Late substitute Hector Garcia performed like the world champion he was substituted for on Saturday night, beating and knocking out highly-rated Chris Colbert for a unanimous decision in a 12th knockout match Featherweight superweight WBA ring. a Premier Boxing Champions event from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Garcia (15-0, 10 KOs) replaced WBA lightweight world champion Roger Gutierrez less than three weeks ago after Gutierrez was forced to withdraw due to a positive COVID-19 test. Despite having little time to prepare, nampaw Garcia used his height and powerful left hand to overwhelm Colbert (16-1, 6 KOs) with scores of 118-109, 118-109 and 119- 108.
“I have to thank everyone in my corner, Ismael Salas and Bob Santos, and everyone who has worked with me,” Garcia said. “I feel great. Three weeks ago I definitely knew my life was going to change. My coaches gave me the confidence to win this fight.”
“I’m sorry to let everyone down, he’s the better guy today,” Colbert said afterward, his arm wrapping around Garcia in an encouraging embrace. “I accept my losses as if I won. I want to run again and hopefully we can do it again. No excuses at all. He was a better person today.”
Garcia was the aggressor throughout the match, knocking Colbert down for the first time in his career with an own goal in the seventh inning that sent Colbert falling backwards, his legs flying in the air. Colbert stood up, but Garcia jumped on top of him again, stalking him around the ring.
“In the ninth and 10th rounds, I hit him really hard,” said Garcia. “I knew I had him. I know he won’t be able to box anymore. “
Colbert was never able to stay on track and showed little of the aggression and skills that made him one of the most talked about young boxers in the sport.
“Everybody pressured me in the ring,” Colbert said. “That is nothing new. I’d like to have a rematch if I can. Congratulations to Hector and his team. They deserved this win tonight. I don’t feel myself. At the end of the day, I’m still ‘Primetime’ on SHOWTIME. “
In the end, it was Garcia, the 2016 Dominican Olympic athlete, who performed as a boxer in favor, chastising Colbert and pushing him back and potentially winning a title against Gutierrez.
“I want to fight Gutierrez for the world championship,” Garcia said. “I worked too hard to get to where I am today.”
Once the valedictorian of his high school, Gary Antuanne Russell (15-0, 15 KOs) passed the biggest test of his career with flying colors, stopping former world champion Viktor Postol ( 31-4, 12 KOs) abruptly in the tenth and final round of their ultralight bout in the SHOWTIME co-main event.
After prompting action for much of the match, Russell hurt Postol with a left slash in the tenth round and was followed by a flurry of leverage and right. When Postol went up against the ropes, referee Mike Ortega intervened and abandoned it at 2:31 of tenth, to the surprise of Postol, who shrugged and appeared to be flustered at addition time. Russell held on to his knockout record while Postol dropped out of the competition for the second straight time.
Russell is the 2016 U.S. Olympic gymnast, who owns a 3-1 amateur record against currently undefeated heavyweight Jaron Ennis, and he fought as one of the top contenders in the 140-pound division. on Saturday.
“The performance spoke for itself,” said Russell. “You see (Postol) got some distance with Terence Crawford, and I just stopped him. I believe I’m ready for another uphill battle.”
The two hugged and kissed each other in the ring when the match ended, the respect between the boxers was on full display. Postol fought Saturday with his wife and their two 5-year-old sons in his hometown of Brovary, Ukraine in peril as Russian troops invaded the country.
Russell talks about whether he feels sorry for his opponent. “I tiptoed to him. His country is literally at war but we are in the squared circle doing our job. This man is coming to hurt him and I am coming to hurt him. “
And Russell did it consistently on Saturday. Gary Russell Jr., the former title holder who lost his belt last month, drove around the corner on Saturday with their father, Gary Sr. was relegated to the arena due to health reasons, and he told his brother to “break the will” of Postol during the match. . Russell forced, fought aggressively and repeatedly pinned Postol to the ropes.
Postol had some success with his right hand and jab, especially in the ninth minute when he landed with his right hand, but Russell displayed a granite chin and counter-attacked effectively and in tenth he made a sharp combination, showing off his hand speed, which resulted in the goal, the first time Postol was stopped. Russell led the scoreboard in injury time with scores of 89-82, 89-82 and 88-83.
“I can’t do what I want in the ring,” Postol said. “My legs are not there and my arms are not as good as I need them to be. I’ve fought fighters much better than Gary Russell, but for some reason I couldn’t perform to my full potential. I’m here to win tonight. Unfortunately, I was not able to achieve my goal. ”
With his cheerleader, former two-division champion Marcos Maidana urging him from the ring, Argentina’s Fernando Martinez punished Jerwin Ancajas over 12 rounds to claim his IBF children’s bantamweight title. passed a unanimous decision in a star performance in the opening game of the television show SHOWTIME .
After exchanging hugs, handshakes, and cheers during Thursday’s final press conference, Martinez (14-0.8 KOs) and Ancajas (33-2-2, 22 KOs) tied. elegant and take part in an action thriller.
But it was Martinez, a growing Mike Tyson fan, who delivered the heaviest hits, confronting Ancajas and swinging his arms and winning by scores of 117-11, 118-110 and 118. -110.
Martinez, whose father died while he was an amateur and helped introduce him to boxing, held back tears as he expressed how much victory meant to him.
“This moment is special for me,” Martinez said. “It is heartbreaking that my father is not here at this important moment in my life, but I know that he oversaw it. I am very happy for my corner and the people who have supported me over the years. I would like to thank SHOWTIME for their support. I want to thank Jerwin for giving me this opportunity. I am very grateful for this. ”
Martinez delivered 421 electric strikes, a new divisional record and 427 total punches, forcing Ancajas to be taken to the hospital as a precaution after the match.
“I am very grateful to the Martinez team for giving me the opportunity to make this match,” Ancajas said. “Yes, I want the rematch and I will do everything to achieve my goal. I learned a lot in this fight and he is a great challenger.”
The two constantly experience terrible fights throughout the action. But it was Martinez who hurt Ancajas more than the champ and midway through the ninth and tenth rounds, Ancajas’ corner asked him if he was fine to continue. Ancajas responded by shoving Martinez in the 10th round with his right hand, and he sent Martinez thrashing again with a left straight shot only for Martinez to respond with his own circular punches in a snap. non-stop action.
