Results:
Arroyo overwhelms Rodriguez’s late replacement
McWilliams Arroyo had the whole training camp. He had all the training. And in less than five rounds, he became the interim WBC world fly champion on Saturday at co-main event Canelo Alvarez-Avni Yildirim at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
It became clear at first that Arroyo also had a realistic advantage over Abraham Rodriguez, a late replacement who arrived in Miami on Friday.
And until the fourth round, he showed. Arroyo (21-4, 16 KOs) beat Rodriguez (27-3, 13 KOs) from Tijuana, Mexico, throughout the round, forcing him to one knee and knocking him down. The assault continued in the fifth round, although Rodriguez resisted well, given the lack of time to train properly. He led to Rodriguez’s corner, giving up the white towel in the middle of the fifth round to stop the unilateral fight.
Arroyo, from Fajardo, Puerto Rico, dominated in a fight that was supposed to be against Julio Cesar Martinez.
Martinez had to withdraw from the fight on Thursday, with a small fracture to his right hand suffered during a fight session. He had hoped to continue training, but the injury worsened earlier this week.
After Arroyo’s strong victory, he may be able to fight Martinez later this year.
It was Rodriguez’s first loss in 2018 against Angel Acosta, also the last time he fought in the United States. That fight was for the WBO junior flyweight title. This time, for another belt, it was a similar result.
This fight was Arroyo’s fourth consecutive victory.
Forrest saves a majority draw against Zhang
Jerry Forrest came down once. Twice. Three times in three rounds. And yet, the burden continued to rise. He continued to endure the attack and early power of Zhilei Zhang. He kept coming to Zhang – and eventually Forrest fought back to a tie that felt like a victory.
Forrest and Zhang ended in a majority draw, with judges Rocky Young and Fernando Barbosa scoring 93-93 and Rose Lacend giving Forrest 95-93. After the fight, Forrest celebrated as if he had won and – just before the scores were announced – made a backflip in the ring.
Zhang, who seemed to go on to win easily, with a big advantage in the first three rounds, kept his record undefeated. Barely.
What appeared to be an explosive fight from the start turned into a hugfest in the middle rounds, with both 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 nine for Zhang, according to CompuBox.
Forrest of Newport News, Virginia, gathered after a few rough first rounds, in which he was knocked down three times. Zhang, from Zhoukou, China, was beheaded in the eighth.
Despite Forrest’s large fists and early collapses, 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 for holding Forrest’s neck. This point became a major difference in the fight and was apparently the result of what seemed to be exhausted for Zhang in the last four rounds.
Pacheco dominated Gomez by unanimous decision
Diego Pacheco would have liked to have been eliminated. The 19-year-old had to settle for a unanimous decision won against veteran Rodolfo Gomez Jr., with a margin of 79-73 lower than expected on the judges’ scorecards in a super-average fight.
Pacheco (11-0, 8 KOs), from Los Angeles, got some good shots, including some great innings during the fight, but it was only the third time he went the distance and it was the second time in his career beyond the fourth round.
Gomez (14-5-1, 10 KOs) from Laredo, Texas, was a good test for Pacheco. Gomez connected with big fists and seemed to frustrate Pacheco intermittently. It was also a good job for Pacheco in his first full fight in eight rounds. Gomez has given Pacheco enough to look back as he prepares for his next fight.
It was Gomez’s first defeat on September 24, 2016, when he lost to Roberto Ramirez Uriarte by unanimous decision.
Castro demolishes Moraga in two rounds
Marc Castro needed a punch, eight seconds and a left-footed shot. That’s all it took for the lightweight junior to knock down UFC veteran John Moraga in the first round. From there, it was only a matter of time before Castro, the much-loved 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, ending the fight with a left uppercut.
Moraga, from Phoenix, had an impressive MMA career, with a 19-7 record and a flying UFC title shot in 2013 that he lost to Demetrious Johnson. His first knockout loss in boxing was Moraga’s third defeat in four professional attacks.
Castro, 21, is still very, very early in his professional career, but the friend of the star fighter Ryan Garcia did the easy work of an outdated opponent.