ONTARIO, Calif. – Golden Boy Promotions’ 23rd and final show of the year features a 50-50 fight between Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel in the main event. 50 showdown between the two Mexican-born welterweight contenders from Los Angeles who have been promoting the show since its inception. career.
Neither fighter was able to come away with a statement victory in a brutal fight Saturday night at Toyota Arena that is sure to be a dark horse candidate for Fight of the Year.
The hotly contested exchange was ultimately won by majority vote. Judges Lou Meret and Fernando Villarreal scored the fight 114-114, while Pat Russell gave Rocha the win, 116-112. The two fighters left the ring and agreed to a rematch.
Curiel, 15-0-1 (13 KOs), has beaten 10 of his opponents in the past five years and is the slight favorite heading into the fight, but Rocha is 25-2- 1 (16 KOs), performed well and realized early on that he wasn’t going to be just another statistic.
This evenly matched fight was tit for tat from the start, and the five-round punching numbers further proved that, with the faster Rocha landing 54 of 282 shots versus the heavier Courier. 227 shots and 55 attempts. .
By the end of the fight, Rocha had thrown 818 punches and landed 205 punches, while Courier had thrown 731 punches and landed 232 punches.
“This is a super competitive fight,” Rocha said. “I tip my hat to Raul and his team. They’re doing a great job, but I feel like I personally can do more. I feel like I’m hitting the ball harder and he’s hitting the ball harder. I want to lead He went to the deep end and tested him. I respect him and I never got hurt, 7-5.”
into battle, Rocha says he has to fight smarter After getting knocked out by Giovanni Santillan last year. Rocha did not lose the fight and fought responsibly, but Curiel did not stop his onslaught.
After Rocha took the lead in the early rounds, Curiel started brawling with the crowd in the seventh round and pulled himself away a bit with incredible output. oh-ed and Ahhh-ed. Sticking and moving gave way to an all-out melee, with Courier gaining the upper hand with devastating uppercuts that helped him set up combinations.
Rocha’s counterattack was great, but it wasn’t enough to stop Courier from attacking him.
Courier continued to keep the momentum going in rounds nine and ten, landing a combination of chops. Rocha countered with a vicious counter. The judges certainly have their work cut out for them, trying to determine who achieved the better results in the back-and-forth.
Rounds 11 and 12 were so close that both fighters realized the fight was on the line.
They gave everything to win.
Looks like they’ll do it again next year.
“I promised a war and we fought a war for the people,” Courier said. “It was a tough fight. I think people are going to go home happy. Let’s do it again.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports reporter, author and broadcast journalist whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, and the Los Angeles Times “, “Philadelphia Inquirer”, “Ring” magazine and other media. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manuk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached via X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtubesend email via manouk[dot]Akopian[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
