streaming through a tablet.
And give credit to Brazil’s Reis (23-6, 19 KO), too, because he came to fight as the B-side underdog. He got KO’d for it, but he put in the honest effort.
Jerwin Ancajas TKO-7 Ryuichi Funai
The stoppage came at the doctor’s advice just as the seventh round started, so time of stoppage was 0:01. This was a more on-paper impressive performance for Ancajas (31-1-2, 21 KO) than his last couple of outings. Funai falls to 31-8 (22 KO).
.@JerwinAncajas connects with the right!!#BeterbievHotRod pic.twitter.com/87ZPvETLWj
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 5, 2019
The World Champ @JerwinAncajas goes on the attack!!!#BeterbievHotRod pic.twitter.com/5QpxEGY7Hl
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 5, 2019
Undercard results
- Light heavyweight Felix Valera (18-2, 15 KO) stopped Mario Aguilar (20-7, 17 KO) at 2:29 of the fourth round when the referee stepped in.
Valera goes to work on Aguilar and the ref calls the fight!!#BeterbievHotRod pic.twitter.com/mi7D9m8mzi
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 4, 2019
- Brian Mendoza stayed unbeaten, going to 17-0 (12 KO) with a nasty second round knockout of Carlos Rodriguez (12-8-1, 5 KO). Mendoza hadn’t fought since Nov. 2017, and was just signed by Top Rank. He’ll settle in at welterweight going forward.
.@LaBalaMendoza floors Rodriguez with a mean left hook for the KO!!#BeterbievHotRod pic.twitter.com/15vwFLJHaD
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 4, 2019
- Super bantamweight Vislan Dalkhaev (11-1, 3 KO) beat Vincent Jennings (6-7-2, 4 KO) over six rounds on scores of 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54.
- In a six-round bout, local middleweight Quilisto Madera (12-2, 8 KO) shut out Osbaldo Camacho Gonzalez (6-4, 4 KO) on scores of 60-54 across the board.e
- Sacramento cruiserweight Blake McKernan (12-0, 6 KO) picked up a win over Joey Montoya (9-7-3, 3 KO) on scores of 78-73, 79-72, and 79-72. Montoya had some clown qualities.
- Jesus Godinez (3-3, 2 KO) scored a mild upset over hometown fighter Marco Arroyo (2-1, 1 KO) in a four-round fight. The difference was a knockdown in the second round for Godinez, who won on scores of 38-37, 38-37, and 37-38. It would’ve been a majority draw otherwise.
Jesus Godinez sends Marco Arroyo to the floor!! #BeterbievHotRod pic.twitter.com/xhgajLTcq9
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 5, 2019