The previously mandated opponent for the WBO Welterweight title, Alexis Rocha, has continued to stake his claim as a worthy contender with his latest victory over fellow American, Anthony Young. The fight, held at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, on May 27th, ended with a fifth-round knockout from Rocha.
In a division that’s already seen many American talents emerge such as champions Errol Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KO’s) and Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KO’s), and Welterweight contenders Jaron Ennis (30-0, 27 KO’s and Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KO’s), Golden Boy product Alexis Rocha (23-1, 15 KO’s) seems to be equally talented; especially following his dominant victory over opponent Anthony Young which allowed him to retain his unbeaten streak.
Anthony Young (24-3, 8 KO’s), who’s best known for his victory over former world champion Sadam Ali, failed to overcome his pre-match underdog status as Alexis Rocha employed a smart gameplan of unleashing body shots that would prove to be the deciding factor later on.
From the onset of the match, Alexis Rocha maintained the better pace as he sought to first find his distance. As the rounds went on, Rocha found himself become increasingly more comfortable and that was best illustrated by the work he did in going to Anthony Young’s body who seemed to have no answers for them.
By the fifth round, Anthony Young appeared to have been broken down by Rocha’s methodical approach to to pepper him with body punches, combinations, and jabs and Young eventually could do little to nothing as Alexis Rocha cornered him and pounced on him like a hungry predator on a weakened prey. In the last minute of the round, Young got caught hard by a left hand from Rocha during an exchange, resulting in his first knockdown.
Wobbling in the fifth round after being dropped, Anthony Young was able to get up but the referee stopped the count after deeming Young was too hurt, resulting in a knockout victory, according to California State Athletic Commission rules, for Alexis Rocha, who retained his WBO NABO (North American Boxing Organization) title.
The rest of the event saw other American prospects come out victorious against their match-ups. The Minimumweight division, the lowest weight class in the sport, saw American contender Oscar Collazo (7-0, 5 KO’s) challenge Filipino WBO champion Melvin Jerusalem (20-3, 12 KO’s) for the world title.
Collazo came with the clear intent to hurt Jerusalem who adopted a more patient and outside boxing approach. While Jerusalem jabbed, Collazo threw hooks wherever he could, and the two seemed to stalemate with their differing styles with Collazo noticeably missing a lot of shots in the early round due to his eagerness to knock his opponent out.
Up until the fifth round the two seemed evenly-matched but that round saw a change of events once Oscar Collazo seemed to hit Melvin Jerusalem with shots that clearly buzzed the Filipino. The next two rounds saw Jerusalem struggling as Collazo’s shots became more effective, and several body shots seemed to halt the WBO Minimumweight champion in his tracks.
By the seventh round, Collazo seemed to gain control of the fight and capitalized swiftly on his left hand that stunned Jerusalem, who immediately went into retreat afterwards. Oscar Collazo showed amazing stamina as he continued to pressure Jerusalem all the way to the end of the bell.
The eighth round never commenced as Melvin Jerusalem’s corner stopped the fight after the fighter indicated he couldn’t continue due to having suffered too much damage. Oscar Collazo was ruled he winner by KO (according to California rules) thereafter, and won his first world title off of Melvin Jerusalem to become the WBO Minimumweight champion.
Undefeated Super Flyweight contender John Ramirez (12-0, 8 KO’s), also American, encountered a tougher opponent than anticipated in 23-year-old American fighter Fernando Diaz (12-4-1, 4 KO’s), who seemed determined to avoid another loss. The two were engaged in a fierce fight over ten rounds that might have gone the other way, but went to John Ramirez who edged out with two scorecards of 96-94 in his favor while the other judge scored the fight in favor of Diaz, also with a 96-94 score. Ramirez won by split-decision as a result.
