Subriel Matías (19-1, 19 KOs) proved to be too much for unbeaten Jeremías Ponce (30-1, 20 KOs), stopping him with a flurry of shots in the fifth round to capture the vacant IBF light welterweight crown on Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Matias, 31, dropped Ponce with a left to the body late in the fifth round after unloading on him with a storm of shots late in the round. When Ponce got back to his feet, Matias attempted to finish him, but he made it out of the round just barely.
In between rounds, Ponce’s trainer had the contest stopped. The time of the stoppage was at 3:00 of round five.
Undercard results:
Welterweight fringe contender Jamal James (28-2, 12 KOs) defeated Alberto Palmetta (18-2, 13 KOs) by a competitive 10 round unanimous decision in the chief support bout.
The scores were
- 99-91
- 98-92
- 98-92
Both fighters were hurt in the contest, but James was able to tough it out with his body skills and work rate.
Light welterweight Elvis Rodriguez (14-1-1, 12 KOs) pounded out a surprisingly close 10 round majority decision over Joseph Adorno (17-2-2, 14 KOs).
Rodriguez started slow in the first five rounds but came on in the seventh to drop Adorno with a left hand. In the tenth, Rodriguez knocked Adorno down a second time but couldn’t finish the job. The scores were 95-93, 97-71, and 94-94.
Welterweight Ve Shawn Owens (14-3, 12 KOs) outworked Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (18-2, 10 KOs), beating him by a one-sided 10 round unanimous decision. The judges scored it 98-92, 99-91, and 97-93.
Abdukakhorov was on his bike through the entire second half of the fight, trying to escape the constant pressure that Owens was putting on him.
The power of Owens wasn’t what bothered Abdukakhorov. It was the nonstop punches and attacks that seemed to wear him down. Owens had been soundly beaten by Alberto Puello in his last fight in 2021.
Unheralded welterweight Willie Jones (9-2, 6 KOs) pulled off a big upset, stopping prospect Derrick Jackson (10-1, 5 KOs) by a first round knockout after catching him with a big left to the head.
The 31-year-old Jones caught Jackson with the perfect shot to drop him hard. The referee immediately halted the contest due to Jackson being badly hurt. The end came at 1:40 of the first.
In other action on the card, light welterweight prospect Mikkel Spencer (3-0, 2 KOs) destroyed Margarito Hernandez (3-5-1, 0 KOs) by a first round knockout. The contest was halted at 2:18.
Preview: Matias vs. Ponce start time
Subrian Matias and Jeremias Ponce fight card starts at 9:00 p.m. ET on Showtime Championship Boxing.
The Puerto Rican native Matias has been compared to Artur Gatti due to his brawling fighting style and his nonstop punching. Matias has incredible cardio, an excellent chin, and great courage. He literally doesn’t stop punching, which forces his opponents to try and match him punch for punch.
Tonight, we’ll find out if the Argentinian Ponce can stay in there with Matias in a war of attrition. Where Ponce is a little different from the guys that Matias has been facing is that he’s a body puncher and one of the best at 140.
Matias is going to have to prove that he can take body shots from Ponce tonight if he wants to win because this isn’t going to be one of his typical fights where he’s he’s happily eating headshots like it’s candy.
Tonight, it’ll be a different story because Ponce prefers to throw to the body, and with the way he targets it, he makes it nearly impossible to get through an entire fight without going down at least once.
The long-armed Ponce, who is similar to Antonio Margarito with his build, power & emphasis on body punching, will be targeting Matias’ midsection the entire time.
Ponce put his name on the map with his tenth round body shot stoppage win over Lewis Ritson in June 2021 in Newcastle. Since that victory, Ponce has knocked out Michel Marcano and Achiko Odikadze.
If Matias takes it to the inside, he’s still going to be getting hit to the body because Ponce doesn’t stop throwing to the midsection, even in close, and he’s able to generate power.
Mattias vs. Ponce card
Subriel Matias vs. Jeremias Ponce
Jamal James vs. Alberto Palmetta
Elvis Rodriguez vs. Joseph Adorno
Kudratillo Abdukakhorov vs. VeShawn Owens
Derrick Jackson vs. Willie Jones
Mickel Spencer vs. Margarito Hernandez
The hard-hitting light welterweight contenders Subriel Matias & Jeremias Ponce meet tonight in the 12 round main event to battle it out for the vacant IBF 140-lb title on Showtime at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The main portion of the Matias vs. Ponce card begins at 9 pm ET on Showtime.