In the Ruiz vs Ortiz PPV opener, the Dominican Republic’s Edwin De Los Santos (15-1, 14 KOs) scored an upset via third-round TKO as he dropped the previously unbeaten Jose Valenzuela (12-1, 8 KOs) three times before referee Ray Corona waived off the bout 1:08 into the round.
“Valenzuela is a fighter who I feel has been protected, and I wanted to show everyone what I’m capable of,” said De Los Santos.
“The plan wasn’t to come forward so much, but when I saw how he was fighting, I was ready to go toe-to-toe.
“The Mexican fighters love to fight like that, but he was open for me to attack.”
“I didn’t expect De Los Santos to be as aggressive as he was in the fight,” said Valenzuela. “He gave it out as he good as he took.
“I just want to focus on getting back in the ring and redeeming myself.”
Edwin De Los Santos
A late replacement who officially stepped in to face Valenzuela this week, De Los Santos looked sharp from the outset, staggering Valenzuela in round one.
However, Valenzuela was able to survive the round. Early in round two, Valenzuela was staggered again but was able to shift the momentum temporarily, landing a powerful left hook that put De Los Santos down.
After rising to his feet, De Los Santos was able to regain momentum with a series of right hooks that put Valenzuela down hard.
De Los Santos was penalized by the referee for throwing an extra shot while Valenzuela was down, which gave Valenzuela extra time to recover and make it through the round.
De Los Santos looked like the fresher fighter heading into the round and could drop Valenzuela again early in the frame. Valenzuela again was able to get back on his feet, but after a follow-up flurry from De Los Santos, the referee jumped in and officially waived off the fight.
“I came in against a ranked fighter tonight, and I was up for the task,” said De Los Santos. “Now I want the same name that everyone wants. I want Gervonta Davis.”
Joey Spencer
Before the PPV, prelims live on FOX, and FOX Deportes featured rising unbeaten super welterweight Joey Spencer (16-0, 10 KOs) earning a career-best ten-round unanimous decision over Kevin Salgado (14-1-1, 9 KOs).
“He’s a hard-hitting counter puncher, so we wanted to control the distance,” said Spencer. “I feel really strong. I’m proud of the work we put into my conditioning, which showed in the fight. I’m improving as I get more experience, which helps me stay more composed in these fights.
“I will keep adding to my game as I get more comfortable. I’m definitely working towards improving as an offensive fighter.”
In his first 10-round fight as a pro, the 22-year-old Spencer turned away what many considered the toughest opponent of his career, riding a 79 to 54 edge in punches landed to victory.
Mexico’s Salgado proved to be a stiff test for Spencer as he continued to push forward until the final bell. After ten rounds, all three judges saw it in Spencer’s favor by scores of 99-91 twice and 100-90.
“I have some ideas of who I want to fight next,” said Spencer. “Tony Harrison, Tim Tszyu, Erickson Lubin, and Sebastian Fundora are all guys I want to fight.
“I want to face the best. There’s one champion in the division, and we have to fight each other to get to him.”
Ra’eese Aleem
In action live on FS1, and FOX Deportes, unbeaten super bantamweight contender Ra’eese Aleem (20-0, 12 KOs) showed off his considerable boxing skill in earning a unanimous decision over Mike Plania (26-2, 13 KOs) in their 10-round duel.
“The fight was everything that I expected,” said Aleem. He’s a very tough fighter and a great competitor.
“I just wanted to fight a smart fight because we know he’s dangerous. Although I didn’t feel his power, I knew he could hit. I just wanted to take my time and let everything fall into place.”
Aleem scored a knockdown early in round two to jump out to the early lead and controlled the action, displaying an impressive and varied attack highlighted by various left hands.
After closing the show with a dominant 10th and final round, Aleem earned the decision by scoring 100-89 three times.
“It’s time for ‘scared boy’ Stephen Fulton Jr. to come out of hiding and sign the contract,” said Aleem.
“Let’s get in there so I can give him his first loss. It would be a closer fight than tonight, but I still expect to dominate and get the win.”
TGB Promotions promoted the event.
