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Nick Parkinson
Lightweight sensation Ryan Garcia takes on Luke Campbell on Saturday for the vacant WBC interim lightweight title in the main draw of a DAZN card at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Garcia (20-0, 17 KO’s) has won four of his past five fights by stoppage, including an impressive first-round KO against Francisco Fonseca on Feb. 14. Campbell (20-3, 16 KO’s) hasn’t fought since his loss. a unanimous decision to challenge Vasiliy Lomachenko for the lightweight championship in August 2019.
In the co-main event, Rene Alvarado will defend his WBA “regular” junior lightweight title against Roger Gutierrez in a 12-round fight.
Alvarado (32-8, 21 KO’s) has won eight fights in a row, including six by stoppage, since a loss against Yuriorkis Gamboa nearly four years ago. Gutierrez (24-3-1, 20 KO’s) suffered consecutive losses to Oscar Duarte and Hector Tanajara in 2018, but he won five consecutive bouts, four of them by stoppage.
Also on the card, Rene’s twin brother, Felix Alvarado (35-2, 30 KOs), will defend his IBF junior flyweight world title against DeeJay Kriel (16-1-1, 8 KOs) in a 12 round bout.
Stay here for live undercard results and analysis.
Ryan Garcia gets his hands on trainer Eddy Reynoso ahead of his mid-term title fight against Luke Campbell at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday. (Photo by Ed Keenan / Folden Boy Promotions)
Fight In Progress: Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell, 12 rounds, for the vacant WBC Interim Lightweight Title
Results:
Gutierrez defeats Alvarado to win junior lightweight title
Roger Gutierrez dropped Rene Alvarado on the final lap to take a narrow but unanimous decision win to win the WBA “regular” junior lightweight title at the Ryan Garcia-Luke Campbell co-main event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday.
After seeing his twin brother Felix Alvarado win a 10th round stoppage to keep his IBF junior flyweight world title on the card earlier, Rene Alvarado lost the title in a first defense by scores of 113-112 on all three scorecards.
Gutierrez, who dedicated the victory to his mother who died of cancer two months ago, dropped Alvarado three times and crucially won the final round.
Alvarado (32-9, 21 KOs), 31, of Nicaragua, was almost stopped in the third round, but recovered from two knockdowns to get most of the fight under control.
Gutierrez (24-3-1, 20 KOs), 25, from Venezuela, avenged a seventh-round stoppage against Alvarado in 2017 when his corner kick threw in the towel after he suffered a bad cut.
Alvarado was unable to stay upright in the third round when Gutierrez released a sweet right uppercut in the jaw. Alvarado took the countdown, but was on shaky feet and Gutierrez intervened to drop him a second time with a straight line to the right, causing the Nicaraguan to crash backwards.
A left hand to the temple staggered Alvarado again, but he recovered to launch the attack in the fifth, severely slicing Gutierrez around the left eye. The fight then seemed to drift away from Gutierrez as Alvarado forced the pace in the second half, until the final lap when Gutierrez dropped Alvarado for a third count with a shiny left hook to the chin.
F. Alvarado overpowers Kriel in TKO victory
Felix Alvarado shined in his US debut, scoring two knockdowns in a 10th round stoppage of DeeJay Kriel to defend his IBF light-flyweight world title.
After not boxing at all in 2020, Alvardo – twin brother of René, also in action on the same card – showed that his strength marks him as one of the world’s best at 108 pounds in his second world title defense.
Alvarado (36-2, 31 KOs), 31, from Nicaragua, served warning with a quick start, then hit Kriel (15-2-1, 8 KOs), 25, with a left hook that landed right on the chin in the second round. Kriel admirably survived a minute and a half to the end of the second round, bringing a large right hand to the chin.
Alvarado landed a series of shots in the fourth round and put the South African back on the canvas with a left hook. But Kriel, a former strawweight titlist and quality manager, bravely came back with quick hands.
Kriel narrowed the points margin in the middle rounds, but he was almost overwhelmed by the end of round 9 when Alvarado increased the pressure. Alvarado sustained his attack in the 10th round and it was enough to force a stoppage at 1 minute and 39 seconds when he landed a series of unanswered punches.
“I knew this was going to be a tough fight,” said Alvarado after the game. “He was a mandatory challenger and a former world champion, so I knew it was going to be tough. I got a little tired, but that was because of his experience. I dropped him with a hook too, and I didn’t even expect it like that. One punch to land, but instead of looking for that punch, I kept pushing it against the ropes to finish it off.
I want one of the other world champions so I can show who is the best in the division. “
Curiel overwhelms Agaton in TKO victory
Raul Curiel came out of the gate quickly and never gave in, he battered Ramses Agaton for four minutes on his way to a one-sided TKO win in the second round.
Curiel (9-0, 7 KO’s) focused on the body early on and a left hook to the liver shrank Agaton, who fell to his knee in frustration. The fight seemed to be on the brink of interruption at the end of Round 1 after a flurry of bumps against the ropes, but Agaton (22-13-3, 12 KO’s) lasted long enough for the bell to ring. end of the first round.
The aggression didn’t stop at the start of Round 2, however, as a continuous barrage of right hooks and left uppercuts landed consistently. Agaton, whose right eye swelled shut, was unable to protect himself and his corner threw in the towel at 1:16.
According to CompuBox, Curiel outperformed Agaton 43-10, despite nearly as many punches (108 for Curiel, 107 for Agaton).
The younger Garcia remains unbeaten with a win by majority decision
Lightweight Sean Garcia, the younger brother of Ryan Garcia, remained undefeated with a hard-fought majority decision victory over Rene Marquez with scores of 38-38, 39-37 and 39-37.
Garcia (5-0, 2 KOs), had a harder than expected against Marquez (5-5, 2 KOs). Marquez kept coming forward, landing body punches and throwing his right hand every time he got close to Garcia. Garcia, 20, was able to land more punches in Round 3, but ended the fight fatigued – a product of Marquez’s body attack.
According to CompuBox, Garcia took 48 of the 161 total punches, while Marquez, 31, was able to land only 30 of the 185. Garcia also connected 43 of his power punches, while Marquez landed just 22.