Photos: Valenzuela beats Berrio by unanimous decision

By Premier Boxing - 09/18/2021 - Comments

Unbeaten rising lightweight prospect Jose Valenzuela (10–0, 6 KOs) defeated Deiner Berrio (22–4–1, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 98-92) in the 10-round main event of FS1 PBC Fight Night action, and on FOX Deportes, Saturday from Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California.

Valenzuela dominated the first three stanzas, landing nearly four times the punches that Berrio landed.

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Berrio found a bit of a rhythm in the fourth and fifth rounds with his unorthodox style and landed a few clean shots on Valenzuela.

However, Valenzuela made some adjustments, continued to outwork Berrio severely, and dominated much of the bout’s second half.

Even when Berrio landed a right hand to Valenzuela’s jaw in the eighth round, he followed it up with a left hand that briefly stunned Valenzuela and pushed him back. Berrio took his foot off the gas, allowing Valenzuela to regain and win the eighth round on two of the judges’ scorecards.

The tenth and final round was an all-out slugfest with both fighters landing their share of blows, but Valenzuela survived the best of what Berrio had to offer and cruised to a comprehensive decision victory.

The co-main event on FS1 featured Rajon Chance (5–0–1, 5 KOs) battling Elon De Jesus (3–0–1, 2 KOs) to a majority draw (57-55 for Chance, 56-56, 56-56) in a six-round super bantamweight attraction.

De Jesus seemingly jumped out to an early lead, landing several powerful overhand rights in the third round, resulting in a cut opening up on Chance’s forehead.

Chance and De Jesus got twisted up in the fourth round, with Chance bending down to stabilize himself. As Chance leaned forward, De Jesus landed a blow to the back of Chance’s head. Referee Jerry Cantu immediately deducted a point from De Jesus for the infraction.

Midway through the fifth stanza, De Jesus scored a sensational knockdown with a massive right uppercut to Chance’s jaw. Chance picked himself up off the canvas and complained to Cantu that he couldn’t see anything. Cantu called for a timeout to have the ringside physician examine De Jesus’ eyes, and the physician approved the fight to continue.

Although De Jesus dominated the action throughout and scored the only knockdown in the contest, the point deduction resulted in a majority draw. Both Chance and De Jesus maintained their undefeated records.

The FS1 opener showcased Amed Medina (4–0, 3 KOs) defeating Abdur Abdullah (4–5, 0 KOs) by unanimous decision (40-35, 40-35, 40-35) in a four-round super featherweight showdown.

Medina, who had never fought beyond the first round in his young career, knocked down Abdullah with a short, right uppercut in the opening frame.

Medina controlled the action over the following three rounds, landing nearly three times the punches that Abdullah landed, en route to a lopsided decision.