Making the first defense of his WBC Super Featherweight Championship, Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (32-1, 28 KOs) knocked down Takashi Miura (31-4-2, 24 KOs) in the first round before rolling to a clear-cut unanimous decision victory in the 12-round main event of HBO Boxing After Dark live from Los Angeles’ “Fabulous” Forum.
VIPs for the night included Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya, World Champion and Future Boxing Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, Boxing Hall of Famer Roberto Duran, Real Madrid and Spanish National Team soccer player Sergio Ramos, Tampa Bay Rays baseball player JP Arencibia, Former three division world champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, NABA super featherweight champion Carlos “The Solution” Morales, NABO Super Featherweight Champion Alberto Machado, 2008 & 2012 Brazilian Olympian Everton Lopes, Jesus Soto Karass, 2016 Mexican Olympian Raul Curiel, Ronny Rios, Rene Alvarado, Charles Huerta, Azat Hovanissyan, Cesar Diaz, and Roger Gutierrez.
“I knew this fight was going to be won with intelligence,” Berchelt said. “Miura is a warrior, and fought till the end. Miura has the toughest left hand in the division. He kept coming forward, and when he connected his punches, they did hurt. I knew I was going to fight an ex-world champion, so I prepared myself well. I have proven that I am the best by taking on the two toughest champions in the division with Vargas and Miura. I am ready to fight anyone.”
“Berchelt was a smart fighter,” Miura said. “He did not allow me to get my distance.”
In the co-main event, Jezreel “El Invisible” Corrales (22-1, 8 KOs) survived two knockdowns to maintain his WBA Super Featherweight title with a majority decision win over Robinson Castellanos (22-12, 14 KOs). Castellanos dropped Corrales twice in a wild fourth round, with Corrales barely beating the count after the second knockdown. But the Panamanian champion regained his footing in the fifth and sixth and sent Castellanos down with a left hook in the seventh. After a nasty clash of heads in the 10th that busted Castellanos’ left cheek wide open, the fight was stopped and went to the scorecards. The judges awarded scores of 94-94, 94-93, 96-92, giving Corrales the majority decision.
“I knew this would be an interesting fight, I am so happy about the victory,” Corrales said. “This is probably the best fight that I’ve had in my career so far. I’m looking at tonight’s main event as one of my future opponents.”
“I am honestly so sad,” Castellanos said. “That head butt should have disqualified him; it could have been fatal. I knew coming in that I was in enemy territory, however I felt that I was ahead in the cards. I feel terrible.”
Berchelt vs. Miura, was a 12-round fight for the WBC Super Featherweight World Championship, was presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Zanfer Promotions and Teiken Promotions. Corrales vs. Castellanos was presented by Golden Boy Promotions. Smith vs. Barerra was presented by Star Boxing in association with Main Events. The event was sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD and Casa Mexico Tequila.
