Welcome to Under the Radar Fight Results, the weekly column in which I go over all the even remotely prominent results not otherwise covered by separate articles. This week was very quiet for the sport of boxing. We mostly only have prospects to talk about, but there is also an ex-titleholder in action and I did fold PBC on FS1 into this article this week as well.
Saturday, April 14th
Cesar Juarez (22-6, 17 KOs) KO9 Wilner Soto (20-4, 11 KOs), super bantamweights – Mexico
Cesar Juarez is not the most talented guy, but he does well to embody that traditional Mexican fight spirit of heart and effort overcoming talent. The best example of this was his 2015 second half of the fight rally against Nonito Donaire that left him just short of winning in a big upset. Unfortunately that didn’t work out for him in January when he met Isaac Dogboe and his much higher level of talent. Juarez was game as always, but the Ghanaian emerging contender comfortably destroyed him inside five rounds. Juarez is already 2-0 since that loss, however, and super bantamweight is a notably shallow division. He’ll be back in a bigger fight sooner rather than later.
Fred Evans (4-0) PTS4 William Warburton (25-132-10, 4 KOs), middleweights – Wales
What a difference six years can make. In 2012, Fred Evans won silver at home for Great Britain in London. Everyone else from that team is pretty well established as either a serious professional or a bust, but not Evans. After first punching and injuring a long time friend in a bar and then being involved in a night club assault, Evans received a suspended jail sentence then lost his amateur accreditation. Five years later his professional career is underway, but look at the level of opponent he is needing to fight given the rust he must be experiencing. This is not inspiring stuff.
Paul Hyland Jr (18-0, 7 KOs) TKO4 David Birmingham (6-2, 3 KOs), junior lightweights – Northern Ireland
Paul Hyland Jr is the latest entry in the Irish Hyland boxing family, but I don’t have particularly high expectations. This was his first fight back from his grueling win over Stephen Ormond in October and it was as soft of a touch as they come given that Birmingham is really a novice featherweight. There is a reason for that, however, and it is because Hyland Jr did not win that fight against Ormond. That was a robbery. This was then both his first fight back from a loss and a tune up before a bigger fight against rising star Lewis Ritson for the British lightweight belt in June. Ritson is certainly vulnerable enough to a random upset, but I don’t think Hyland will pull it off.
Jaron Ennis (19-0, 17 KOs) TKO1 Samuel Amoako (23-18, 17 KOs), welterweights – Virginia
20 year old Jaron Ennis was one win away from qualifying for the US team in Rio for the 2016 games, but he lost to Gary Antuanne Russell in the finals. This was a trilogy capper during the qualification process with both men taking one fight a piece before the final match. As a pro Ennis got to debut a little sooner than those who made the team and has been extremely active on top of that. His record is belt exclusively on mismatches like this one, but at 20 he has plenty of time to step up slowly over the next couple of years.
Ruben Villa (11-0, 4 KOs) UD8 Marlon Olea (13-3, 12 KOs), featherweights – California
Ruben Villa, 21, is another 2016 Olympic trials finalist for a spot at Rio. Shakur Stevenson stood in his way, however, and that was that. As a pro has appeared on one Golden Boy card and is otherwise fighting independently on the local California scene. I don’t expect a lot from him, really, but he is worth a follow for now.
Friday, April 13th
Miguel Vazquez (40-6, 15 KOs) UD10 Cosme Rivera (43-25-3, 29 KOs), junior welterweights – Mexico
Former lightweight titleholder and all around chore to watch Miguel Vasquez returned at home in Mexico for the first time since being sacrificed to Scottish super prospect Josh Taylor in November. Vasquez has a few good wins on his resume against the likes of Denis Shafikov and Mercito Gesta, for example, but his problem was always that he got this wins in such a tedious manner in the ring that no one wanted to see him. We likely won’t have to watch him in a big fight for a while thanks to Taylor’s performance, but he is still only 31 and the IBF has given him many shots before.
Jamal James (23-1, 10 KOs) MD10 Abel Ramos (18-3-2, 13 KOs), welterweights & Edner Cherry (37-7-2, 19 KOs) UD10 Dennis Galarza (16-3, 9 KOs), lightweights – Minnesota
Given how late I was going to get to these PBC on FS1 fights and how little content there was for UTR this week, it made sense to roll them in here. Both these fights were decent with the favored fighters winning close calls on pretty opposite performances. Jamal James had to hold off a late rally to secure his win, though I did think he deserved a unanimous decision. Abel Ramos is so game though. He just pushed and pushed. Conversely, Edner Cherry had to overcome a slow start in which he did next to nothing to take the fight on the cards thanks to his work in the second half.
Chris Colbert (8-0, 3 KOs) RTD7 Austin Dulay (11-1, 8 KOs), junior lightweights & Sebastian Fundora (9-0, 5 KOs) TKO5 Ve Shawn Owens (9-1, 9 KOs), junior middleweights – Minnesota
Also shown on the 2018 debut of PBC on FS1 were a pair of prospect fights. Chris Colbert was a solid amateur who qualified to compete in the 2016 Olympic trials, but he then declined to turn pro. He doesn’t have a ton on his shots as his record shows, though accumulation was enough to get the job done here. Sebastian Fundora is a borderline freakshow fighter as a 6’6″ junior middleweight in there. While he surprisingly doesn’t really have a special reach, Fundora did sport an eight inch height advantage in this one. Both these guys are worth keeping an eye on for very different reasons. Colbert might prove to be underpowered eventually, but he’s skilled and athletic. Fundora is a novelty, for sure, but he is one I am interested in going forward if only to see how long the 20 year old can keep making weight. He made it easily here.
Thursday, April 12th
Jonathan Navarro (14-0, 7 KOs) UD8 Justin Savi (31-15-2, 21 KOs), junior welterweights & Aaron McKenna (3-0, 2 KOs) KO1 Keasen Freeman (4-2, 2 KOs), welterweights – California
Middling Golden Boy prospect Jonathan Navarro picked up another win here, but he isn’t the Golden Boy prospect story on this card by any means. That status belongs to 18 year old Irish welterweight Aaron McKenna. McKenna was a talented amateur with the ability to make a run with Team Great Britain in 2020, but waiting four more years was not in the cards. His signing with Golden Boy is surprising to me from his perspective, though not from theirs. Despite being a true major promoter with the single biggest star in the sport and several other prominent fighters, Oscar De La Hoya and company are also strangely regional in California. They have little to promote in the Northeast where other major promoters function. A popular Irish prospect like McKenna can change that for them in a couple years if they bring him up right.
