Results:
Arroyo overwhelms Rodriguez’s replacement in the afternoon
McWilliams Arroyo had the entire training camp. He had all the preparation. And in less than five rounds, he became WBC’s interim flyweight world champion on Saturday in Canelo Alvarez-Avni Yildirim’s semester at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
It was clear at first that Arroyo also had the realistic lead over Abraham Rodriguez, a late replacement who arrived in Miami on Friday.
And in the fourth round, it proved. Arroyo (21-4, 16 KOs) beat Rodriguez (27-3, 13 KOs) from Tijuana, Mexico, throughout the round, which eventually forced him to one knee and knocked him down. The attack continued in the fifth round, although Rodriguez held up well given the lack of time to train properly. He caused Rodriguez’s corner to give up the white towel in the middle of the fifth round to stop the unilateral struggle.
Arroyo, of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, was dominant throughout a fight that was supposed to be against Julio Cesar Martinez.
Martinez had to retire from combat Thursday with a small fracture in his right hand suffered during a fighting session. He had hoped to continue training, but the injury worsened earlier this week.
After Arroyo’s powerful victory, he may be able to fight Martinez later this year.
It was Rodriguez’s first defeat since 2018 against Angel Acosta, also the last time he fought in the United States. This fight was for the WBO junior flyweight title. This time, for another belt, it was a similar result.
This fight represented the fourth consecutive victory of Arroyo.
Forrest saves a majority tie against Zhang
Jerry Forrest fell once. Twice. Three times in three rounds. And yet the heavy weight kept going up. Zhilei Zhang’s first onslaught and power continued to hold. He kept coming to Zhang and eventually Forrest struggled to get back to a draw that looked like a win.
Forrest and Zhang ended in a majority tie, with judges Rocky Young and Fernando Barbosa scoring the 93-93 fight and Rose Lacend giving the fight to Forrest, 95-93. After the fight, Forrest celebrated as if he had won, and even before the scores were announced, he backfliped into the ring.
Zhang, who looked like he would go to shore with an easy win with a big lead in the first three rounds, kept his record undefeated. Just.
What looked like an explosive fight at first turned into a party of hugs for the center rounds, with Zhang (22-0-1, 17 KOs) and Forrest (26-4-1, 20 KOs) looking pretty exhausted. in the middle of the sixth. This continued until the seventh, when Forrest got 26 punches compared to Zhang’s nine, according to CompuBox.
Forrest, of Newport News, Virginia, met after a first couple of rounds in which he was knocked down three times. Zhang, of Zhoukou, China, was cut by a blow to the head in the eighth.
Despite the heavy blows absorbed by Forrest and the early demolitions, Forrest seemed to be the most active and conditioned late fighter.
Forrest was also helped by a point deduced from Zhang in the ninth round to keep Forrest’s neck. This point ended up being a major difference in the fight, and was apparently the result of what Zhang seemed to run out of for the last four rounds.
Pacheco dominates Gómez by unanimous decision
Diego Pacheco may have wanted the tie. The 19-year-old had to settle for a unanimous decision victory over veteran Rodolfo Gomez Jr. with a closer-than-expected margin of 79-73 in the judges ’scoring charts in a middleweight fight.
Pacheco (11-0, 8 KOs), from Los Angeles, got some good punches, including a couple of good superior positions throughout the fight, but it was only the third time he went away and only the second time in his career beyond the fourth round.
Gómez (14-5-1, 10 KOs), from Laredo, Texas, was a good test for Pacheco. Gomez connected with a few punches and seemed to frustrate Pacheco intermittently. It was also a good round job for Pacheco in his first full eight-round fight. Gomez gave Pacheco enough to look back as he prepares for his next fight.
It was Gómez’s first defeat since September 24, 2016, when he lost to Roberto Ramírez Uriarte by unanimous decision.
Castro overthrows Moraga in two rounds
Marc Castro needed a punch, eight seconds and a left puncture. That’s all it took for the junior lightweight prospect to knock down UFC veteran John Moraga in the first round. From there, it was a matter of time for Castro, the well-known amateur wrestler in his second professional fight.
Castro (2-0, 2 KOs), of Fresno, California, defeated Moraga (1-3, 1 KO) three times in two rounds to record the tie, ending the fight with a left uppercut.
Phoenix’s Moraga has had an impressive MMA career, with a 19-7 record and a UFC flyweight title shot in 2013 that he lost to Demetrious Johnson. His first knockout defeat in boxing was Moraga’s third defeat in four professional fights.
Castro, 21, is still very, very early in his professional career, but the friend of star wrestler Ryan Garcia made his rival easy.