In Inglewood, California, at the YouTube Theater, where drama and knockouts are more common than viral cat videos, Diego Pacheco, the super middleweight sensation, brought the house down. He faced off against Marcelo Coceres, and let’s just say, Coceres probably wishes he’d stayed home watching YouTube instead. For eight rounds, Coceres tried to hang in there, but in the ninth, Pacheco landed an uppercut so brutal, it could’ve launched a SpaceX rocket. Coceres hit the deck faster than a dropped smartphone, and the fight was over at 2:53.
Erika Cruz, in the female super bantamweight division, came in like she owned the place. She squared up against Mayerlin Rivas, and by the end of ten rounds, Rivas must’ve felt like she’d been in a dance-off with a tornado. Cruz worked her over good, snatching a majority decision with scores that read 95-95, 98-92, 97-93.
Then, Jonathan Rodriguez, the bantamweight underdog, basically turned Kal Yafai’s world upside down. It was like watching a surprise party where Yafai was both the guest of honor and the piñata. Rodriguez dropped Yafai twice in the first round, and the ref had to step in at 2:17.
Marc Castro, the unbeaten lightweight, wasn’t in a mood to play nice with Gonzalo Fuenzalida. He gave Fuenzalida a seven-round tour of his fists, the ref stopped it at 2:31.
Jalan Walker, in the junior lightweight division, treated Jorge Villegas like a speed bag. He unleashed a storm of punches in round two, and the ref had to jump in at 2:55, probably to save Villegas from turning into a human accordion.
And in the super lightweight showdown, Criztec Bazaldua made short work of Pedro Angel Cruz. Bazaldua must’ve had a dinner reservation or something, because he wrapped it up in just 46 seconds of the fourth round.
