Rising heavyweight Frank “The Cuban Flash” Sanchez (16-0, 12 KOs) scored a fourth-round knockout over Brian Howard (15-4, 12 KOs), knocking him down three times on his way to the victory to retain his WBO NABO Heavyweight title on FOX PBC Fight Night main event and FOX Deportes from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Sanchez showed improved aggression against Howard, stalking his opponent and forcing the action effectively from the outset. Late in round three, Sanchez broke through with a right uppercut that stunned Howard, before a left hook and straight right hand sent him to the mat.

Howard made it through the round, but in round four Sanchez put him down again with a left hook in the round’s opening moments. Sanchez’s third knockdown of the fight came on chopping right and left hands shortly after. A final flurry from Sanchez eventually forced referee Jerry Cantu to halt the fight 2:07 into the round.

Sanchez controlled the action throughout, out landing Howard 66 to 11, while connecting on 35% of his punches.

LAS VEGAS (September 12, 2020) — Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas is a top welterweight contender once again. In his first fight since losing to pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford last December, Kavaliauskas knocked out Canadian veteran Mikael Zewski in the eighth round to grab the WBO NABO Welterweight Title.

Kavaliauskas (22-1-1, 18 KOs) knocked down Zewski (34-2, 23 KOs) with a combination to close out the seventh round, then charged out of his corner to finish things off in the eighth. Following the second knockdown of the fight, referee Kenny Bayless immediately waved off the bout.

Zewski was leading on two of the judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

Kavaliauskas said, “I was controlling the fight. I was never in danger. I was never hurt.

“I wanted to knock him out faster, but it happened this way. You can never count on the knockout. I was working. I was putting pressure on him. I saw him slowing down round by round. I saw him getting weaker and weaker. I was just blocking his punches and not feeling his power.

“I don’t think Crawford has any other choices at welterweight. I can ask his team, with all due respect, to give me a rematch because these guys have no opponents yet.”

Gonzalez Topples Marriaga

In the featherweight co-feature, Joet Gonzalez picked up the WBO Inter-Continental belt with a one-sided unanimous decision (99-91 2x and 97-93) over three-time world title challenger Miguel Marriaga (29-4, 25 KOs). Gonzalez (24-1, 14 KOs) had not fought since losing a one-sided decision to Shakur Stevenson last October for the vacant WBO featherweight world title.

Gonzalez said, “This puts me back in the position I want to be. I wanted to be back in with tough guys. I told my manager, Frank Espinoza, and my team at Golden Boy that I didn’t want no tune-up fights. I wanted to show people that I could compete with the top guys and be in with heavy hitters and boxers and compete for another title real soon.

“I want another world title shot. I think I’ve earned it.”

Photos Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Weigh-In Results: Jamel Herring vs. Jonathan Oquendo

TOMORROW at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT live on ESPN+
from the MGM Grand Conference Center – Grand Ballroom (Las Vegas)

(ESPN+ 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT)
Jamel Herring 129.5 lbs vs. Jonathan Oquendo 129.6 lbs
(Herring’s WBO Jr. Lightweight World Title — 12 Rounds)

Steven Nelson 167.6 lbs vs. DeAndre Ware 168 lbs
(Nelson’s NABO Super Middleweight Title — 10 Rounds)

Photos by Mikey Williams

#GBxDAZN #ThursdayNightFights WBO NABO Flyweight Champion Marlen Esparza (7-0, 1 KO) of Houston, TX defeated Mexico’s Sonia Osorio (13-6-1, 3 KOs) via unanimous decision to retain her title @ Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio. Scorecards: 79-73 (x2) 78-74.

“I think I did okay,” said Marlen Esparza. “I’m always so hard on myself, though. She kept putting her head on my chest, which I didn’t like. The referee never stopped her, which makes me think he was letting us fight. That’s good, but I also figured I had to take matters into my own hands. So, I found my timing and started landing the counter right hand. I want to beat Seniesa Estrada’s ass first, and then I want to fight for a world title.”

2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist and current WBO NABO Flyweight Champion Marlen Esparza (6-0, 1 KO) of Houston, TX, takes on Mexico’s Sonia Osorio (13-6-1, 3 KOs) in her first title defense on July 18.Thursday Night Fights.

Esparza claimed the NABO belt in April with a shutout Decision win over Jhosep Vizcaino at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA after giving birth to her son.

On Thursday, Esparza returns to the same venue to square off with the current Mexico Flyweight Champion, Osorio.

Osorio is riding a three bout winning streak since dropping a decision to Esparza’s Golden Boy stablemate, Seniesa Estrada.

Photo by Tom Hogan

Via http://www.womenofboxing.com/marlen-esparza-defends-her-nabo-flyweight-championship-against-sonia-osorio-on-thursday/