The 2018 Prospect of the Year started 2019 off in style. Teofimo Lopez (12-0, 10 KOs) knocked out former two-time world title challenger Diego Magdaleno (31-3, 13 KOs) in the seventh, retaining his NABA, NABF, and USBA lightweight titles.
A pair of left hooks knocked Magdaleno down and out for the count.
“I take nothing away from Diego Magdaleno. We picked our shots, and we knew that in the later rounds, he’d drown in those deep waters,” Lopez said. “As the competition gets tougher, you will see more of what I can do. I dissected him like a surgeon.”
Commey Steamrolls Chaniev in 2
Talk about a statement. Richard Commey (28-2, 25 KOs) steamrolled Isa Chaniev (13-2, 6 KOs) in two brutal rounds to win the vacant IBF lightweight world title. He scored a knockdown with a crunching right hand in the first, knocked him down again with an uppercut in the second, and followed up with a flurry to secure the TKO.
“This is everything for me. This is what I worked so hard for,” Commey said. “Finally being a world champion, I feel like I fulfilled a destiny for me.”
Next up for Commey is a potential showdown with WBA/WBO lightweight champion and pound-for-pound great Vasiliy Lomachenko. He hurt his right knuckle in the opening round, and if receives a clean bill of health, Lomachenko will be next.
“When I hit him in the first round, I hurt my right knuckle,” Commey said. “I’m going to have to get it looked at and see what happens.”
In other action:
Middleweight prospect Janibek Alimkhanuly (5-0, 2 KOs) picked up his biggest win to date, knocking out Steven Martinez (18-5, 13 KOs) at :21 of the fifth round.
“I showed what I was capable of against a tough opponent,” Alimkhanuly said. “I am close to world title contention. It’s going to be a big year for me in 2019. This is only the beginning of my journey.”
Featherweight prospect Jason “El Alacrancito” Sanchez (14-0, 7 KOs) made quick work of Daniel Olea (13-7-2, 5 KOs), knocking out the rugged veteran at 1:35 of the second round. Olea had only been knocked out once before as a pro.
“I wanted to be patient in there. I wasn’t necessarily looking for the knockout right away,” Sanchez said. “But the opportunity came, and I took advantage of the opening.”
Pat Day (17-2-1, 6 KOs) extended his winning streak to six with a hard-fought unanimous decision against the previously unbeaten Ismail Iliev (11-1-1, 3 KOs) to retain the WBC Continental Americas super welterweight title and win the vacant IBF Intercontinental junior middleweight belt. The scores were as followed: 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94.
Bakhram Murtazaliev (15-0, 12 KOs) retained his WBC USNBC super welterweight title with a ninth-round TKO over Elvin Ayala (29-13-1, 13 KOs). An accumulation of blows forced the referee to stop the bout at 2:05.
Enriko Gogokhia (11-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Vitor Jones Freitas (15-4, 9 KOs) at 2:04 of round three, as referee Neal Young stopped the bout following a barrage of punches.