Gabriel Flores Jr. KO1 Derrick MurrayOn Saturday's ESPN undercard in Stocktonm California, hometown favorite Gabriel Flores Jr. (22-2, 8 KOs), knocked out Derrick Murray (17-9-1, 6 KOs) just 27 seconds into in the opening round. Flores hadn’t fought in his hometown since 2019 and was shaking off nearly ten months of ring rust, but it only took one counter left hook to knock Murray out cold. You can view the knockout here.

 

Ruben Villa TKO5 Maickol Lopez Villagrana ... Former featherweight title challenger Ruben “Drac” Villa IV (20-1, 7 KOs) made a successful Top Rank debut with a fifth-round TKO against Maickol Lopez Villagrana (16-5, 8 KOs). Villa sent Villagrana to the canvas with a left hand in the fourth. The punishment continued in the following round where several unanswered shots forced referee Gerard White to end the bout at 1:55.

 

ADDITIONAL RESULTS

 

In a battle of undefeated middleweights, Javier Martinez (8-0-1, 2 KOs) and Joeshon James (7-0-1, 4 KOs) fought to a split draw after eight toe-to-toe rounds of action. James had more success on the outside, but Martinez was able to keep the fight at close range for large periods of time, making it easier to land left hands through his opponent's guard. The judges' scores were 79-73 James, 77-75 Martinez and 76-76.

 

Junior lightweights Amado Fernando Vargas (7-0, 2 KOs) returned to the ring with a four-round unanimous decision win against Bernardo Manzano (2-5). Vargas scored a knockdown in the first round and dominated the rest of the bout with a sustained attack to the body. All three scores were shutouts, 40-35.

 

Atlanta-born welterweight Brian Norman Jr. (24-0, 19 KOs) defeated the rugged Jesus Perez (24-5, 18 KOs) via unanimous decision after eight rounds of action. The official scores were 77-75 (twice) and 78-74.