Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, HBO presented a doubleheader showcasing the undefeated Mikey Garcia vs. Juan Carlos Burgos, and a clash of undefeated heavyweights, with Bryant Jennings vs. Artur Szpilka. ProBoxing-Fans.com was on hand to cover the fights and all of the undercard action. Check out the complete results right here.
Garcia vs. Burgos Results
Knockout artist Mikey Garcia took on Juan Carlos Burgos in what was supposed to be a huge fight in the 130 pound division. There would be no knockout for Garcia tonight though, but he was clearly the better man.
Overall, the fight proved to be very lackluster, with Burgos not engaging in the action. The only real excitement came in the second round, when Burgos had Garcia momentarily stunned. Some other excitement came when 50 cent came into the crowd with his fighter Yuriorkis Gamboa and started giving high fives and taking pictures with fans.
There were a couple of brief exchanges in the later rounds, but nothing that put boxing fans on the edge of their seats. Two judges scored the fight 118-110, while one scored the bout 118-109. Garcia will look to take on some bigger competition in the 130 pound weight class, or seek to move up in weight for bigger fights.
Jennings vs. Szpilka Results
Philadelphia Slugger, Bryant Jennings took on Artur Szpilka in a big heavyweight battle. The heavily pro-Szpilka crowd was up early, as their fighter was controlling some of the pace early.
The initial rounds were feel out rounds, but in the 4th, the paced turned in favor of Jennings. He didn’t look back as he sent Szpilka crashing to the canvas in the 6th round on a powerful body shot. There were some excellent exchanges in the later rounds.
In the 9th round Jennings really picked up the pace, and by round 10 Spzpilka was badly hurt. A big left hook sent Spzpilka to the ropes for the knock down. The corner eventually waved the fight off, for the Jennings TKO victory.
Undercard Action
Matt the “Predator” Vanda fought “Irish” Sean Monaghan, in a light heavy weight fight for the WBC Continental Americas Title. The heavy pro Monaghan crowd went ecstatic for him when he had Vanda pinned in the corner. Monaghan fought hard and dominated the fight. Again, the fight ended in the fight round, but this time it was because Vanda tore his bicep in the closing moments of the fight. The bout was ruled a TKO, as Monaghan retained his WBC Continental belt.
Julian Rodriguez and Nyein Maung squared off in a four round welterweight bout. But the theme of the night prevailed, as Rodriguez pulled out an early knockout. Rodriguez was clearly winning the fight, as Maung had no answer for his superior hand speed. A vicious body shot from Rodriguez ended Maung’s night early. The win moves Rodriguez career record to 3-0 with 2 knockouts.
Felix Verdejo, the junior welter weight from Puerto Rico, made easy work of challenger Lauro Alcantar. Alcantar was floored 21 seconds into round one, as the medical staff rushed into the ring. Although, the bout was short, Verdejo showed immense power, great footwork and tremendous hand speed. Look out for him on the radar in the future.
Jesse Hart the promising star from Philadelphia, 11-0 with 10 knockouts took on Derrick Findley in a 6 round light heavyweight matchup. Hart used his reach to his advantage, as he showed tremendous ring generalship in the first round, executing his jab.
Hart was able to use his jab to open up big upper cuts and hooks, which proved the difference in the fight. Findley was unable to get on the inside, and suffered as a result. In the 5th round Hart started tagging his opponent with a variety of punches, that had Findley hurt.
The fight ended in a unanimous decision, as all three judges scored the bout 60-54, in favor of Hart.
In the second fight of the night Alberto Machado took on Nuwan Jayakody in a 6 round Junior Lightweight bout. Jayakody was controlling the pace early in the first round, but Machado rallied in the late goings of the round. In the middle of the second round Machado caught Jayakody with a perfectly timed right hook.
Jayakody desperately struggled to get up, but his corner waved the white towel, thus signifying the TKO stoppage.
In the first fight of the night Francisco Vargas took on challenger Eligo Lopez in a four round welterweight bout. The pair of fighters were both 1-0 with 1 knockout out a piece, coming into the fight. Vargas the lanky southpaw dictated the action early landing ferocious punches to the body and the head. Vargas’ superior skills clearly showed, as the bout was short and concise.
Lopez spent most of the fight trying to escape being stuck in the corner and getting off the ropes. When the action finally went to the middle of the ring, Vargas strung together a vicious right, left combo that flattened Lopez.
The fight was over within one round, as doctors immediately surrounded Lopez following the knockout.
