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Raul Curiel Successfully Defends NABF Welterweight Title
Against Courtney Pennington With KO Victory
Mexican Olympian and current NABF Welterweight Titleholder
Raul “El Cugar” Curiel (13-0, 11 KOs) successfully defended
his title against Brooklyn, New York’s Courtney Pennington
(17-7-3, 7 KOs) in a 10-round main event at Fantasy Springs
Resort Casino. “El Cugar” faced his toughest match yet,
throwing everything in his arsenal at the resilient
Pennington. Pennington survived until the tenth round, the
referee waving it off at 2:53, awarding Curiel the knockout
victory. The action was broadcast worldwide on DAZN.
"He is truly a warrior with tremendous experience. I threw
everything at my disposal, and he took it all," said Raul
Curiel. "I took my time in the ring and we got the victory
we trained hard for. This fight helped shake off some of the
cobwebs after not being inside the ring for more than half a
year, so I am proud of the work I did in there and learned a
lot."
In a jaw-dropping, redemptive performance as the co-main
event, Manuel “Gucci Manny” Flores (16-1, 12 KOs) stopped
Jerson Ortiz (17-8, 8 KOs) of Managua, Nicaragua in the
second round of a 10-round super bantamweight fight. Flores,
filled with a hunger to demonstrate he has what it takes to
be at the top in front of his hometown crowd, sent Ortiz to
the mat twice in the first round and finished business at
0:50 in the second round when the referee stopped the
contest after a debilitating combination that ended with a
right hook.
“I showed everyone the REAL 'Gucci Manny' tonight. This is
the real me,” said Manuel Flores. “I showed that when I’m
disciplined and work hard no one can beat me. We put in the
miles and the rounds in for this fight. I expected my
opponent to come forward a little more, but I’m glad we got
the win.”
Getting the Coachella Valley crowd on their feet, hot
prospect Grant Flores (3-0, 2 KOs) had fans locked-in on his
six-round super welterweight slugfest that went the distance
against Jaleik Bogle (4-2-2, 2 KOs) of St. Petersburg,
Florida. Flores and Bogle went back-and-forth, Bogle
responding to Flores’ heavy blows until he was rocked in the
fifth-round. All three judges scored the fight unanimously
60-53 in favor of Coachella’s own Grant Flores.
Making a statement victory as his first scrap as an official
Golden Boy fighter, recently signed Daniel “Ikaika” Luna
(3-0, 3 KOs) of Victorville showed off his knockout power
with a second-round smash of Alexander Gutierrez (0-3) of
Lake Elsinore. The four-round lightweight fight ended with a
spectacular left punch to the body, the liver shot sending
Gutierrez straight to the mat unable to continue.
Opening the Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN broadcast with a
six-round featherweight fight, Jorge Chavez (8-0, 6 KOs) of
San Diego added another knockout to his record after
defeating Managua, Nicaragua’s Marvin Solano (24-11, 8 KOs).
Chavez successfully broke down his opponent ultimately
nailing him with a body punch that sent him to the mat at
2:59 in the third round.
Opening fight night with nuclear bombs, Leonardo “Bazooka”
Sanchez (6-0, 5 KOs) of Cathedral City secured a
second-round knockout against John Alimane (8-5, 4 KOs) of
Manila, Philippines. Scheduled for four-rounds of super
featherweight action, Sanchez rocked Alimane with a
powerful, three punch combo that sent him to the mat at 0:27
in the second.
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