Main Event
(Photo: Goldenboy Promotions)
In the main event, Vergil Ortiz (17-0 17KO) retained his WBO International Welterweight Championship over Egidijus Kavaliauskas (22-2-1 18KO).
Going into the fight, it was well-known that Kavaliauskas would be dangerous for Ortiz as a seasoned veteran with established punching power.
Early, Ortiz held a tight defensive shell while sticking his jab to the head and body of Kavaliauskas. Kavaliauskas threw some less effective jabs but committed to the right hand first. In the second round, Kavaliauskas saw some success from his right hand, seeming to temporarily wobble Ortiz, who responded by welcoming Kavaliauskas to throw more. Ortiz showed that either he wasn’t hurt, or he doesn’t fear being stopped.
Just when Ortiz looked like he may be feeling the pressure of the fight, he landed a left hook in the third round that put Kavaliauskas down for the first time in the bout.
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 15, 2021
Ortiz took over the fight from there. Kavaliauskas was nothing short of a worthy adversary but Ortiz continued putting his jabs together and began knifing uppercuts to the body of Kavaliauskas. Later in the fight, he began timing a right hand over the top that no one – especially not Kavaliauskas – saw coming. Oddly enough, he didn’t throw it behind the jab very often, he just stepped in range and fired it. It was brilliant and visibly confused Kavaliauskas.
In the 8th round, Kavaliauskas finally had enough when he was put on the canvas four times, once with a body shot and three times upstairs. Ortiz was crowned the International WBO Champion and certainly looks to fight for a world title before this time next year.
Photo: Stacey Verbeek
George & Alex Rincon finished yet another card 2-0 on the undercard. The brothers, who both represent Carrolton, Texas put on masterful performances right in their backyard.
George Rincon
George, the older of the two brothers, defeated Nikolai Buzolin via unanimous decision. He made it a point to show his power early and often, ripping shots to the body of Buzolin that projected a thudding noise throughout the arena.
Buzolin switched stances often throughout the fight which seemed to come to the surprise of everyone but George. At no point did it seem to confuse or discourage George. He continued to put power shots together and chipped away at his opponent, securing an easy unanimous decision victory, improving to 9-0 (6KO)
Alex Rincon
Alex, the older brother, opened the fight card with a dominating fight that I can only imagine was very easy to score.
His opponent, Sanny Duversonne didn’t roll over, he came to fight, but Alex did an incredible job moving his feet, pivoting, and stifling any offense Duversonne tried to offer. Even considering his reach disadvantage, Alex controlled the range, pace, and exchanges on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Alex Martin
The undercard had another stand-out performance from Chigaco Illinois native, Alex Martin. After defeating two fighters from the promotion, Martin signed to Goldenboy and now has a promotional home.
Early in the fight, Martin moved fluidly around the ring and scored at will. His opponent, Josec Ruiz seemed content to chase Martin but was met with an educated right hook upstairs. As the rounds went on, Martin began taking control of the fight and investing to the body as well. The gritty and tough Ruiz took all Martin gave him but couldn’t score anything of his own. Martin was awarded what was pretty much a landslide unanimous decision victory.
Full fight card results:
Vergil Ortiz Jr (17-0 17KO) def. Egidijus Kavaliauskas (22-2-1 18 KO)
Roger Gutierrez (26-3-1 20KO) def. (Rene Alvarado 32-10 21KO) via Unanimous decision
Felix Alvarado (26-2 31KO) def. Israel Vazquez (10-5-2 7KO) via KO RD 1
George Rincon (11-0 7KO) def. Nikolai Buzolin (8-4-1 4KO) via unanimous decision
Alex Martin (16-3 6KO) def. Josec Ruiz 23-5-3 (16 KO) via unanimous decision
Alex Rincon (9-0 6KO) def. Sanny Duversonne 11-4-2 8KO) via Unanimous decision
