Franchon Crews-Desurn W10 Citlali Ortiz... In her promotional debut with Salita Promotions, Franchón Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KOs) put her unified super middleweight championship on the line against Citlalli Ortiz (4-2, 1 KO) in the Verona, New York's Turning Stone Casino. Representing Mexico in the 2024 Olympic Games, Ortiz went toe-to-toe against the towering Crews-Dezurn but closing distance throughout the fight, Norfolk, Virginia’s Crews-Dezurn successfully defended her WBC and WBA titles via majority decision.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Joshua James Pagan (13-0, 4 KOs) returned to the ring for the second time in 2025 against James Bernadin (13-3-1, 6 KOs). With both competitors trading blows, Pagan showcased his experience in the later rounds, earning a unanimous decision victory and breaking Bernadin’s three fight win streak. The scorecards read 98-92 and 99-91 (twice). Afterwards, Pagan said: “Bernadin had a tricky style. He used the Philly Shell, so I had to figure out a way to deal with that. He countered pretty good off it too. I had to be cautious. He came out really aggressive in some rounds, and I needed to adjust. My jab and straight rights were working. I can tell he was getting frustrated in there. I just needed to stay moving to his weak side and utilize my jab. Once he had his flurry of punches, I noticed he stepped back a little bit and it was my turn to throw a flurry of punches. I got my punches off and I started to move and out box him. This was a great victory to have in front of this big crowd. I met Mauricio Sulaimán and Roy Jones Jr. and they had nothing but great things to say to me. It was an honor.”
Kicking off the action on the main card, Puerto Rico’s first women’s Olympian boxer, Ashleyann Lozada (2-0, 1 KO) had a quick night in the office as she saw her hand raised following a first-round TKO victory over Houston’s Carmen Vargas (5-4-1) in the women’s super bantamweight division. In the opening minute of the bout, Lozada overwhelmed Vargas with a barrage of punches. The winner had this to say about the early win, “I was surprised because I thought this fight would be an all-out war. The thing is that my hands came through. I saw my opponent get a little dizzy, so I told myself this is my moment. I attacked her and finished her.”
Prior to the DAZN-televised portion of the event, fan-favorite Bryce Mills (19-1, 7 KOs) squared off against Hialeah, Fla.’s Aaron Aponte (12-3-1, 3 KOs). After his walkout caused an eruption from the Verona, N.Y. crowd, Liverpool, N.Y.’s Mills registered a first round-knockout after landing a counter right hook.
Recently signed to Salita Promotions, Brooklyn’s Pryce Taylor (8-0, 6 KOs) continued his dominant campaign in the heavyweight division scoring a fourth round TKO victory against Ed Fountain (14-9, 7 KOs). This outing marks his third straight finish in 2025.
In the first fight of the night, “Motor City” Detroit’s Da’Velle Smith (12-0, 8 KOs) shined against Atlanta’s Antonio Todd (17-13, 1 NC, 9 KOs), securing a unanimous decision victory following a tactical performance from the Michigan native (78-74 and two scores of 77-75.)
Lozada: “I was surprised because I thought this fight would be an all-out war. The thing is that my hands came through. I saw my opponent get a little dizzy, so I told myself this is my moment. I attacked her and finished her.”
