Lightweight contender Floyd Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) showed he’s still a work in progress, laboring to a 12-round unanimous decision win over Rene Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) in their headliner on Saturday night at The Theater Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
(Credit: Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)
Schofield was knocked down by a hard left hook to the temple from Giron in round eleven and took some massive shots the remainder of the fight. Somehow, Schofield stayed on his feet but was getting belted by Giron until the contest’s final seconds. The scores were 118-109, 116-111 and 118-109.
Undercard results
– Super middleweight contender Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) defeated David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) by a tougher-than-expected 12-round split decision in the cofeature. The scores were 116-112 for Stevens, 118-110 and 117-111 for Bektemir. The hard-hitting Stevens dominated the early rounds, but Bek the Bully came on in the second half to win on activity.
By the midpoint of the fight, Bektemir was exhausted, throwing arm punches and bleeding from the nose and around his eyes. Stevens had worked him over with hard shots. The judges, however, liked Bek’s activities.
– IBF flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) became the undisputed champion tonight, defeating WBA, WBC, and WBO champion Gabriela Alaniz (15-2, 6 KOs) by a seventh-round knockout. Fundora, 5’9″, put Alaniz on the canvas twice in round seven with straight left hands, thowrn down the pipe. The referee stopped the contest after the second knockdown. The time came at the 1:40 mark.
In round seven, the lanky Fundora landed a left to the head of Alaniz to put her down. She complained to the referee that Fundora had stepped on her front foot, but it was no use.
– Super middleweight knockout artist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) had too much firepower for Christopher Pearson (17-5, 12 KOs), stopping him in the third round. Fulghum had his way, hitting him with hard punches and following him around the ring.
In the third, Fulghum hit Pearson nonstop with shots after trapping him against the ropes. The referee then stepped in and stopped the fight. The time of the stoppage was at 1:02.
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#6 WBA super middleweight contender Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) fights David Stevens (14-1, 10 KOs) in a 12-round co-feature. This should be an interesting war. Someone is going to get knocked out in this fight, and it won’t be a surprise if it’s Bektemir.
IBF Flyweight World Champion Gabriela “Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) faces WBA/WBC/WBO champ Gabriela Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs) for the undisputed championship.
Other undercard fights:
Darius Fulghum vs. Christopher Pearson
Joel Iriarte vs. Xavier Madrid
Schofield is still a work in progress at 22, and he will need more time before he’s ready to challenge for a world title against one of the four champions at lightweight. He’s got the power, speed, and youth to capture a belt at 135, but his technical skills are raw.
He has a crude style that will get him beaten if he goes up against one of the champions or even top contenders soon. Schofield has been suffering a lot of cuts recently in his fights, and he can’t have this happen against the more talented fighters.
Lightweight contender Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) takes a small step toward a world title shot tonight in his headliner bout against the tough Mexican veteran Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in Las Vegas. Schofield vs. Giron will fight in an event shown live on DAZN at 8 pm ET.
