Super middleweight contender Jaime Munguia dropped John Ryder four times before finally stopping him in the ninth round, only the second time the durable Londoner has been stopped.
Undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez was unable to stop Ryder, who lost a clear decision to the Mexican superstar last May.
The power of Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) was the difference in the fight. The 27-year-old Mexican put Ryder (32-7, 18 KOs) down in the second and fourth rounds and twice in ninth.
However, it was a big overhand right in the opening seconds of the final round that was the beginning of the end, as the punch resulted in the third knockdown and hurt him badly.
Ryder, under a brutal assault, went down again moments later from another right hand and another barrage from Munguia followed. That prompted Ryder’s cornermen to throw in the towel, giving Munguia arguably his most impressive victory.
The official time of the stoppage was 1:25 of Round 9.
Munguia has said that he hopes to challenge Alvarez next. The champion is expected to defend his belts in May.
You can read a full report here.
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Strawweight Oscar Collazo knocked out Reyneris Gutierrez at 2:37 of the third round to retain his WBO title.
Collazo (9-0, 7 KOs) stalked Gutierrez from the opening bell but the fight was competitive for two-plus rounds. Then the Puerto Rican changed the fight with one punch.
A right hook hurt Gutierrez (10-2, 2 KOs) and Collazo followed with a vicious flurry that sent the Nicaraguan to the canvas. Gutierrez was able to get to this feet but took another serious of hard shots, which prompted the referee to stop the fight.
Collazo has stopped his last four opponents, all coming against contenders. The resident of New Jersey now wants to unify 105-pound titles.
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Super middleweight prospect Darius Fulghum (10-0, 9 KOs) defeated veteran Alantez Fox, his toughest opponent to date, by a split decision in a 10-round bout.
Fox (28-6-1, 13 KOs) became the first opponent to take the hard-punching Texan the distance but was outworked from the second round on, making it a one-sided fight.
Judge Javier Camacho somehow scored it 95-95 but he was overruled by the other two judges, 100-90 and 98-92.
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Gabriela Fundora stopped Christina Cruz at 59 seconds of the 10th and final round to retain her 112-pound title.
The first half of the fight was roughly even but Fundora (13-0, 6 KOs) landed more and more power shots to the head of Cruz (6-1, 0 KOs) as the fight progressed.
The ending was strange and controversial. Fundora landed a right to the side of Cruz’s head, which spun her 180 degrees. With her back to her opponent, she covered up as Fundora continued to punch her.
At that moment referee Chris Flores jumped in and stopped the fight, which surprised Cruz.
Fundora, the sister of 154-pound contender Sebastian Fundora, was making the first defense of the IBF belt she won by knocking out Arely Mucino in five rounds in October.
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Junior featherweight contender David Picasso (27-0-1, 15 KOs) outboxed Erik Ruiz (17-10-1, 7 KOs) to win a one-sided decision in a 10-round bout.
The official scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92.
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Unbeaten 168-pound contender Jaime Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs) is scheduled to fight veteran John Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) tonight (Saturday, Jan. 27) at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
The event will be streamed on DAZN.
The featured portion of the show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. (main event later in the show).
Also on the card, IBF 112-pound titleholder Gabriela Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs) will make the first defense of her belt against Christina Cruz (6-0, 0 KOs).
Boxing Junkie will post results, as well as a brief summary, immediately after the featured fights end. Simply return to this post and refresh when the time comes.
Full coverage – detailed fight stories, analysis and more – will follow on separate posts the night of the card and the following day.
Enjoy the fights!
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