Andreas Katzourakis W10 Misael Rodriguez... Zuffa Boxing's three-fight main card in Las Vegas kicked off with a middleweight clash between rival 16-0 contenders as Andreas Katzourakis faced Misael Rodriguez. It was the Greek Katzourakis who picked up the unanimous decision win on his Zuffa Boxing debut. Official scores were 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94. Rodriguez had the better of the exchanges in round one, but Katzourakis stepped into range and imposed himself in the next two rounds. With the action up close, Katzourakis looked much more at home as he pushed back on the Mexican and unloaded combinations to the head and body. Katzourakis maintained a quick pace through to the mid-way point in the fight as he continued to walk forward, get in Rodriguez’s face and work him over at close range. Rodriguez was full of grit and determination, and seemed willing to go toe to toe with the Greek warrior, but he couldn’t find a breakthrough to slow Katzourakis. Rodriguez raised his hands and grinned after round six, as he signaled that he’d found his way back into the fight, and he looked similarly happy after the seventh. But, despite the Mexican’s optimism, Katzourakis was still the man pushing the pace for most of the rounds.
But that pace started to slow in the eighth and ninth as Rodriguez started to turn the pressure on Katzourakis in the closing rounds. And as the fight went into the final round, both men loaded up for the final time as they went toe-to-toe to round out the ten-round battle. Both fighters eagerly awaited the verdict, both seemingly super confident of getting the nod. But only one man can be crowned the victor, and it was Katzourakis who got the nod as he moved to 17-0.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
In the night’s featured preliminary card bout, San Francisco’s Suray Mahmutovic upset the odds as he got off the canvas to earn a split-decision victory over previously undefeated French light heavyweight Raphael Monny. Mahmutovic came into the bout as the betting underdog, but he took control of the bout from the opening round as he outboxed Monny through the opening stages of the contest. Despite being outclassed early on, a huge overhand right from Monny clipped Mahmutovic behind the ear and sent him to the canvas. But despite the knockdown, Mahmutovic quickly recovered and went on to do the better work through the rest of the round. Another big right hand from Monny found its mark in the following round, but once again it was Mahmutovic who had the better round overall. Indeed, the San Francisco native continued to box smartly off the back foot through the full eight-round duration as he picked off Monny, who tried to impose a more aggressive game, but struggled to find his rhythm. In the end, the judges scored the bout to Mahmutovic, who claimed the ninth win of his professional career with scores of 75-76, 76-75, 77-74. Monny, meanwhile, drops to 9-1 with the first loss of his pro career.
Undefeated lightweights went toe to toe as Justin Viloria welcomed Ivan Ortiz to Zuffa Boxing, but it was the Mexican Ortiz who emerged with his hand raised after an exciting encounter went all the way to the judges’ scorecards. Ortiz looked the longer, rangier fighter, and threw with plenty of heat in the opening round, but Viloria wisely closed the distance and landed plenty of shots of his own as the round progressed. Viloria started round two with a big hook that briefly appeared to stun Ortiz, but the Zuffa Boxing debutant came firing back with big shots. It led to a wild exchange where both men connected with huge head shots, but both men’s chins held up well as the action raged on through the round. The high-octane approach from both fighters continued through the next two rounds, with both men loading up on their shots, but the pair’s respective conditioning ensured neither man was unduly troubled, despite the clean shots being landed. During a wild exchange in the final seconds of the fourth, Viloria briefly touched down, but it was immediately ruled a slip.
Ortiz’s confidence was growing as the fight progressed, and after two good rounds in the fifth and sixth, Ortiz exploded at the end of the seventh when he loaded up and dropped Viloria with a huge right hand from distance. The California native immediately bounced back to his feet, but the knockdown was a decisive one in the context of the fight. And with the fight potentially hanging in the balance, both men left it all in the ring as they swung for the fences all the way to the final bell. After eight rounds, the judges were called into action to decide the winner, and Ortiz got the nod, with scores of 78-73, 76-75, 76-75. Ortiz’s debut victory improves his record to 13-0-2 (9 KOs), while Viloria tastes defeat for the first time in his pro career. He drops to 12-1 (8 KOs).
Da’Mazion Vanhouter returned to the Meta Apex looking bigger and badder as he finished 18-1 veteran Raphael Murphy inside a round in his sophomore Zuffa Boxing appearance. Vanhouter, age 21, arrived in prime condition, having weighed in at 228.5 pounds for his bout with Murphy, who outweighed him significantly after tipping the scale at 251.5 pounds. But Vanhouter’s speed, power, and shot placement proved an irresistible combination as he overwhelmed Murphy with shots to claim a quickfire first-round finish. Vanhouter landed almost at will, as virtually every shot found its target, but it was a shot to the body that marked the beginning of the end for Murphy, who winced in pain and started to back away from the hard-hitting young gun. Vanhouter kept the pressure on and unloaded a barrage of shots to head and body that forced veteran referee Tony Weeks to step in and wave off the contest after just 66 seconds. It means that Vanhouter moves to 12-0, as the native of St. Petersburg, Florida looks to make a quick ascent up the heavyweight division.
Alexis Alvarado had to wait for his Zuffa Boxing debut, but when it arrived, he delivered the goods to claim an impressive victory. In a bout that was originally booked for Zuffa Boxing 05 last month, Alvarado defeated the previously-undefeated Emiliano Cardenas over six rounds as he used his ring smarts, and a well-executed gameplan, to punch and pressure his way to a majority decision victory. Cardenas immediately started to work behind his jab as he established his rhythm early, while Alvarado looked to walk down the undefeated prospect, throwing fewer shots, but noticeably loading up more. Clearly, Cardenas wanted to fight on the outside, while Alvarez wanted to take it into the trenches. And it didn’t take long to see which man would dictate the direction of the contest.In the next two rounds, Alvarado turned up the pressure as he closed the distance and dragged Cardenas into more of a phone-booth fight. The 24-year-old stayed in Cardenas’ face, ripping shots to the head and body while forcing him back. Alvarado’s confidence was visibly growing, and he enjoyed a strong round in the fourth as he forced Cardenas onto the back foot for almost the entire round. The 21-year-old looked short of a Plan B, as Alvarado dominated Round 4 with his educated pressure and shot selection. Round five saw Cardenas attempt to beat Alvarado at his own game, but it meant the Los Angeles native remained in his comfort zone, as he bullied Cardenas into the corner on numerous occasions through sheer forward pressure. Cardenas came out for the final round loading up in search of a fight-saving stoppage, but Alvarado comfortably took everything the 21-year-old threw at him and fired back with some solid shots of his own as the bout went to the final bell. The Alvarado corner saluted a job well done, and the judges concurred, scoring the fight 57-57 and 58-56 (twice) to take his record to 10-1-1 (5 KOs). Cardenas, meanwhile, will look to bounce back in his next outing, after taking the first loss of his career.
Uzbekistan’s Tullo Boymatov kicked off his professional boxing career with a first-round demolition job on Caleb Hall as he offered a first glimpse at his potential – and his punch power. Boymatov set to work from the opening bell as he loaded up and let fly with some heavy-handed shots, mixing up from head to body. Hall took those strong early shots well, but Boymatov continued to walk down the San Diego native, and eventually made his power count. A big right hand stunned Hall, then a powerful follow-up combination dropped Hall to the canvas. “The Kid” made it back to his feet to beat the count, but was clearly compromised, and when the action resumed, it didn’t take Boymatov long to finish the job. Another salvo, finishing with a clubbing left hook, forced Hall into the ropes and down to the canvas again. The referee applied a count, but it was a redundant exercise. Hall was done, and when the official took a closer look at him, he wisely waved off the contest after just two minutes, 42 seconds of the opening round. It gave Boymatov an excellent start to his professional career, as well as some early footage for his pro highlight reel, as “The Spartan” showed that he’s definitely going to be one to watch in Zuffa Boxing’s light heavyweight division moving forward.
