Da’Mazion Vanhouter KO1 Raphael Akpejiori... American heavyweight Da’Mazion Vanhouter (13-0) continued his rise with a first-round demolition of Nigeria’s Raphael Akpejiori (19-4). Vanhouter needed just one minute, 58 seconds as he wobbled the six-foot-eight former college basketball player with two big right hands early. Then, a cracking straight-right, left-hook combination sent Akpejiori to the canvas. After an eight-count was administered, the action resumed, and Vanhouter resumed his attack. But, as he closed in on Akpejiori, the former Miami Hurricane locked up Vanhouter’s left arm and then leant his weight on it, which appeared to torque Vanhouter’s left shoulder at an unnatural angle. It forced Vanhouter to the canvas, clearly in some discomfort, but he told the referee he was good to continue, and when the action resumed again, Vanhouter detonated a salvo of huge right hands to knock out Akpejiori and claim an attention-grabbing victory.
Vlad Panin TKO4 Dakota Linger ... Junior middleweight Vlad Panin scored a fourth-round TKO stoppage of outgunned Dakota Linger at the Zuffa Boxing event at T-Mobile Arena. Panin (25-2) started fast, and nearly earned a first-round stoppage when he hurt Linger to the body, then unloaded a barrage of shots as Linger covered up in the corner. Linger (17-8-3) managed to weather the storm and survive the round, though the ringside doctor advised he would be keeping “a close eye on” him after a rough end to the first round. Panin continued to build up his punch count. In round four, a pair of solid body shots backed Linger away towards the ropes, and Panin unloaded another heavy combination that forced referee Thomas Taylor to step in and wave off the fight to spare Linger further punishment. It gave Panin his second win under the Zuffa Boxing banner and extended his current knockout streak to four fights as he called for a big step up in competition next time out.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Oswaldo Molina won a battle of the undefeated lightweights as he claimed a unanimous decision victory over Pablo Rubio. Molina came into the bout with fewer fights to his name, but looked half a step ahead of Rubio throughout their six-round contest. The Mexican’s superior footwork and cleaner work saw him edge the rounds as the bout progressed, though neither man was able to land anything that put the other in any real trouble. In the end, the 19-year-old looked a cut above his opponent as he claimed a wide unanimous decision victory. One judge gave the teenager all six rounds, while the other two each gave him five as he moved to 10-0 with a decisive win. Rubio, meanwhile, takes the first L of his career and drops to 15-1.
Undefeated super middleweight Abel Gonzalez bounced back from the first knockdown of his career to claim a unanimous decision victory over Raul Salomon (16-5-1) of Mexico. Salomon sprung a surprise late in the opening round when he stepped in close and dropped Gonzalez with a clubbing short right over the top. The Mexican vet followed up with a solid round in the second, too. But from round three onward, Gonzalez warmed to the task and pushed the pace, scoring consistently while being more defensively responsible against the ropes. And after eight rounds, it was Gonzalez’s work that impressed the judges more as he earned scores of 77-74 across the board for a unanimous decision victory, improving his perfect professional record to 9-0.
Zuffa's preliminary card opened up with Ryan Garcia’s younger brother Sean kicking off the night with a majority decision victory over Abraham Morales in the lightweight division. Garcia (8-1-1) showcased some flashy hands and decent hand speed against Morales (4-2), who applied constant forward pressure throughout the six-round contest. But that pressure was made to count against the 32-year old when a smart counter shot from Garcia dropped him late in the third round. A harsh-looking point deduction for Garcia in the fifth gave Morales some late hope, and he enjoyed his best round of the fight. But, despite that setback, Garcia boxed his way through the final round to secure the majority decision victory on the scorecards, with the judges scoring the bout 56-56 and 58-54 (twice).
