On Friday, July 20, 2018, Golden Boy Promotions returned for another edition of their Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN series at the Grand Oasis Arena in Cancun, Mexico.
In the main event, unbeaten Washington DC native, Lamont Roach Jr. (17-0-1, 7 KOs) entered to the ring to face Deivi Julio Bassa in a scheduled 10-round fight for the vacant WBO International Super Featherweight title.
In a way, Roach Jr. was seeking revenge as he was wrongly robbed of a victory against former world title challenger, Orlando Cruz in his last bout due to referee Luis Pabon not awarding Roach Jr. a clear knockdown.
That fight ended in a draw which was a tough pill to swallow, but rather than cry foul, Roach Jr. focused in on getting right back into ring as soon as possible.
Roach Jr., who spoke with Round By Round Boxing shortly after the Cruz fight, admitted that at times he can be too patient in the ring, but against Bassa he certainly flipped the script.
Roach Jr. came out more aggressive than usual, firing lead right hands that caught Bassa’s attention and earned his respect early on in the bout.
In Round 3, Roach Jr. got Bassa against the ropes and cracked him with a solid straight right hand, followed by a right hook which hurt the Colombian and dropped him.
Roach Jr. spent the rest of the round looking to take his opponent out, but wasn’t quite able to close the show.
But, by Round 6 the writing was on the wall as Roach Jr. pressed forward and Bassa scrambled backwards on wobbly legs.
Things officially came to a halt before the beginning of Round 7, as Bassa’s corner called it quits, giving Roach Jr. the TKO victory and the WBO International title.
“My mentality was to make a statement and to show that I belong at the top Super Featherweight division,” said Roach Jr. after his victory
Roach Jr. will continue his march towards a major title in the 130-pound division and warns anyone that might be standing in his way.
“Anybody that’s in my way is in trouble,” said Roach Jr. “The WBO Super Featherweight title will be on the line next week, so I’ll be taking a close look at that fight to see who wins.”
All photos by Miguel Rocha/Melissa Cervera/Luzairem Torres
