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Aston Palicte Stops Jose Martinez In Second Round
The next great Filipino boxer, "Mighty" Aston Palicte,
knocked out his previously unbeaten Puerto Rican opponent
Jose "Chiquiro" Martinez in the second round of this past
Thursday night's World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior
Bantamweight World Title Eliminator, before a sold-out crowd
in the Oak Ballroom at Viejas Casino and Resort in Alpine,
California.
Palicte vs. Martinez, presented by Roy Jones Jr. (RJJ)
Boxing Promotions in association with Miquel Cotto
Promotions, was the inaugural event live-streamed on UFC
Fight Pass® under a new agreement between Palicte's
promoter, RJJ Boxing, and FIGHT PASS, to live stream up to
72 professional boxing events over the next three years.
Palicte (25-2-1, 21 KOs), rated No. 1 by the WBO, took on
No. 2- ranked Martinez, the reigning North American Boxing
Organization (NABO) champion, in the main event to determine
the mandatory challenger for WBO junior bantamweight
title-holder Donnie Nietes, the four-division world
champion, also from the Philippines.
Palicte was coming off a controversial 12-round split draw
with Nietes last September for the then vacant WBO Junior
bantamweight championship. Many at ringside felt that
Palicte should have won the Filipino showdown and now he
will have a richly deserved match.
"I knew Aston wanted to make a statement against Martinez
and boy did he ever deliver," RJJ Boxing CEO/Co-Founder
Keith Veltre said. "What a way to start our series on UFC
Fight Pass. From the opening fight to the main event there
was nothing but action. Our matchmaker, Guy Taylor, has been
delivering great content."
After a standard feeling-out first round, Palicte exploded
in the second round, as he walked through Martinez' punches,
showing no respect for his opponent's power. Palicte dropped
Martinez with an overhand right, repeating the decking
moments later with the same punch. Martinez beat the count,
but Palicte unleashed a flurry of unanswered punches, which
resulted in the referee halting the action.
"I will start the process on making a deal with Nietes'
people," Veltre added. "We're looking forward to seeing
Aston become world champion."
In the co-featured event, a rare showdown between a pair of
unbeaten prospects, Fort Worth, Texas featherweight Edward
"Kid" Vasquez (6-0) out-boxed Brandon "2 Smooth" Cruz (6-1,
4 KOs), fighting out of nearby San Diego, in a
back-and-forth fight for a key win by way of a sixth-round
split decision.
Compton, CA junior featherweight Daniel Constantino (3-2-1,
1 KO) pulled off a mild upset in the FIGHT PASS opener,
defeating San Diego's Dilan "El Rey" Miranda (4-2, 3 KOs) by
way of a six-round majority decision.
San Diego featherweight Jessica Juarez (2-0, 1 KO) won a
four-round majority decision over Kailyn Hansen (1-3).
Redlands, CA welterweight Anthony "The Future" Franco
(4-1-1) and Los Angeles heavyweight Oscar Torrez (4-0, 1 KO)
both won four-round unanimous decision, respectively,
against Los Angeles' David Morales and Ignacio Zambrano
(2-5), of Whittier, CA.
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