Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete (18-1-1, 7 KOs) of Tierraalta, Colombia and Joshua “The Professor” Franco (14-1-1, 7 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas fought to a ten-round split draw in the main event of the Oct. 4 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at the Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Calif. Negrete retained his NABF Bantamweight Title in a hard-fought fight in which both men threw over 1,000 punches. Each fighter received a score of 96-94, while one judge scored it a 95-95, resulting in a split draw.
“It was a great fight, but I felt I won,” said Oscar Negrete. “He [Franco] threw a lot of punches, but I blocked most of them. To tell the truth, it made me uncomfortable when he threw a lot and then suddenly clinched. He’s very talented. I give him my respect. He is a warrior. It ended in a draw, but we’ll see if we get the rematch.”
“I can’t complain. It was a close fight,” said Joshua Franco. “I landed the better shots and hurt him with clean punches. He kept throwing and throwing, which is not what I expected, but I adjusted. I would love a rematch.”
In the co-main, Danielito Zorrilla (9-0, 8 KOs) of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico stopped Dakota Linger (10-1-2, 6 KOs) of Buckhannon, West Virginia at 2:59 of the third round of a super lightweight bout originally slated for eight rounds.
“I did well and fought calmly, like a professional,” said Danielito Zorrilla. “I was comfortable and worked well. I have to talk to my promoter to see what’s next, but I want to fight before the year ends.”
Jousce Gonzalez (8-0-1, 8 KOs) of Glendora, California and Ivan Delgado (12-1-2, 5 KOs) of South Central fought to a six-round majority draw in a super featherweight clash. One judge scored the fight 58-56 in favor of Delgado, which was overruled by two scores of 57-57.
“It was a good fight, but I won,” said Jousce Gonzalez. He’s a tough fighter, but I felt I landed more shots and controlled the fight at a distance.”
“I felt I did enough to win,” said Ivan Delgado. “He missed most shots, while landed harder and cleaner punches.”
Carlos Caraballo (9-0, 9 KOs) of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico defeated Felipe Rivas (17-22-4, 11 KOs) of Nogales, Mexico via KO at 1:47 of the sixth-round a bantamweight battle scheduled for six rounds.
“I did a good job and finished matters in the last round,” said Carlos Caraballo. “He did his job. He came out hard and he worked, but I did enough to make the referee end the fight.”
Negrete vs. Franco was a 10-round fight for the NABF Bantamweight Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event was sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy, “Never Stop, Never Settle,”and Venom. The event took place on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018 at The Hangar at The OC Fair and Event Center.