In front of a sold-out crowd at Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino on Saturday night, Andrew Cancio rebounded from a first-round knockdown to upset Alberto Machado to win the WBA Super Featherweight Title in a thrilling performance. In a co-main event that saw both men hit the canvas, Rey Vargas defeated Franklin Manzanilla to retain the WBC Super Bantamweight Title. Joseph “JoJo” Diaz Jr. moved up to 130 pounds and defeated his friend Charles Huerta by unanimous decision, and the new WBC Continental Americas Lightweight World Titlist Adrian Estrella outlasted Oscar Duarte in a 10-round battle.
Andrew Cancio
“This was fight of my life. I feel extremely great winning this world title by knockout. I did not let this fight go to the judge’s scorecards. It’s been a long road and it felt like we thought it would: unbelievable. For me to execute a plan like we did feels great. He caught me early, but it was a flash knockdown. I got my legs back and got my composure. I was never out the fight. I’m extremely happy.”
On what he had to do to win: “Go back to gym, and I know I had a lot to prove. I know people doubted me and gave me no chance. I knocked him out. So hopefully all you critics who didn’t think I have a chance, and it would be an easy win for Machado. Now you got a world-class fighter and I’m here baby.”
On the game plan: “Body, body, body, and upper cuts. After he dropped me, I relaxed and stuck with the game plan. He was standing up so I started attacking the body. I hit hard and I started to dig, dig and dig.”
Alberto Machado
“I felt weak in there. The rematch would be nice, but I think I have to move up from 130 pounds. We will see.”
Rey Vargas
On the animosity and what you told him: “I never talked smack, but we’re going to fight clean. We’re not going to fight dirty, like he did.”
On who he wants next: “I want to unify all the belts. I have this WBC, but I want all the belts.”
Against who? “Danny Roman and anyone else who wants to fight.”
Franklin Manzanilla
“I feel good but he fought too dirty. I like to fight clean, not dirty like he did. It was a complicated and he’s tough. But I adjusted to his style and that’s how I won. I wished he would have fought cleaner, but I did what I could.”
Joseph Diaz Jr.
On his performance: “I did really good. I moved up in weight and showcased in this new 130-pound division. I was able to look good and push back a big super featherweight in Huerta. I had him hurt a few times, but I couldn’t finish him because he’s such a great warrior. At the end of the day, I had to do my job and that’s what I did.”
Fighting again at 126: “If big names at 126 like Leo Santa Cruz, Xu Can, or Oscar Valdez call me out then I’ll go down to 126 and fight. If none of those fights are going to be presented then I’d rather stay at 130.”
On feeling comfortable fighting at 130: “Oh absolutely I know Gervonta Davis is fighting on the other network tonight, I’d love to challenge him. I’d love to challenge Miguel Berchelt. I’d love to challenge all the guys at 130, even Tevin Farmer.”
Charles Huerta
“It was the right decision. Besides the first round, I took the pedal off the gas. I waited too much. He countered me well, and I let him dictate the pace. I had a 17-month layoff, and I feel I did well. I hope I come back for another opportunity soon.”
Adrian Estrella
“This is something I’ve worked hard to get for many years. Working my distance was key in this fight. It’s hard to knock out Oscar Duarte and he was getting stronger in every round. So, I decided to jab and work the distance. I got a split decision, but that’s okay. As long as I get the win, that’s fine with me.”
Oscar Duarte
“I don’t think the decision was right. I thought it was a draw. I was pressuring the whole time. I feel I need to learn a lot more.”
12-round WBA Super Featherweight Title Bout @ 130 lbs.
Alberto Machado vs. Andrew Cancio
Andrew Cancio (20-4-2, 15 KOs) defeats Alberto Machado (21-1, 17 KOs) by TKO at 2:16 in Round 4
12-round WBC Super Bantamweight Title Bout @ 122 lbs.
Rey Vargas vs. Franklin Manzanilla
Rey Vargas (33-0, 22 KOs) defeats Franklin Manzanilla (20-6, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision
(117-108, 117-108, 117-108)
10-round Super Featherweight Bout @ 130 lbs.
Joseph Diaz Jr. Charles Huerta
Joseph Diaz Jr. (28-1, 14 KOs) defeats Charles Huerta (20-6, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision
(99-91, 99-91, 99-91)
10-round Vacant WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title Bout @ 135 lbs.
Oscar Duarte vs. Adrian Estrella
Adrian Estrella (29-3, 24 KOs) defeats Oscar Duarte (15-1-1, 10 KOs) by unanimous decision
(97-93, 98-92, 96-94)
Boxing on DAZN returns Saturday, Feb 23 from Tijuana, Mexico when Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios squares off against Humberto Soto.
Andrew Cancio (20-4-2, 15 KOs) of Blythe, Calif. scored an upset victory over Alberto Machado (21-1, 17 KOs) of San Juan, Puerto Rico in front of a sold-out crowd of hometown fans at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino to become the new WBA Super Featherweight World Champion. Cancio, who himself was dropped in the first round, scored three knockdowns over Machado, forcing the fight to be stopped at 2:16 of the fourth round. The fight was streamed live on DAZN.
“This was the fight of my life,” said Andrew Cancio. “I feel extremely great winning this world title by knockout. I did not let this fight go to the judges’ scorecards. It’s been a long road, and it felt like we thought it would: unbelievable. For me to execute a plan like we did feels great. He caught me early, but it was a flash knockdown. I got my legs back and got my composure. I was never out of the fight. I’m extremely happy.”
“I felt weak in there,” said Alberto Machado. “The rematch would be nice, but I think I have to move up to 130 pounds. We will see.”
Rey Vargas (33-0, 22 KOs) of Mexico City, Mexico defeated Franklin Manzanilla (18-5, 17 KOs) of Caracas, Venezuela via unanimous decision to retain his WBC Super Bantamweight World Title. Vargas won with three scores of 117-108.
“I feel good but he fought too dirty,” said Rey Vargas. “I like to fight clean, not dirty like he did. It was a complicated and he’s tough. But I adjusted to his style, and that’s how I won. I wished he would have fought cleaner, but I did what I could.”
“I felt uncomfortable because he was taller than me, said Franklin Manzanilla. “I haven’t fought anyone that tall before. I hurt him in the second round and I tried to continue that momentum. I feel I did well.”
Joseph Diaz (28-1, 14 KOs) of South El Monte, Calif. defeated Charles Huerta (20-6, 12 KOs) of Paramount, Calif. via unanimous decision in a ten-round super featherweight battle. Diaz won with three score of 99-91.
“I did really good,” said Joseph Diaz. “I moved up in weight and showcased in this new 130-pound division. I was able to look good and push back a super featherweight in Huerta. I had him hurt a few times, but I couldn’t finish him because he’s such a warrior. At the end of the day, I had to do my job and that’s what I did.”
“It was the right decision,” said Charles Huerta. “Besides the first round, I took the pedal off the gas. I waited too much. He countered me well, and I let him dictate the pace. I had a 17-month layoff, and I feel I did well. I hope I come back for another opportunity soon.”
Adrian Estrella (29-3, 24 KOs) of Nuevo Leon, Mexico defeated Oscar Duarte (15-1-1, 10 KOs) of Parral, Mexico via majority decision for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title in a ten-round fight. Two judges scored the fight 96-94 and 98-92 in favor of Estrella, while one judge scored it 96-94 in favor of Duarte.
“This is something I’ve worked hard to get for many years,” said Adrian Estrella. “Working my distance was key in this fight. It’s hard to knockout Oscar Duarte. And he was getting stronger in every round. So, I decided to jab and work the distance. I got a split decision, but that’s okay. As long as I get the win, that’s fine with me.”
“I don’t think the decision was right,” said Oscar Duarte. “I thought it was a draw. I was pressuring the whole time. I feel I need to learn a lot more.”
Tureano Johnson (20-2-1, 14 KOs) of Nassau, Bahamas and Fernando Castaneda (26-13-1, 17 KOs) of Aguascaliente, Mexico fought to a split draw in an eight-round middleweight fight. One judge scored it 77-75 in favor in Johnson, while another scored it 77-75 in favor of Castaneda. One judge scored it 76-76, resulting in a split draw
“I want to thank God for this opportunity,” said Tureano Johnson. I want to thank Golden Boy and DAZN. He [Castaneda] did an awesome job. It is a disappointment for me, but now I’m looking for bigger and better things. It wasn’t me overlooking him. My corner was there. I didn’t execute the way I should have. I wasn’t listening to my corner. Next time I will do better. Tureano will be back.”
“We did a good fight,” said Fernando Castaneda. “It was against a fighter without a lot of experience. I want a rematch because I did a good job. I worked him to the body and wore him down. I want to thank Golden Boy for this opportunity.”
Azat Hovhannisyan (16-3, 13 KOs) of Los Angeles, Calif. defeated Lolito Sonsona (22-3-4, 9 KOs) of General Santos City, Philippines via KO in the fifth round of a super bantamweight bout originally scheduled for 10 rounds. Azat Hovhannisyan won with a time of 2:30 of the aforementioned round.
“I feel good about the fight,” said Azat Hovhannisyan. “I trained hard for this fight. I’m surprised [Sonsona] prepared so well. I wish I could have looked better, but a win is a win and a knockout is a knockout. I hope to look better next time!”
Rommel Caballero (5-0, 4 KOs) of Coachella, Calif. defeated Javier Rojas (1-3, 1 KOs) of Mexicali, Mexico via knockout in the first round of a super featherweight fight originally slated for four rounds. Caballero won with time of 1:58 of the first round.
“It feels great coming back,” said Rommel Caballero. “I’m back doing what I love and what I do best: boxing. I want to dedicate this fight to an important person who passed away, Marcos Brambila.”
