Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) scored a miracle twelfth round knockout over Otabek Kholmatov (12-01, 11 KOs) to capture the vacant WBA featherweight title on Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Ford hurt a badly fatigued Khomatov with a right to the head that caused him to fall against the ropes. Referee Charlie Fitch then stopped in to halt the fight at 2:53 of round twelve.
You can argue it was premature on the referee’s part to halt the fight, but it was an East Coast fighter, so it wasn’t that surprising that we saw the fight stopped.
The Eddie Hearn promoted Ford was down on two of the scorecards 106-103 and needed the knockout to win.
Daniel McClinchey will give live results at ringside of tonight’s action below.
In the chief support bout, IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez (30-2, 17 KOs) defeated challenger Reiya Abe (25-4-1, 10 KOs) by an eighth-round TKO. Referee Mark Nelson stepped in and halted the fight after Lopez flurried on badly beaten Abe in the eighth round.
The time of the stoppage was at 39 seconds of round eight. Lopez landed 139 power punches in the fight. Abe suffered a badly swollen right eye in the second round after being thumbed by Lopez. From that point on, the contest was at risk of being halted due o Abe’s right eye almost closed.
Undefeated welterweight Brian Norman, Jr. (25-0, 19 KOs), and Janelson Bocachica (17-2-1, 5 KOs) had their scheduled 10-round fight ruled a no decision. Bocachica suffered a cut on his forehead and left eye from a clash of heads in round two.
The ringside doctor chose to halt the fight after the third round due to excessive bleeding by Bocachica. Norman was cut on the side of his right eye from an elbow from Bocachica. In the first round, Bocachica knocked Norman down.
Light welterweight prospect Bryce Mills (15-1, 5 KOs) defeated Gerffred Ngayot (6-2, 5 KOs) by an action-packed six-round unanimous decision. The score were 58-56, 60-54 and 60-54. Mills started strong, pummeling the 28-year-old Ngayot with shots in the first two rounds.
However, Mills seemed to tire, losing power on his shots as the fight progressed, allowing Ngayot to come on a little. Mills outworked Ngayot in rounds five and six to seal the victory.
Unbeaten middleweight prospect Troy Isley (12-0, 5 KOs) got a rare knockout tonight, stopping journeyman Marcos Hernandez (16-7-2, 3 KOs) by a seventh-round TKO. The time of the stoppage was at 1:30 of round seven.
Isley landed a perfectly placed right hand to the jaw of Hernandez that bowled him over, putting him down hard on the canvas. When Hernandez got back to his feet, referee Mark Nelson chose to wave it off after taking a close look at his condition.
Unbeaten bantamweight prospect Floyd “Cash Flow” Diaz (11-0, 13 KOs) kept his record perfect with an eight-round unanimous decision win over Edwin Rodriguez (12-8-2, 5 KOs). The scores were 80-72, 78-74 and 79-73. Diaz hurt Rodriguez with a big left uppercut in the final seconds of the first round. Rodriguez looked out of it for a split second but didn’t go down.
Rodriguez wasn’t letting his hands go to give himself a chance of winning because he had the better power, but he was allowing Diaz to outwork him in every round. In the eighth round, Rodriguez fought hard, throwing a lot more than than he had in the previous seven and looked like he got the better of Diaz.
All in all, it was a good win for Diaz. His only problem is a lack of punching power, which could limit how far he can go.
Light welterweight Rohan Polanco (12-0, 7 KOs) defeated previously unbeaten Tarik Zaina (13-1-1, 8 KOs) by an eight-round unanimous decision. The 25-year-old Polanco, a 2020 Olympian from the Dominican Republic, knocked Zaina down in rounds seven and eight.
Polando landed a hard right uppercut in the eighth, followed by another round to put him on the canvas. The knockdown in the seventh was a push. The scores were 79-71, 79-71 and 78-72.
For the most part, Polaco looked good, showing excellent power and using a Philly shell. However, he looked flat-footed, easy to hit, and not entirely confident against a fighter that he should have been able to roll over.
Middleweight prospect Nico Ali Wash (10-1, 5 KOs) defeated Charles Stanford (7-6, 4 KOs) by a tougher-than-expected six-round unanimous decision. The 23-year-old Walsh, the grandson of boxing great Muhammad Ali, had lost his last fight by little-known Sona Akale by a six-round split decision, bounced back tonight to out-punch and outwork Stanford. The scores 59-55, 60-54 and 60-54.
Walsh got the better of the action throughout the fight but took some big shots in the sixth and final round by Stanford. There wasn’t much if any improvement from Waslh from his previous fight. He was getting hit as much tonight as he did in that loss. The only difference is Stanford wasn’t busy enough, spending much time moving around the ring.
Walsh showed good right-hand power, but his hand speed and defense were not exceptional. He looks nothing like his famous grandfather, Ali, in appearance and fighting style. His power is good with his right hand, but he must make vast improvements to go anywhere at 160. Ideally, Walsh would be better off fighting at 154 or 147.
Heavyweight prospect Brandon Moore (14-0, 8 KOs) defeated Hellaman Olguin (9-7-1, 4 KOs) by an eight-round unanimous decision. The judges’ scores were 80-72, 80-72, and 80-72.