Benn vs Garcia Live

Jai Opetaia (31-0, 24 KOs) stopped Noel Mikaelian (28-4) in the ninth round to retain his Ring and Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight titles.

Opetaia set the pace from the opening bell and used his southpaw combinations to claim most of the early rounds. Mikaelian remained competitive with counters and briefly wobbled the Australian with a right hand in the seventh. Jai recovered quickly and regained command before hurting Mikaelian with a heavy combination in the ninth.

The champion continued punching as Mikaelian tried to tie up one arm, prompting referee Harvey Dock to stop the bout. Mikaelian accepted the stoppage without protest. His WBC title was not on the line after the sanctioning body ordered him to fight David Benavidez and threatened to strip him for facing Opetaia.

Da’Mazion Vanhouter (13-0, 10 KOs) knocked out Raphael Akpejiori (19-4, 18 KOs) in the first round of their scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout. The 21-year-old Vanhouter erased a six-inch height disadvantage and landed a crushing shot that left Akpejiori unconscious.

Referee intervention was merely a formality after the 6'8" Nigerian crashed to the canvas. Akpejiori’s size and 83½-inch reach offered no protection against the younger fighter’s speed and power. Vanhouter has now stopped five consecutive opponents, including four inside the opening round.

The explosive finish gave Zuffa Boxing exactly what it wanted from a prospect it has billed as “America’s best young heavyweight.”

Lightweight Andres Cortes (26-0, 13 KOs) defeated former WBC featherweight champion Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo (29-3, 19 KOs) by a 10-round unanimous decision. The judges scored it 97-93, 97-93 and 97-93.

The Las Vegas fighter used his physical strength and steady jab to control the early rounds. Cortes received credit for a third-round knockdown, but the Nevada commission later overturned the ruling.

Magsayo landed the heavier punches in spots, though his poor footing and struggles in the clinches kept him from taking control. A cut suffered by Cortes in the seventh failed to alter the direction of the fight.

Cortes outboxed Magsayo over the closing rounds to collect the most notable win of his career.

Oswaldo “Pitufo” Molina (10-0, 4 KOs) defeated Pablo Rubio Jr. (15-1, 5 KOs) by six-round unanimous decision in a lightweight contest. The judges scored it 60-54, 59-55 and 59-55. Little separated them during the opening two rounds as both fighters struggled to take firm control.

Molina landed a sharp combination just before the second-round bell and began dictating the action from there. His cleaner punches and controlled boxing allowed him to claim most of the remaining rounds. Rubio produced his best work in the sixth but needed far more after falling behind.

The 19-year-old Molina handed Rubio his first professional defeat with a disciplined performance against the more experienced fighter.

Super middleweight Abel Gonzalez (9-0, 6 KOs) defeated Raul Salomon (16-5-1, 14 KOs) by an eight-round unanimous decision.

All three judges scored the fight 77-74 for Gonzalez. Salomon delivered an early shock by dropping the heavily favored prospect in the opening round.

Gonzalez recovered, settled into his boxing and answered with cleaner, more consistent work. Salomon remained dangerous but could not sustain enough pressure to regain control after his fast start.

Six of the final seven rounds were won by Gonzalez for him to survive the sternest test of his young career.

Vlad Panin (25-2, 17 KOs) stopped Dakota Linger (17-8-3, 13 KOs) at 1:22 of the fourth round in their junior middleweight bout. Panin hurt Linger to the body in the opening round and unloaded a barrage after driving him into a corner.

Linger survived, but the ringside doctor said he would keep a close eye on him following the punishment. Panin used his five-inch height advantage and continued raising his punch output through the second and third rounds.

Two more body shots backed Linger to the ropes in the fourth, where another heavy combination forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the fight. The victory gave Panin his fourth consecutive knockout and his second win under the Zuffa Boxing banner.

Alexis Rocha (27-2-1, 16 KOs) defeated Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-4, 18 KOs) by unanimous decision in their 10-round welterweight bout.

The judges scored it 98-91, 98-91 and 97-92, though the competitive action looked much closer than those totals suggest. Rocha worked behind his southpaw jab and movement, while Ramirez pressed forward and landed enough hard punches to contest many rounds.

A ninth-round knockdown gave Rocha a crucial 10-8 round and produced much of the separation on the official cards.

Some unofficial scorers had Ramirez narrowly winning before the knockdown, making the two 98-91 cards especially difficult to accept.

Rocha collected the biggest name of his career as Ramirez lost his third straight fight and his first at welterweight.

Sean Garcia (8-1-1, 2 KOs) defeated Abraham Morales (4-2, 2 KOs) by six-round majority decision in Saturday’s lightweight preliminary bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The scores were 58-54, 58-54 and 56-56.

Garcia used his five-inch height advantage, longer reach and southpaw stance to control much of the action. Morales stayed competitive enough to earn an even card, but he struggled to overcome Garcia’s range on the other two. The win was Garcia’s first fight since his July 2024 knockout loss to Amado Vargas.