Results + Scorecards | Zuffa Boxing 01

The Cork native looked extremely comfortable sharing the ring with a former world title challenger, and had the Mexican veteran on the back foot through the majority of the fight as he consistently connected with heavy shots to the head and body, with his southpaw left hand having particular success.

There was drama in Round 6, when Walsh was caught off-balance and touched down, drawing an eight-count from the referee. But the Irishman continued, undeterred as he outworked and outstruck Ocampo throughout the remainder of the fight as he earned a landslide unanimous decision victory.

After his victory, Walsh declared himself satisfied with his night’s work after delivering a more complete performance than his last fight against Fernando Vargas.

“I feel a lot better,” he told Zuffa Boxing analyst Max Kellerman.

As the action continued, DeAnda attempted to assert himself with combinations, but Rodriguez’s superior footwork and shot selection saw him rack up the rounds as the Mexican took charge of the bout and never allowed “The Native Nightmare” a clear route into the contest. 

After four rounds that saw Rodriguez rack up a number of clean head shots on DeAnda, the doctor was called to DeAnda’s corner, with the fighter revealing that he was suffering from double vision. That left the medic with no option but to pull DeAnda from the fight, and handing Rodriguez a fourth-round victory via TKO. 

That pattern continued through the middle rounds, with Rodriguez landing the more effective work, despite constantly being forced back by the relentless Sandoval. One body shot from “Sugar” Cain crept through Rodriguez’s defenses to cause a few problems in the fourth round but overall, “Hammer Hands” showed excellent defensive skills up close to take most of Sandoval’s shots on his arms.

As the fight reached the halfway stage, Rodriguez started to show signs of fatigue as Sandoval’s constant pressure began to have an effect. But, just as Sandoval looked to be taking over in the sixth, Rodriguez answered a sustained period of pressure with a cracking two-punch combination to remind his opponent that he still has significant power at his disposal.

The seventh round produced some breathless action as the pair engaged in a non-stop tear-up against the ropes, with Sandoval pushing Rodriguez back and throwing volume, while Rodriguez covered up, then exploded with powerful two-punch combinations.

After the chaos of the seventh round, the pace understandably slowed a little in the closing rounds as the efforts from both men started to take their toll. But the pair continued to battle all the way to the scorecards.

The judges all valued Rodriguez’s heavier shots over Sandoval’s pressure and volume as the scored the fight to “Hammer Hands” by a significant margin, with the scores reading 99-91, 98-92, 99-91. With that win, Rodriguez improves to 25-1. while Sandoval (17-1) falls to the first defeat of his professional career. 

Trinidad continued to stalk Ornelas, throwing heavy shots, and he scored a second knockdown in the Round 3 with a grazing left hook. Then, in the closing seconds of the round, another left hand sent Ornelas to the canvas for the third time.

A confident Trinidad grinned from his corner and exclaimed, “I’m living the dream, baby!” before coming out for Round 4 in search of a finish. But Ornelas enjoyed his best round of the fight as he kept the undefeated knockout artist at bay with some solid shots of his own. That round gave Ornelas some much-needed confidence after the trio of early knockdowns, and the Las Vegas-based featherweight continued to box smartly as he frustrated a head-hunting Trinidad through the middle rounds.

Then, with Ornelas working his way into the fight, disaster struck when he dislocated his shoulder at the end of the eighth round. The doctor was called to check on Ornelas, who had popped the shoulder back in, and declared himself good to continue. But with his right arm looking almost unusable, Trinidad closed in, looking to claim a late stoppage.

Both men got down to business immediately in a fast-paced first round, with Diaz having the better of the exchanges in the opening three minutes. 

Gutierrez, who had returned from a lengthy year-long layoff himself and accepted the fight on three weeks’ notice, looked sharp and confident as he looked to trade with Diaz. But his willingness to stand and trade almost ended in disaster at the end of the second round when he was rocked by a big left hook from Diaz. Fortunately for the San Antonio native, the shot landed in the closing seconds of the round, leaving Diaz unable to take advantage.

Zuffa Boxing analyst and pound-for-pound great Andre Ward noted the change in Diaz’s fighting style, with the Las Vegas fighter adopting a much more aggressive, power-punching approach to his previous bouts. That approach gave Gutierrez the opportunity to step in and land combinations, and the Gilberto Garza-trained fighter enjoyed some success through the middle rounds through his work rate as he punched his way into range and connected with body and head. But as the fight entered the final two rounds, Diaz upped his output again and connected with big shots as the pair battled all the way to the final bell.

In the final reckoning, the judges rewarded Diaz’s more impactful work as he moved to 14-0 (3 KOs) and reignited his career after more than a year away. Gutierrez drops to 13-3 (1 KO).

Harris landed his best shot of the fight in the third round, as he timed a left-hook counter perfectly to send Cardenas backwards, but not down. That success gave “Hitman” the confidence to up his output a little, but Cardenas still held sway with his higher output and shot selection as the matchup headed into the second half.

After a closely-contested fourth round that saw the pace increase, the action continued into the fifth, with Cardenas’ mobility helping give him the advantage of the slightly more static Harris, who found himself clipped with shots at the end of combinations a the round wore on. One such shot from Cardenas – a big right hand – drew a reaction from the Meta APEX crowd as he connected with one of the cleanest shots of the fight.

Harris headed into the final round with his corner’s advice to let his shots go ringing in his ears, but it was Cardenas who upped the intensity with greater effect as he scored with some solid shots in the closing moments of the fight.

After a well-contested, technical matchup, Cardenas took the unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the bout 60-54, 60-54, 58-56. 

Correa continued to push forward and throw punches in bunches, but Meriwether parried them well, then answered with sharp, accurate scoring shots to head and body, with that right over the top proving particularly effective.

Meriwether turned up the power in the second round, and a beautiful three-piece combination ended with a big left hook that sent Correa’s mouthpiece flying as “C Money” went staggering backwards. The Nampa, Idaho native continued to throw shots, but was starting to look outgunned as Meriwether closed out the round with two more right hands that found their mark.

After two decisive rounds for Meriwether, Correa started the third determined to assert himself, and he stepped in and unloaded several multi-punch combinations in attempt to work the body and slow Meriwether down. “King” appeared to be in defensive mode for much of the round as he covered up and dropped his output, but still managed to sting Correa in the closing seconds as he reminded the judges his punches carried the greater threat. The fourth continued in a similar vein, who Meriwether focused on quality, rather than quantity, with his shots as he landed the cleaner work, albeit at a lower frequency than he did early on.

Correa kept his foot on the gas through the final two rounds as he continued to chip away in the hope of landing a fight-changing shot. But it was Meriwether who came closest to finishing the fight in the final round as he hurt Correa with a thumping right hook. Correa refused to back down, though, and emptied the tank with a breathless flurry in the closing seconds as the bout went the distance.

The scorecards reflected Meriwether’s technical superiority as he took the unanimous decision with scores of 60-54, 60-54, 59-55, but Correa’s gritty display ensures that he’ll be a tough test for any of the fellow lightweight prospects in Zuffa Boxing. With that victory, Meriwether improves to 10-0 (4 KOs), while Correa drops to 5-1 (4 KOs).

Ramos continued his aggressive approach in Rounds 3 and 4 as he persisted with his strategy of staying in the pocket and loading up, but Nash exhibited some excellent footwork as he worked angles for counters and landed clean with eye-catching shots. But, as the fourth stanza progressed, it was noticeable that his jab had started to miss, and his output had started to drop – a clear outcome of the pace being pushed on him by Ramos.

The toe-to-toe action continued through the fifth round, with Nash’s shots appearing to carry more power, while Ramos’s inside work offered a higher-volume offense in another closely-contested round. Ramos briefly touched down towards the end of the round, but it was correctly ruled a slip by the referee.