Vargas Retains Title Against Game Negrete/Acosta Claims Vacant Title

In the co-main event at Madison Square Garden in New York, despite suffering severe gashes over both eyes caused by accidental headbutts, WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Rey Vargas (31-0, 22 KOs) defended his title a second time,rolling to a 12-round unanimous decision victory over a very game Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete (17-1, 7 KOs). The scores were 119-109 twice and 120-108.

“I am glad that we got the win, and I continue being unbeaten with my belt,” Vargas said. “It was difficult finding my rhythm at the beginning of the fight, and the cuts did not help. I have the humility to say that I made my share of mistakes, but I feel that Negrete fought very dirty, and was not a very good boxer.”

In a battle pitting Puerto Rico against Mexico for the vacant WBO Junior Flyweight World Championship, Angel “Tito” Acosta (17-1, 17 KOs) of San Juan, Puerto Rico landed huge shots throughout the early and middle rounds before knocking out Neuvo Leon, Meixco’s Juan “Pinky” Alejo (25-5-1, 15 KOs) with a vicious left hook in the 10th round of a scheduled 12.

“It’s taken me five years to get here, and I’m cherishing this moment for me and for Puerto Rico,” Acosta said. “I’ve learned a lot since my last fight for a world title against Kosei Tanaka, and this fight proves that I learned and fixed all I needed to win a world championship. My next steps will be up to my promoters, but I know I am in good hands.”

Santa Ana, California’s Ronny Rios (29-2, 13 KOs) used a combination of left hooks to the body and right hands upstairs to dominate Monteria, Colombia’s Deivis Julio (19-4, 11 KOs) over 10 rounds in a match up of featherweights. Rios took home a unanimous decision by the scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 97-93.

“It was an ugly win, but we got to accomplish it on the undercard of Miguel Cotto,” Rios said. “He was a southpaw, with an awkward style. He was also a veteran, so he had his little tricks. Overall, this was a huge motivation, and I’m just glad to get back in my groove.”

In the opening fight of the evening, welterweight prospect and Brooklyn native Zachary “Zungry” Ochoa (18-1, 7 KOs) landed early and often, en route to a unanimous six-round shutout decision over Tijuana, Mexico’s Erick Martinez (14-10-1, 8 KOs).

“This puts me in a great spot in my career,” Ochoa said. “I was shaking off a lot of dust since I haven’t been able to fight consistently, but this proves to me that I’m still worthy of the sport. I still have work to do, but when I was able to land my shots I was able to connect them crisp and effectively. I hope that I’ll be able to fight a lot more this year.”

Source Golden Boy Promotions