Vergil Ortiz Jr. (10-0, 10 KOs), the rising knockout artist and pride of Dallas, Texas, scored a spectacular third-round knockout win against former world champion Juan Carlos Salgado (27-9-1, 16 KOs) in a 10-round super lightweight fight in main event of the June 23 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. After punishing Salgado for two rounds, Ortiz ended matters at 1:52 of the third round with a thunderous left hook to the body.
(Photo Credit: Tom Hogan-HoganPhotos/Golden Boy Promotions)
“I felt I was posed in there,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. “Salgado has a lot of experience, and he showed it. He got me a few times, but I learned from this fight, and I’m thankful for the opportunity. I want to continue facing experienced fighters like Salgado. Obviously, I’m not ready for a world title fight yet, but in two years I will be. The left hook to the body is definitely my best punch. I’ve been working on it since I was a kid. It’s not common for an amateur to be dropping his opponents at only nine years old, but that’s what I was doing and what I’m still doing today.”
Super Featherweight prospect Hector “El Finito Tanajara Jr (14-0, 6 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas scored an eight-round unanimous decision victory against tough Venezuelan Roger Gutierrez (18-2-1, 15 KOs) in tonight’s co-main event. Despite Gutierrez having an awkward style, Tanajara won with scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74.
“He came out swinging, so I had to stay composed in there,” said Hector Tanajara Jr. “I had to listen to my corner and stay tight. Every time a round ended, my corner would tell me to not take any risks early in the fight, so I stuck to the game plan in order to win.”
Rising 154-pound prospect Ferdinand “Lucky Boy” Kerobyan (9-0, 5 KOs) of North Hollywood, Calif. scored a second-round technical knockout victory against Edgar Garcia (7-17-1, 2 KOs) of Sonora, Mexico in a super welterweight fight that was initially scheduled for six rounds.
“I wanted to show that not only am I powerful, but I’m also very fast,” said Ferdinand Kerobyan. “I never consider any opponent easy, especially since anyone in the ring can hurt you if you’re not careful. I want a world title in the future, and I’m ready to do what’s necessary to get that.”
Meiirim Nursultanov (20-0, 6 KOs) of Merki, Kazakhstan scored a sixth-round technical knockout victory against Josue Obando (15-21-1, 12 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico in a scheduled six-round super middleweight fight. After dominating Obando in every round, Nursultanov stopped Obando at 1:37 of the final round.
“I wasn’t able to finalize matters until the very end of the fight,” said Meiirim Nursultanov. “He has a very awkward style, which made me take long to really find him. I’ll be back on in August.”
Ortiz Jr. vs Salgado was a 10-round super lightweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event was sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING” and Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle.” The fights took place on Saturday, June 23, 2018 at the Belasco Theater in Downtown, Los Angeles, Calif.
