In an anticlimactic rematch, the hulking WBO welterweight champion Mikaela Mayer (21-2-1, 5 KOs) defeated Sandy Ryan (7-3-1, 3 KOs) by a 10-round unanimous decision in their rematch at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Too much size for Mayer, who looked huge compared to Ryan.
The scores were 97-93, 97-93, and 98-92. Mayer hurt Ryan in the tenth round with an early flurry but couldn’t put her away.
WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) made a statement tonight in the co-feature, scoring a third-round technical knockout of Derrieck Cuevas (27-2-1, 19 KOs). Norman had been trading left hooks with the heavy-handed Cuevas from the first. In the third round, Norman Jr. staggered the challenger with a left hook. He then connected with another big left, causing Cuevas to stumble and fall. Interestingly, Cuevas got up and looked okay but walked to his corner, ignoring the referee, making it clear that he was quitting. The fight was then waved off by referee Thomas Taylor. The time of the stoppage was at 2:59 of the third.
Featherweight contender Bruce Carrington (16-0, 9 KOs) had too much firepower for Enrique Vivas (23-4, 12 KOs), scoring a third-round knockout. Carrington knocked Vivas down in the second round with a right to the head. In the third, Vivas was taking hard shots from Shu Shu Carrington, leaking referee Raul Caiz Jr. with no choice but to wave it off. The time of the stoppage was 53 seconds into the third.
Light welterweight prospect Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) made quick work of Giovannie Gonzalez (20-8-2, 15 KOs), stopping him in the second round. Vargas, 20, connected with two rights followed by a perfectly placed left hook that put Gonzalez down flat on his back. The way Gonzalez, 35, hit the ground, he wouldn’t get up. The time of the stoppage was 2:08 of the second.
2020 U.S Olympian Delante ‘Tiger’ Johnson (15-0, 7 KOs) stopped journeyman Kendo Castenada (21-9, 9 KOs) by a fifth-round technical knockout in a welterweight contest. Johnson targeted Castenada’s head for the first three rounds, dominating the action. In round four, Tiger hurt Castenada with a right hand to the body. He made it through the round somehow. Johnson dropped Castenada twice in the fifth with hard shots to the body. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. waved it off after the second knockdown. The time was 2:00 of the fifth.
