Vlad Panin TKO9 Shinard Bunch ... “Superbad” Vlad Panin got his Zuffa Boxing career off to a winning start with a ninth-round technical knockout victory over Shinard Bunch (22-4-1) in their welterweight matchup. Panin started swiftly, fighting on the front foot and taking the initiative in the early rounds, while Bunch seemed more content to download information on his opponent as he gauged Panin’s range. “Superbad’ moves on to 24-2, with his 16th career finish.
The opening four rounds were rinse and repeat for Panin as his controlled pressure saw him outwork and outland Bunch, who just didn’t seem to be able to let his shots go. After looking comfortable through four rounds, Panin loaded up and let his fists fly in the fifth as he connected on Bunch with a succession of big shots that threatened to overwhelm his opponent. Then, in the final minute of the round, “Superbad” connected with a huge right hand that sent Bunch’s mouthpiece flying across the ring.
It put Panin comfortably in charge at the half-way point of the matchup, and with Bunch starting to look demoralized in his corner between rounds, the Las Vegas-based fighter pushed forward looking to break his opponent’s spirit. The one-way traffic was eventually halted in the penultimate round when referee Allen Huggins stepped in at the 2:29 mark to spare Bunch further punishment. It gave Panin a fully deserved stoppage victory.
Ricardo Salas TKO8 Jesus Saracho... Ricardo “Magic Man” Salas stopped tough Jesus Saracho in the eighth round of their welterweight matchup. Both men wasted no time as they started trading big punches from the opening bell, with Salas loading up and connecting with some very heavy shots, while Saracho found a home for his counters in an action-packed first three minutes. Saracho turned Salas’s aggression against him mid-way through round two as he landed a big right hand that connected with the top of his opponent’s head and briefly stunned “Magic Man”. That success encouraged Saracho to step in and force Salas onto the back foot, as the 24-year-old southpaw started to hit his stride.
Both men were in full flow by the third, and both Salas and Saracho connected with eye-catching single shots at different points in the round but the back-and-forth action ensured neither man was able to build any sustained momentum. That all changed in the fourth, when Salas hurt Saracho with a huge straight shot that forced his man to back up and retreat for the first time in the fight. It served as huge encouragement to the Mexico City native, who continued to pour on the pressure through Rounds 5, 6 and 7, with the latter seeing him badly hurt Saracho with nasty body shots, mixed in with heavy shots upstairs.
By round eight, Saracho’s ability to sustain the punishment had started to wane. Salas saw his moment and put his foot on the gas to force referee Robert Hoyle to step in mid-way through the round to spare Saracho any more damage. The victory takes Salas to 24-2-2, with 18 wins by KO as the Mexico City native announced his arrival in Zuffa Boxing with an entertaining, hard-fought victory.
Pablo Rubio W8 Adan Palma... Undefeated featherweights went toe-to-toe in a thrilling main card opener as Pablo Rubio got off the canvas twice to defeat Adan Palma via unanimous decision. The fight caught fire almost immediately, as Rubio started quickly, forcing Palma to respond in kind. Despite his relative inactivity compared to his opponent, Rubio pushed forward, throwing multi-punch combinations. But Palma used his more compact frame and shorter reach to rip powerful shot from up close. After tasting the strength of Rubio’s best shots in round one and seemingly deciding he had the defense, and the chin, to handle it, Palma spent the entirety of the next round in the pocket, fighting fire with fire, and enjoying some success with his thudding hooks, which appeared to carry more power than those of his opponent. Rubio was enjoying his best spell in the fight, and two strong rounds in the sixth and seventh suggested that the momentum was swinging towards the Whittier, California native as the fight went into the final round. Then, in the third, Palma turned up the power and connected with a big left hook that stunned Rubio. Palma then closed in and landed a huge leaping left hook to send Rubio to the canvas for the first time in his career. Rubio unwisely tried to fire back, and eventually paid the price again as a short right from Palma sent him to the deck again.
Despite being dropped twice in the fourth, Rubio came out for the fifth and immediately got straight into the trenches with Palma once again, even beckoning him on. Even a peach of a right hook that connected flush on Rubio’s jaw didn’t deter the 29-year-old as he kept pushing forward. But, despite his forward pressure, Palma’s more accurate, impactful shots continued to catch the eye.
By the start of the fifth round, Rubio appeared to have fully recovered, while Palma appeared a little gassed after trying, and failing, to get the stoppage in the previous round. It opened up the opportunity for Rubio to come forward and land multi-punch combinations. But, despite his success in the round, there was another warning, as Palma landed another big shot just before the bell. With the fight hanging in the balance due to Rubio’s remarkable comeback, both men went to the center of the ring and threw down as they emptied the tank in a bid to secure victory. Palma landed two big shots on Rubio against the ropes, only for Rubio to come storming back again. After the featherweight eight-rounder went to the final bell, it all came down to the judges, who saw the fight for Rubio with scores of 77-73 (twice) and 76-74. Rubio’s stirring come-from-behind win saw him move to 15-0. Meanwhile Palma, despite securing the two early knockdowns, fell to the first loss of his career as he dropped to 14-1.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Mexican heavyweight Joshua Juarez extended his undefeated record to 15-0 with a workmanlike win over Jardae Anderson after eight rounds. Juarez never looked troubled as he worked his way through the eight-round duration to claim a unanimous decision victory on the scorecards. The action started at a steady pace, with Juarez establishing his jab and keeping Anderson on the back foot for the majority of the first round, then looking to put combinations together in the second. Anderson, meanwhile seemed a little more tentative early, but started to open up towards the end of round two. Round three continued in a similar vein, but following two rounds saw both men turn up the intensity, with Juarez landing some heavy shots on Anderson through the fourth and most of the fifth. But Anderson then landed his best shots of the fight in the final minute of Round 5 as he connected with some big punches to force Juarez against the ropes. Anderson pushed forward in rounda six and seven and landed some decent combinations, but overall, it was Juarez who had the edge as he boxed more effectively behind his jab, with occasional shots downstairs to the body. The final round saw Anderson dig deep in a bid to turn the fight in his favor, but it was Juarez who landed the best shot of the round as he walked the Davenport, Iowa native onto a big right hand. After a wild exchange in the final ten seconds, the fight went to the scorecards, where Juarez was declared the unanimous decision winner, with scores of 79-73, 78-74, 77-75.
Jaycob Ramos vs. Ethan Perez was scored a majority draw: 57-55 Ramos and 56-56 (twice). After losing out on his Zuffa Boxing debut back at Zuffa Boxing 01, Jaycob Ramos returned for his second bout at the Meta Apex and traded knockdowns with undefeated Ethan Perez in an entertaining six-round featherweight scrap that left the judges unable to determine a victor. Perez settled into his Zuffa Boxing debut as he worked behind a solid southpaw jab, while Ramos looked to step in and connect with heavy shots from close range. After a well-contested opening round, Perez unloaded a piston-like stright left hand that sent Ramos to the canvas in the opening seconds of round two. Ramos beat the count and recovered quickly. A big right hand from Ramos found its mark as he gave Perez a moment’s pause against the ropes, and the Dallas native kept the pressure on, despite his early setback. After a strong recovery in the second round – and following an encouraging pep-talk from his corner to let his hands go – Ramos came out in the third and returned the favor with a big right hand that caught a retreating Perez flush as he registered a big knockdown of his own. Ramos pushed the pace through the penultimate round as he backed up Perez with relentless pressure to leave Perez’s coach Robert Garcia telling his man that he needed to win the round to stand a chance of a draw. Ramos’s coach Rich Barrientes, meanwhile, continued his positive approach as he encouraged Ramos to put everything into his final round to secure victory. And with the final seconds counting down, both men swung for the fences in a bid to land a fight-altering knockdown. After an entertaining fight that saw both men land 83 punches, and both register knockdowns, the action went all the way to the judges, who scored the fight a majority draw.
Brady Ochoa vs. Adrian Serrano was also scored a majority draw, with scores of 58-56 Ochoa and 57-57 (twice). No one's 0 had to go as both Ochoa and Serrano emerged with their unbeaten records intact after their tightly-contested six-round lightweight battle ended in a majority draw. Serrano took the center of the ring and didn’t relinquish it as he looked to dictate terms through the opening round. The pair fought on level terms for much of the round, but by the end of the opening three minutes, an accidental clash of heads meant Ochoa returned to his corner bleeding profusely from a nasty cut above his hairline. Ochoa looked to move in and land flashy combinations in round two, but Serrano – the older man at 21 years of age – covered up well and didn’t seem too flustered by the teenager’s flurries. But that changed at the start of the third, when Ochoa started the round with some heavy hooks that found their mark and forced Serrano to take a backward step. Serrano later answered with a couple of solid hooks to the body, but Ochoa took them well and kept moving forward. After four tightly-contested rounds, both men upped the intensity in the fifth, with Serrano visibly planting his feet and loading up with his shots as he unloaded with venom to the body before moving upstairs to the head. Ochoa tried to respond in kind and landed a couple of solid shots, but the 18-year-old’s work wasn’t quite as accurate overall. A big right hand from Serrano put the exclamation point on the end of a strong penultimate round for the California native. It set things up perfectly for the final round, with both corners insisting to their fighters that the fight was still there for the taking. And, in the final three minutes, it was Ochoa who produced the more eye-catching work as he switched to southpaw and landed some decent shots as Serrano looked to adapt and counter. After six rounds of well-matched lightweight action that saw Ochoa land 105 punches to Serrano’s 104, the attention turned to the scorecards, with the judges scoring the first draw in Zuffa Boxing history.
Undefeated Mexican featherweight Emiliano Alvarado followed up on his win at Zuffa Boxing 03 as he made a swift turnaround to capture his second victory under the Zuffa Boxing banner. Alvarado had defeated Devin Gantt in the fourth round back in February, and at Zuffa Boxing 04, the 18-year-old overcame a fast start from Erick Rosado to drop his man en route to a unanimous decision victory after six rounds. Rosado arrived eager to make an impression, and the the 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic looked the livelier fighter through the opening round as he let his shots go and put some flashy combinations together. But in the second round, Alvarado turned up the intensity as he repeatedly ripped Rosado to the body. The teenage Mexican was noticeably the bigger, stronger man, and he put all those advantages into a huge left hook that sent Rosado down to the canvas. For a moment, it wasn’t clear whether Rosado would beat the count, but he eventually did, and the Santo Domingo native tried to fight fire with fire, as he stood and traded shots with Alvarado. But the Mexican’s heavier, more accurate shots found their mark again as the second round came to a close. Rosado showed plenty of grit and determination as he stepped into the pocket and traded with Alvarado through rounds three, four and five, but despite offering plenty of volume, he wasn’t able to pierce Alvarado’s guard too many times, as Alvarado’s constant targeting of the body to open up shots to the head saw him consistently outscore his opponent through the middle rounds. After dominating the fight from round two onward, Alvarado came out of his corner for the final round looking to cap off his performance with a finish. The Mexican loaded up with heavy shots, but Rosado gamely fired back as he made it to the final bell. It meant the fight went the distance, but there was no mystery over the identity of the winner, as Alvarado was awarded the unanimous decision victory with scores of 59-54 across the board from the three ringside judges. Alvarado’s victory gave him the honor of being the first fighter to register two victories in Zuffa Boxing, as he extended his perfect professional record to 11-0.
