In the main event, live on ProBox TV from Plant City in Florida, Katsuma Akitsugi (11-0) made a return after a long absence from the ring, overcoming ring-rust to end Jesus Ramirez Rubio (22-4-3) in the ninth round of their bout.
Having not fought since May of 2022, Akitsugi has found a home with the ProBox Promotion, who view Akitsugi as the A-Side, as opposed to the B-Side he found himself as on Golden Boy cards.
Despite the immense time away from the sport, Akitsugi was able to keep up with Ramirez from the opening bell in a classic Japan versus Mexico affair. Often it was Akitsugi who held the core of the ring, whilst Ramirez was backed up against the ropes.
Losing to Ramon Cardenas (25-1) last time out, Ramirez entered the competition already on a knife’s edge. Despite finding some success, the younger Akitsugi was certainly making the Mexican work for it.
Not much of a puncher, Akitsugi was reliant on keen technique and sharp punch mechanics to draw the attention of his foe; with the stoppage coming in the penultimate round. With blood around his eye, Akitsugi elected to stand and trade with the mauler in a round he knew might be his last.
The tired and feeble Ramirez was eventually stopped on advice of the doctor; although, clearly, he was not in any state to defend himself.
With the win, Akitsugi remains undefeated in 11 bouts and firmly in super-bantamweight contention.
In the preliminaries, well-kept Filipino secret Weljon Mindoro (12-0-1) made an explosive statement out of tough ‘Tornado’ Tyler Goodjohn (13-6), blasting the Brit to the canvas on multiple occasions throughout the second round of their scheduled eight.
Goodjohn displayed ring-rust throughout the first round but seemed to adjust in the second round; his confidence, however, proved to be his undoing. The brazen British bare-knuckle fighter allowed the heavy-hitting ‘Triggerman’ to load up on his shots and refused to take the necessary time to recover.
Having had an extensive lay-off from the sport – owing to his breaking of BBBofC rules – Goodjohn was certainly up against the odds, especially with such a hard-hitting Filipino in front of him.
Light-heavyweight attraction Najee Lopez (11-0) also put on a spectacle, overcoming a knockdown in the fourth round to win unanimously on the judges scorecards.
For as dangerous as Lopez is often credited to be, his opponent – Steven Stumpter (9-1-1) – refused to give the Georgia native an easy night. Despite being older and less physically advantaged, Stumpter knew a few more tricks, which assisted him; particularly early on.
With yet another win for Lopez under the ProBox banner, he may become a top-billing feature in the near future.
In the co-main event, Puerto Rican welterweight Nicklaus Flaz (13-2) had his sights set on an early finish, bringing a halt to Alfredo Escarcega (15-2-1) in the fourth.
With both men high in spirit, it was initially close, with Escarcega matching the output of ‘La Bestia’. Flaz began tapping at the body early, perhaps a sign that he wanted to wear down his southpaw opponent. Neither fighter favoured range, which came to the detriment of Escarcega, who failed to respond to Flaz’s combinations in the fourth.
A body blow sent Escarcega softly wilting to the canvas, although the pain was evident. He got back up, but his time in the ring with Flaz was limited. His failure to deal with Flaz’s combinations and pressure ultimately resulted in a stoppage by referee Massimo Montanini.
Flaz can count himself amongst the numerous Puerto Ricans of the moment with immense pressure.
