In a co-main event to Haney vs Garcia, and for the WBO Intercontinental Super Lightweight Title, Arnold Barboza, Jr. (30-0, 11 KOs) defeated Sean ‘The Public Nuisance’ McComb (18-2, 5 KOs) via split decision in a back and forth 10-round fight that went the distance.
McComb fought off his back foot the whole night as Barboza Jr. slowly tried to get in. Ultimately the fight ended in Barboza’s favor with the judges scoring the fight 96-94 and 97-93 in Barboza’s favor and 92-98 in McComb’s favor.
“I felt good. It was a very tricky fight,” said Arnold Barboza Jr., “He was a lefty, tall and he moved a lot. He gave me a lot of trouble, but it was a learning experience. I’ll be back better. We’re going to talk to Oscar and see what’s next.”
Retaining his WBA Intercontinental Super Middleweight Title, Bektemir “Bully” Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) went to war with Frenchman Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1, 12 KOs) in a fight scheduled for 10-rounds. The nonstop action left both fighers cut with battle scars; the corner doctor stopping the fight due to a deep gash over Melikuziev’s eye caused by an accidental headbutt. The judges went to the scorecards, awarding the “Bully” the technical decision victory with scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 79-73.
“He was a good opponent. Unfortunately, the fight was stopped,” said Bektemir Melikuziev. “During the fight he kept coming forward with his head. There was nothing I could do. I just needed another minute or two in the ring to finish the fight. I slowed down a bit because I felt that my opponent was getting tired.”
Also a part of the preliminaries, Jonathan “Sugar Cane” Canas (4-0, 2 KOs) of Houston, Texas beat Markus Bowes (2-6, 2 KOs) of Roxboro, North Carolina via unanimous decision in a 4-round Super Lightweight bout.
Canas won with scores of 40-36 by all three judges. Amari Jones (12-0, 11 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada beat Armel Mbumba-Yassa (10-2, 7 KOs) of Remscheid, Germany via TKO in the sixth round of an 8-round Super Middleweight fight.
Jones won with a time of 0:39 in the aforementioned round. In a dazzling KO, Kevin Newman II (16-3-1, 1 KO) of Las Vegas, Nevada stopped Eric Robles (9-4, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico via TKO in the fourth round of an 8-round Cruiserweight fight.
Newman II won with a time of 1:53 in the aforementioned round. Opening fight night, Shamar Canal (8-0, 4 KOs) of Albany, New York defeated Pedro Borgaro (7-2, 4 KOs) of Sonora, Mexico via unanimous decision in a six-round super lightweight bout with scores of 60-53.
