Results:
Arroyo dominates late substitute Rodriguez
McWilliams Arroyo had the full training camp. He had all the preparation. And in less than five rounds, he became the WBC’s interim flyweight champion at the Canelo Alvarez-Avni Yildirim event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Saturday.
It soon became clear that Arroyo also had the realistic lead against Abraham Rodriguez, a late replacement who arrived in Miami on Friday.
And by the fourth round, it showed. Arroyo (21-4, 16 KOs) knocked Rodriguez (27-3, 13 KOs), from Tijuana, Mexico, through the round and eventually forced him to one knee and knocked him down. The onslaught continued into the fifth round, although Rodriguez kept well in mind given the lack of time to practice properly. This resulted in Rodriguez’s corner giving up the white towel halfway through the fifth round to stop the one-sided fight.
Arroyo, from Fajardo, Puerto Rico, was dominant during a fight that would be against Julio Cesar Martinez.
Martinez had to withdraw from the attack on Thursday with a small fracture to the right hand that he sustained during a saving session. He had hoped to continue training, but the injury got worse earlier in the week.
After Arroyo’s powerful victory, he may be able to fight Martinez later this year.
It was Rodriguez’s first loss since 2018 against Angel Acosta, also the last time he fought in the United States. That battle was for the WBO junior flyweight title. This time, for another band, was a similar result.
This fight represented Arroyo’s fourth consecutive victory.
Forrest wins majority battle against Zhang
Jerry Forrest went down once. Two times. Three times in three rounds. And yet the heavyweight kept rising. Continue to endure Zhilei Zhang’s early onslaught and power. Stick with Zhang – and eventually Forrest fights back to a tie that feels like a victory.
Forrest and Zhang finished with a majority time, with judges Rocky Young and Fernando Barbosa scoring the fight 93-93 and Rose Lacend beating Forrest, 95-93. After the fight, Forrest celebrated as he won and – even before the scores were announced – made a setback in the ring.
Zhang, who looked like he was going to score an easy victory in the first three rounds, maintained his unbeaten record. Rare.
What looked like an explosive fight early on became an embracing feast in the middle rounds, with both Zhang (22-0-1, 17 KOs) and Forrest (26-4-1, 20 KOs) leading in the middle of the sixth. This continued until the seventh, when Forrest, according to CompuBox, landed 26 strokes compared to nine for Zhang.
Forrest, of Newport News, Virginia, huddled after a rough first few laps in which he was knocked down three times. Zhang, from Zhoukou, China, was cut in the eighth by a headbutt.
Despite the heavy blows absorbed by Forrest and the early knockdown, Forrest appears to be the more active and conditioned fighter.
Forrest was also helped by a point that was deducted from Zhang in the ninth round to hold Forrest’s neck. It ended up being a big difference in the fight, and it was apparently a result of what had been exhausting for Zhang over the past four rounds.
Pacheco dominates Gomez in unanimous decision
Diego Pacheco might have wanted the knockout blow. The 19-year-old had to compensate with a unanimous decisive victory over veteran Rodolfo Gomez Jr., in a super middleweight match, by a 79-73 margin closer than expected, on the judges’ scorecard.
Pacheco (11-0, 8 KO), from Los Angeles, delivered some good punches, including some nice capital letters during the fight, but this was only the third time he had covered the distance and only the second time. in his career beyond the fourth round.
Gomez (14-5-1, 10 KO), from Laredo, Texas, was a good test for Pacheco. Gomez commits some big blows and seems to frustrate Pacheco occasionally. It was also good work for Pacheco in his first full round of 16. Gomez has given Pacheco enough to look back now as he prepares for his next fight.
It was Gomez’s first defeat since September 24, 2016, when he lost by unanimous decision to Roberto Ramirez Uriarte.
Castro demolishes Moraga in two rounds
Marc Castro needed one stroke, eight seconds and a left hand. That’s all it takes for the junior lightweight prospect to fend off UFC veteran John Moraga in the first round. From there, it was a matter of time before Castro, the highly regarded amateur fighter in his second pro fight.
Castro (2-0, 2 KOs), from Fresno, California, knocked down Moraga (1-3, 1 KO) three times in two rounds to record the knockout blow, ending the fight with a left-hander.
Moraga, of Phoenix, had an impressive MMA career, with a 19-7 record and a UFC flyweight title he lost in 2013 to Demetrious Johnson. His first knockout loss in the box was Moraga’s third defeat in four pro games.
The 21-year-old Castro is still very, very early in his pro career, but star friend Ryan Garcia’s friend has made too many opponents easy.