Curiel v Solomon Undercard: De La Hoya Wins; Braekhus Returns!

Raul Curiel v Brad Solomon: Undercard Bouts

Diego De La Hoya, Cecilia Braekhus, and Angel Vazquez win their Curiel v Solomon undercard bouts
(clockwise from left) Diego De La Hoya, Cecilia Braekhus, Angel Vazquez

De La Hoya And Braekhus Win Curiel v Solomon Undercard Bouts


Fighting in the junior lightweight division, Diego De La Hoya (24-1, 11KO) went right-hand crazy against the tough fighter in Jose Gonzalez (23-11-1, 13KO). The fight started with a lot of action as both men were landing punches. Gonzalez was applying pressure on the inside and landing body shots. De La Hoya picked up the pace and landed a powerful right hand that dropped Gonzalez in round three. He scored another knockdown in round five from the same punch. In round eight, the fight was stopped due to a clash of heads that deepened the cut over Gonzalez’s right eye. Going to the judge’s scorecard, they all had it 80-70 in favor of De La Hoya. 3Kings Boxing agrees with the judges.

ANGEL VAZQUEZ GRINDS OUT A VICTORY IN AMERICAN DEBUT

At lightweight, fans got to see prospects Nick Sullivan and Angel Vazquez in a drama-filled battle. Sullivan (6-1, 1KO) boxed and counter-punched while trying to keep the battle at midrange. The young talent used that long jab and good footwork to keep ahead of his opponent. Vazquez (12-0, 6KO) was able to make it a dog fight by getting in close and disrupting the rhythm of his opponent. In round five, the referee took a point away from a frustrated Vasquez for pushing down Sullivan’s head before tossing him to the canvas. More drama arose as Vazquez landed a solid hook that sent Sullivan flying against the ropes. This prompted the referee to rule it as a knockdown, indicating that it was the ropes that prevented him from going down. Going to the scorecards, all three judges had it 57-55 as Vazquez got the win in his American debut. 3Kings Boxing had it a draw.

CECILIA BRAEKHUS SUCCESSFULLY RETURNS AFTER A LONG LAYOFF

The first female undisputed champion in boxing history, Cecilia Braekhus (37-2, 9KO) made her return to the ring after close to a two-year layoff. A six rounder marked her first fight since back-to-back loses to Jessica McCaskill and her first within the 154-pound limit. The 41 year-old looked her age as the first glaring surprise was her physical appearance. She appeared to be every bit of a super middleweight and was twice the size of the natural lightweight Marisa Joana (19-16-3, 4KO). Although she was much bigger, she looked powerless as she landed numerous right hands that barely fazed her amateurish opponent. Braekhus also looked very rusty as her reflexes were nowhere near what they used to be. Regardless of winning every round, it is clear she needs several more fights to get herself into proper shape and knock off the ring rust before she is considered a real threat at junior middleweight.

By: Various Authors

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