By Vince D’Writer: On Saturday night, January 28th, the WBO third-ranked welterweight contender Alexis “Lex” Rocha knocked out George Ashie (33-6-1, 25 KOs) in the 7th round in the main event of the Golden Boy Promotions card that aired on DAZN from the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California.
For the first three rounds, the bout was fought in close range as both boxers stood stationary and traded power shots. With 1:23 left to go in the third round, Rocha was able to navigate his opponent into a corner, and then he proceeded to hit Ashie with a hard right hook that sent him down to the canvas.
After suffering the knockdown, the Ghanaian boxer George Ashie was able to rise to his feet and survive the final minute of the third round. In the fourth round, Rocha continued to apply pressure and land hard shots, but every time it looked like Rocha was going to take full control of the bout, Ashie would respond by landing hard counterpunches.
Round five, the phone booth-styled fight continued as both boxers were winging hard punches. Very little body work was being done at this point because both Rocha and Ashie were locked in on headhunting.
Rocha landed multiple flush shots upstairs, but Ashie continued to have his moments as he battled with his back against the ropes.
In round 6, the referee called a timeout at the 1:59 mark as Rocha suffered a cut on his left eye from an accidental headbutt. After a brief visit with the doctor, the fight continued, and despite the cut, Rocha remained aggressive on offense.
His cutman was able to stop the bleeding as Rocha came out in the seventh round, and he continued his aggressive attack by ripping shots to the body and following them up with flush shots up top. Midway through the seventh round, Rocha brought the fight to an abrupt end when he knocked Ashie out by landing a vicious right hook.
With the victory, Alexis Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs) was ready to address the elephant in the room. Prior to the main event and during the course of the fight, undefeated WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford’s name was brought up on multiple occasions.
During an interview with the DAZN crew of commentators, former undisputed middleweight champion and current Golden Boy Promotions partner Bernard Hopkins acknowledged the plan of a possible bout between Terence Crawford and Alexis Rocha. Oscar De La Hoya conducted an interview, and he also hinted at the possibility of a Crawford-Rocha clash.
While addressing the media at his post-fight press conference, Rocha was asked about a big name he would like to fight, and he mentioned a name that turned out to be the theme of the night.
“Why not Crawford? Why not Crawford? I want the big names, and like I said, I’m right up there for the WBO, and Crawford is a possible name to fight next.”
The 25-year-old Alexis Rocha concluded the Terence Crawford subject by sending him a verbal message.”Give me my shot, man, that’s it. I’ve been waiting in line, and I’ve been knocking on the door. You was just a young, hungry lion like me. Let me knock on the door. I’m trying to open that door, and let me get my shot.”
