On Saturday, June 11, 2016, three-time world champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez and WBO Featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko will go mano a mano for Martinez’s WBO junior lightweight world title.
The co-featured bout will feature Puerto Rico’s Felix “El Diamante” Verdejo, who will risk his WBO Latino lightweight crown, undefeated record and No. 2 world rating against Juan Jose Martinez, one day before the famed Puerto Rican Day Parade, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The two bouts, scheduled for 12 and 10 rounds, respectively, will be televised live on HBO beginning at 10:00 pm, EST/PST.
The non-televised undercard will feature the US debut of two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time world amateur champion Zou Shiming from The Peoples Republic of China in a 10-round flyweight bout.
Also on the non-televised portion of the card will be Top Rank up-and-comers, Julian “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez and Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed.
Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
RESULTS:
Roman Martinez vs. Vasyl Lomachenko – 12 rounds Anyone doubting Lomachenko’s punching power needs to have their head checked. Lomachenko just knocked out a guy who went 24 rounds with Orlando Salido and was never particularly hurt. Lomachenko is deadly and a marvelous technician to boot. Enough said.
Felix Verdejo vs. Juan Jose Martinez – 10 rounds Verdejo started off a bit like the Felix Verdejo we’ve come to know too much recently–running, hitting weak shots on the fly–but in the fifth round he sat down on his punches and nailed Martinez with a hard right hand, wobbling him. Verdejo jumped on his man and ended it halfway through the contest.
Zou Shiming vs. Jozsef Ajtai – 10 round I now know what that one HBO producer was talking about when he said to his camera crew before the card started, “Yeah Shiming…that–yeah that’s gonna suck.”
Sort of feel for Zou because he spent the entire time dealing with a booing crowd when this was supposed to be his coming out party in America. Not sure how he performs when faced with a guy who will stand and trade but against a track star like Ajtai he just did his best to try to cut down the ring and work with what he could. A dreadful fight. Welcome to America, Zou.
RESULT: Shiming UD10 Ajtai
Jose Gonzalez vs. Sean Acosta – 4 rounds Very tough fight to score, but a very fun little brawl. Both guys went at it for the entirety of the four rounds, leaving nothing behind in the ring. Gonzalez appeared to win the early rounds, but Acosta came on late and did enough to impress two of the judges enough to earn a majority draw. Acosta still doesn’t have a single victory on his record.
RESULT: Majority Draw
Christopher Diaz vs. Neftali Campos – 8 rounds Started as a fun, energetic scrap but quickly devolved into a one-sided beatdown with Diaz being the ring general throughout. Both guys were throwing bombs early in the fight but Diaz’s body work caught up to Campos, slowing him down so Diaz could pound Campos’ damaged right eye.
Referee David Fields stopped the bout with less than a minute left, opting to save Campos’ health rather than his valor.
RESULT: Diaz TKO8 Campos
Adam Mate vs. Julian Rodriguez – 8 rounds Quick fight! “Hammer Hands” Rodriguez was way too much for Adam Mate, knocking him down three times in the first round on his way to a starting-frame stoppage.
RESULT: Rodriguez TKO1 Mate
Mike Reed vs. Abraham Cordero – 8 rounds Mike Reed may not have the best resume, but the kid comes to fight. After a slow start, Reed opened up the fight with a vicious combination at the end of the first round, knocking Abraham Cordero to the set of his trunks.
Cordero was saved by the bell but assured Reed he wasn’t yet finished by landing a number of tough shots back on Reed in the coming rounds.
Reed poured on the pressure for the next five rounds, landing an accumulation of blows that forced the referee to step in and stop the bout before unnecessary punishment began to take hold.
RESULT: Reed TKO6 Cordero
Heriberto Delgado vs. Jean Carlos Rivera – 6 rounds Rivera took the first round by establishing the jab–landed a few power shots to the jaw of Delgado. By the second, his shots were getting more diverse. He took to Delgado’s body and seemed to have him hurt by the end of the round.
Action picked up in the fifth round and River appeared momentarily stunned after taking a shot in a flash exchange, but it wasn’t enough for Delgado to have won the round.
At the start of the final round Rivera slammed Delgado with a counter right hook and floored him. Delgado got up, holding his hands in the air proving his health, but Rivera jumped on him and the referee called a halt to the bout.
RESULT: Rivera TKO6 Delgado
