Anthony “Stacks” Saldana
Under the night sky in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Ring City USA brought fight fans a stacked card live from a round-about outside of the Municipal Boxing Gym Felix Pagan Pintor. As Puerto Rican boxing legends Miguel Cotto and Ivan Calderon took in the action, the former undefeated WBC Continental Americas Super Welterweight Champion and heavy hitter Serhii “El Flaco” Bohachuk (18-1, 18 KOs) would be stopped by Brandon Adams (22-3, 14 KOs).
Originally scheduled for last December but rescheduled due to Bohachuk contracting Covid-19. Tonight though it wasn’t Covid-19 Bohachuk needed to worry about it was Brandon “The Cannon ” Adams. Early on Bohachuk moved straight forward with precision right hands as Adams countered and landed some good shots of his own in a fast paced, hotly contested battle. In the 3rd round Adams would be warned then deducted a point for excessive low blows.
By the end of the 3rd round the heavy humidity had affected the footwork of the fighters as both Adams and Bohachuk slipped and slid all over the ring. The referee would grab a mop in between rounds and try to dry up the moisture that clearly had become a hindrance in the fight.
The middle rounds would have Bohachuk using distance and straight rights to break down Adams who’s offensive output had clearly slowed down. It was in the 8th round and in need of a knockout that Adams, down big on all the scorecards would catch Bohachuk with a few solid lefts stunning him, then land a ferocious left hook to chin of Bohachuk dropping him.
Bohachuk would beat the count but it was waived off as Bohachuk was still clearly out on his feet. After the fight Adams stated “First and foremost I’d like to give praise to the most high. I had to dig deep and no matter what was happening it was me against them, and had to do what I could to get the knockout. It was really slippery in there and it was hard for me to land my punches cause my legs weren’t underneath me. But I’m a professional and had to figure it out, and this is what it takes to become a world champion.”
In the Co-main event Bryan Chevalier (15-1, 12 KO’s) made quick work against the Peruvian Carlos Zambrano (26-2, 11 KOs) Zambrano who last entered the ring four years ago in a loss to Claudio Marrero was no match for the prospect Chevalier who used quick combinations and solid hooks to hurt Zambrano early in the 1st round. Later in the 1st round Chevalier would catch Zambrano with a rabbit punch that floored him. The referee would call it a legal knockdown and Zambrano would beat the count. In the second and third rounds Chevalier would continue to use precise punching and brutal body shots to eventually drop Zambrano two more times and knock him out at the 2:21mark of the 3rd round. “I had the youth and he had the experience” Stated Chevalier after the fight. “I had to adapt and I got the victory. I’m very happy and content with my performance and I know I’m the best featherweight in Puerto Rico.”
To kick off the television portion of the card Puerto Rico’s undefeated prospect, Danielito “Zorro” Zorrilla (15-0, 11 KOs) remained undefeated as he walked away with a technical decision victory over the always tough Ruslan Madiyev (13-2, 5 KOs) early in the bout Zorrilla used a stiff jab and good timing to outbox Madiyev. Eventually Madiyev would cut off the ring and use inside pressure to bring the fight to Zorrilla. During the middle rounds it was the counter punching and jab of Zorilla against the thudding shots of Madiyev that began to break Zorrilla down. In the 5th round however the roughhouse tactics and excess illegal rabbit punching of Madiyev cost him a point. Zorrilla would really begin to slow down in the later rounds and get tagged and stunned several times moving straight back. Madiyev would again hit Zorrilla with a shot behind the head, dropping Zorrilla who would crawl into the corner. The referee would give Zorrilla five minutes to recover, but after the five minutes Zorrilla would be unable to continue. The fight would eventually be stopped at the 1:16 mark of round 8 and the judges would come back with the scorecards of 77-75 in favor of Zorrilla 76-73 in favor of Madiyev and 77-74 for Zorrilla. After the fight Zorrilla would be taken to a local hospital for observation.
Also on the card Fernando Vargas Jr. (2-0, 2 KOs) gets a big first round stoppage over Salome Torres (0-2) dropping Torres twice before the fight was eventually waived off. After the fight Vargas Jr. stated . “I feel good we didn’t get the knockout but we got the TKO and we are going to continue to improve with every fight. It’s my second pro fight and I’m going to continue to grow.
Other Results
Welterweight, Jorge A. Diaz-Flores (1-0, 1 KO) gets a knockout victory in his pro-debut over Luis Felipe Munoz Crespo (0-1)
Lightweight, Harold Laguna moves to (2-0, 2 KO’s) with his1st round stoppage of Darwin Alvarez Matias (0-1)
