Ruslan Provodnikov and Chris Algieri discuss the fight on June 14 in Brooklyn

Ringside report by TSS Special Correspondent Raymundo Dioses… INDIO, CA – Alexis Rocha took on undefeated Santiago Dominguez on July 19, 2024 at Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in a live event presented by DAZN, earning a hard-fought unanimous points victory for the NABO welterweight title. The 10-round bout featured plenty of action on a hot night that saw temperatures reach 40 degrees in the Southern California desert.

Rocha (25-2, 16 KOs) tried to stop Dominguez from the start and began throwing combinations that led to his impressive win. Dominguez backed Rocha into the ropes and tried to land some punches of his own. The fight went back and forth until Rocha found a late rhythm towards the end of the fight.

Rocha began to back up Dominguez (27-1, 20 KOs) with strikes and catches inside, with Dominguez getting slowed down by the impact of Rocha’s punches. Rocha kept his hands busy, catching Dominguez when he stepped out of range, and he began to control the center of the ring and the conditions of the fight as the fight progressed.

Judge Fernando Villareal scored the fight 98-92, while Carla Caiz and Pat Russell scored it 99-91 for Rocha, who is now in title contention in the 147-pound division.

“I wanted to show everybody that not only am I a firecracker, but I can use my IQ and that’s what I needed,” Rocha said. “I knew Dominguez was going to come forward, he just keeps coming forward, so I wanted to show that. From now on, it’s more about my mind. I want to be very alert in the ring and use my mind. That’s all you’re going to see going forward. I’ve got a great team behind me, Golden Boy, and we’ll just see what’s next. I’m right there. I’m still knocking on the door. The belts are going to be opened soon, so I’m just knocking on the door now.”

The fighters used combinations effectively and often, landing evenly until Rocha found his timing in the second half of the fight and sealed the win. A solid left hook from Rocha gave Dominguez pause as Rocha closed in and slowed Dominguez’s counterfire.

Dominguez landed a one-two combination to the chin early in the seventh round. The action moved to the center of the ring, where the fighters traded blows that had the fans cheering. Rocha threw a combination and landed a straight right that was effective throughout the fight.

A combination of punches nearly put Dominguez down in the later rounds, but Dominguez came back and slammed Rocha into the ropes. As the fight progressed, more clashes broke out in the middle of the ring and both fighters went on the offensive, with Rocha keeping the upper hand.

Rocha often fought back with a jab to Dominguez’s head and body. A head-body combination worked for Rocha, and one-two combinations followed by body shots came from Rocha, who was making strides as an offensive scoring fighter.

In the final round, time was stopped by referee Ray Corona when Dominguez took a blow to the leg. When the action resumed, a series of exchanges ended with Rocha landing the final blow. Not only did Rocha land at will in the second half of the fight, he also made Dominguez miss, and things ended after ten completed rounds when the fighters began striking once again at the tick of the ten-second bell.

Rocha was the youngest fighter to win a gold medal at the Junior Olympics at age 14. He began his professional career in 2016 under the Golden Boy Promotions banner, reaching a record of 16-0 before losing to Rashidi Ellis in October 2020. Rocha did not lose again until three years later, in an all-California bout against Giovani Santillan in October 2023. He is the younger brother of former world title challenger Ronny Rios.

Rocha lost the fight against Santillan by KO, but ahead of the fight against Dominguez, the new NABO title holder was able to save himself with a comeback victory over Frederick Lawson in March 2024.

Secondary function

In the evening’s co-main event, Gregory Morales (17-1, 9 KOs) defeated Jayvon Garnett in 10 rounds after a featherweight bout that started fast and finished slow.

The first round was a sort of dry run for both fighters, with each trying to gain ground. The exchanges continued into the second round, until Morales, who last won on points in the Jaime Munguia-John Ryder fight in Arizona in January 2024, was able to string his punches together with combinations.

Garnett landed a combination of his own early in the second and third rounds, and as the third round wore on, Garnett, of Cincinnati, Ohio, let his hands go. Hard-working hands lead to good things in the boxing ring. The fight then turned slightly in Morales’ favor 10 seconds into the round, when a few punches were followed by an audible body shot.

In the fourth round, Morales continued his two-handed body strikes, which Garnett derided as ineffective. Morales marched forward and resumed his body attack. Garnett was busy in the middle of the fight, but Morales remained composed and pressed forward despite Garnett’s attack. In the sixth round, a powerful punch came from Garnett that did not faze Morales, and Morales was able to respond at the end of the round.

The action became dull in round seven as fighter fatigue set in. Morales was finally able to back up Garnett (10-2, 5 KOs) with right hooks in the eighth round, and in the ninth round Morales continued to push Garnett against the ropes. Towards the end of the round, punches landed from both fighters.

The final fight was a three-minute toss-up style bout, with each fighter looking to either score a stoppage or win a deciding round on the judge’s scorecards. The round ended with respect as the fighters exchanged pleasantries after 10 rounds of blows.

The scores were 96-94, 98-92 and 99-91, all for Morales.

Coachella’s Flores remains undefeated with KO against Meza

Promising young boxer Grant Flores from the Coachella Valley scored an impressive stoppage victory over Juan Meza in a super welterweight bout.

Early on, Flores (6-0, 5 KOs) judged Meza’s distance well, leading to a rousing right hand to end the first round. Flores shook Meza up again in the second round and Meza showed signs of exhaustion. Fiery right hands sent Meza to the red corner and after a few more strikes, referee Ray Corona had seen enough and stopped the fight at 1:54 of the second round.

At the ripe old age of 19, Flores is trained by renowned trainer Joel Diaz and just three weeks ago at the same venue, he had an impressive fight where he defeated Josias Gonzalez by knockout at the Golden Boy Fight Night on June 27, 2024.

CHAVEZ DEFEATS KITANI IN FIGHT OF THE NIGHT

In a hard-fought featherweight duel, Jorge Chavez (12-0, 8 KOs) and Riku Kitani earned Fight of the Night honors in their entertaining six-round featherweight bout that ended with a point victory for Chavez.

The punchers fought on equal terms, following the featherweight division’s method of throwing punches in droves. The action took place primarily in the center of the ring, where each fighter struck and exchanged blows. Each three-minute round was used as a battlefield for the fighters.

A clash of heads midway through the fight briefly halted the action in round four. Chavez threw the classic one-two combination throughout the fight, but Kitani (8-3, 3 KOs) answered with punches of his own. Referee Raymond Armendariz had the fighters slapping each other’s gloves at the start of the final round, in which Chavez sneaked up and landed, and Kitani countered in a fight that ended with cheers from the crowd.

With 60-54 all points were for Chavez.

Hometown favorite Lua delights audience with KO against Olguin

In the televised opening bout, Indio, California native Bryan Lua (10-0, 5 KOs) dominated his short-notice opponent Diuhl Olguin with quick hands and solid ringwork, leading to a knockout victory. The confident desert product bruised his opponent with right punches and uppercuts.

Lua separated the ring well and landed strikes at will against Olguin, who took the punishment well and even caught Lua with a right hand before the bell sounded to end the second round. The ringside doctor checked for a cut on Olguin before the third round. The dominance continued in the third frame as Lua landed two straight body shots that easily lifted Olguin off the mat.

Another uppercut weakened Olguin towards the end of the fifth round, which delighted the home crowd. Lua ran at Olguin at the start of the final round and applied pressure until he finally won by stoppage at 2:03 and Team Olguin decided to throw in the towel.

GUZMAN SCORES KNOCKOUT NO. 5 IN FIVE FIGHTS

Middleweight contender Fabian Guzman (5-0, 5 KOs) continued his knockout streak with a first-round win over Las Vegas native Corey Cook.

Guzman started hesitantly against his left-handed opponent, warming up in the middle and then knocking Cook down with a right hand that dropped Cook to one knee. Referee Raymond Armendariz counted to 10 and Guzman was given the knockout at 2:14 of the first round.

PHOENIX NATIVE IMPROVES TO 3-0

In the opening fight of the evening, Phoenix, Arizona native Juan Estrada impressed in a four-round battle against his opponent Dyllon Cervantes. Estrada (3-0, 1 KO) threw effective combinations from the start and worked both the body and the mind throughout the fight.

The final score of the fight was 40-36 for Estrada.

DAZN commentators: Beto Duran, Sergio Mora

Fighters present: WBC flyweight titleholder Ricardo Sandoval, Bektemir Melikuziev

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