Sharif “The Lion” Bogere’s opponents are going to start hoping he stays in his cage. Bogere’s 21st fight finished the same way his first 20 had, with a victory. Francisco Contreras (16-1 13 KO’s) came into the fight as a live-dog but unfortunately left the ring on a stretcher in one of the scarier moments you’ll see as a fan of the sport.

Contreras supporters, which there were plenty of at Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas, NV Friday Night, had good reason to think their man could give the WBO NABO Lightweight Champion a run for his money. Bogere was coming off a slim unanimous decision over Raymundo Beltran in May, in a fight that many thought, including yours truly, could have went the other way. Contreras came into the fight touting a record that suggested that he had a punchers chance. Additionally, during referee Jay Nady’s final instructions Contreras appeared to have a sizable height and reach advantage over Bogere. The feelings of hope for Contreras didn’t last much past his first punch of the fight, a straight right hand that landed on the chin of Bogere.

From that moment on Bogere played the role of the aggressor, showing good ring generalship. A boxing fan who had never seen either guy fight would have thought as Bogere as the knockout artist the way he was stalking Contreras, when at least on paper it was the other way around. The first and second round followed this pattern. Contreras had his moments, and appeared to throw with bad intentions when he did throw, but because he was on his bicycle most of the time his windows of opportunity were few and far between to give him either one of the first two rounds on the scorecards.

In the third and final round Bogere continued his aggressive ways, usually leading with left and right hooks to close the gap, and then throwing combinations when he got inside. With a little more than a minute remaining in the round Bogere landed one of his right hook leads, sending Contreras stumbling into the corner. Bogere, knowing his man was hurt, wasted no time attacking his wounded prey. Throwing another right hand, Bogere’s fist deflected off the shoulder before hitting Contreras on the back of the head. This blow knocked Contreras completely out of his senses, sending him to the canvas with no means to brace himself. Nady counted to ten, but there was really no need, as Contreras was out cold for that ten count and for a few minutes after. There was speculation that Bogere would be disqualified for hitting Contreras on the back of the head, but that concern was quickly alleviated when the Nevada Athletic Commission ruled that Contreras had turned his head on his own accord, deeming the punch legal. The official time was 2:01 of the third round

While the Bogere team jumped into the ring to celebrate, concerned eyes turned to the corner of Contreras, who had yet to move since hitting the canvas. Doctors scurried around the fallen fighter, but for at least three minutes they refused to move him due to the concern of neck injury. Pound4Pound photographer Jessica Jones said there was some speculation between the other photographers and herself that on the way down Contreras had hit his head on the bottom rope causing it to snap before bouncing off the canvas, prompting the concern for a neck injury.

Thankfully, after a tense five minutes, Contreras began talking to the doctors. The doctors then moved him onto his back, and placed him on a stretcher. Bogere, who was visibly shaken by the scene, could be heard voicing his concerns, hoping his opponent was ok.

The win moves Bogere to 21-0 (13 KO’s), and puts him on the fast path towards a big fight in the stacked lightweight division.
 

In the co-main event, hot light middleweight prospect Jermell Charlo improved to 16-0 with 7 KO’s with a well earned eight round unanimous decision victory over brawler Francisco Santana (12-3-1 6 KO’s).

Through five rounds it appeared Charlo was in control, but Santana was certainly making him work. In the sixth round Santana had his best chance, landing a solid right hand that caused Charlo to stagger. Santana, with a renewed vigor, jumped on his stunned opponent, throwing nonstop punches for close to a minute, but was unable to land a solid enough blow to drop his opponent. With about 30 seconds left in the sixth Santana stopped his assault, totally gassed, and he never appeared to get his wind back. Charlo cruised through the final two rounds and all the scorecards, winning by scores of 79-73 twice and 78-74.

There were two fights on the card prior to the televised portion, both taking place in the Junior Welterweight Division. –

In an all- action fight, Las Vegas native Taylor Larson and Cameron Krael fought to a four round majority decision. Larson never stopped throwing from the opening bell, but when Krael threw he usually landed. One judge seemed to like the activity of Larson, scoring it in his favor 39-37, but the other two were too torn, scoring it 38-38. Larson moves to 0-1-1 while Krael goes to 0-0-1.

In the opening bout of the evening Ronald Rodriguez appeared to be in complete control. That was until a wild looping right hand from Alonso Loeza found the unprotected chin of Rodriguez, ending the fight at the 31 second mark of the third round. Loeza earned his first career victory, improving to 1-1-1. Rodriguez will look for his next win the next time around, falling to 0-2.