Angel Acosta Easily Beats Janiel Rivera. Seeks Title Bout with Martinez-Arroyo Winner
It was a battle of Puerto Ricans at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino as Angel Acosta (23-3, 22 KOs) took on Janiel Rivera (18-9-3, 11 KOs) in a ten-round junior bantamweight contest. Acosta previously captured the WBO junior flyweight title and is regarded as one of the hardest punchers in the lower-weight divisions.
But he was coming off a fourth-round stoppage loss to current WBO 112-pound champ Junto Nakatani in September 2021. Ranked tenth by the WBO and twelfth by the WBC at flyweight, the 31-year-old was on a mission to return to his winning ways. He faced a countryman in Rivera whose record was suspect, to say the least. The former world title challenger came in on a five-fight losing streak.
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Acosta’s punching power came to the forefront early and often. Less than a minute into the fight, he hurt Rivera with a left hook. Once he saw his countryman wounded, Acosta pounced and unloaded with a series of power punches. With Rivera clearly on wobbly legs, the referee stepped in and called a halt to the contest. This fight lasted a mere seventy-nine seconds. Afterward, the winner said his future is at 112 pounds and wants the winner of the June 25 battle between WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez and challenger McWilliams Arroyo.
While the knockout was eye-opening, it must be said that Rivera’s record coming in was farcical. Golden Boy was the promoter of this match and Acosta is on their roster. Understandably, they wanted to put him in with someone to boost his confidence; they did so by putting him against an opponent who was clearly not in his league. You could see this outcome happening a mile away.
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By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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