MORE BOXING FIGHTS: https://www.boxingfightsvideos.com
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/boxingfvideos_
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/boxingfvideos1/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/boxingfvideos_/
FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/boxingfvideos_
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/boxingfvideos1/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/boxingfvideos_/
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Gentlemen, as we discussed earlier, the punches right here on the belt are not considered low.
00:07 You had your instructions in the dressing room. You both know what I expect.
00:12 A clean championship fight. Just obey my commands and protect yourself at all times. Good luck.
00:18 Referee Steve Mark Nelson cleared the air. He said, "This is what I'm going to consider a low blow.
00:28 This is the belt line for Xander Zayas against Roberto Valenzuela."
00:32 And Xander said, "Look, I have an opponent in front of me who comes forward.
00:37 I'm getting better and I need wins like this to get me to the highest level."
00:42 And he also has an opponent that he's facing that had two months to prepare for him.
00:47 Yes.
00:48 This isn't a short notice fight. This is a dangerous fight for the young Xander Zayas.
00:52 Valenzuela told us, "Look, I've been in against real fighters, not just prospects like Zayas, and I've hurt them."
01:00 He lost to Alexis Rocha by stoppage, but other than that, three of his four losses have come against undefeated opponents,
01:08 and Zayas is exactly that, undefeated, coming in tonight.
01:12 You can see already Zayas already showing respect. You see his eyes wide open.
01:17 He feels those punches already. You know, when you're starting off and you want to feel the power of your opponent,
01:23 you'll let him hit you on the gloves. You can feel it. Literally feel it.
01:28 He's felt it, but look at his eyes. Look how focused, laser focused he is.
01:32 Well, he told us in the fighter meetings, "I feel better. Competition elevates me. It keeps me focused.
01:37 I know I can't make a mistake. This guy has 20 knockouts. It means he can crack.
01:41 But these are the fights that make me better.
01:43 And when I have a guy who pushes me to be better, he comes in with a mindset to win.
01:48 I can catch him with a left hook and send him down."
01:51 What a play shot right there. A well-played shot.
01:59 Second time that Valenzuela Jr. has been downed. The other was against Alexis Rocha.
02:04 He lost that fight by technical knockout in the fifth round.
02:08 What can Zayas do? Because, Tim, the Puerto Rican fans showed out here in Corpus Christi.
02:14 You heard the crowd. There was a lot of Puerto Rican fans in the crowd.
02:18 And Mexican crowd cheering for Xander Zayas when they introduced him.
02:23 That stick from Xander Zayas. He's disciplined. He's focused. He looks like laser sharp right now.
02:29 But you see he's not taking chances right now, which is good because it's still early.
02:33 That knockdown was somewhat of a flash knockdown. And now they count even flash knockdowns like that.
02:39 They counted eight, an eight-ten round. So this is clearly an eight-ten round for Xander Zayas.
02:44 That's a slip and then a right hook. And down goes Valenzuela Jr. again.
02:51 He did hook him.
02:59 Now a ten-seven round.
03:03 That was somewhat controversial, but you've got to protect yourself at all times.
03:07 The Texas Commission is not using instant replay tonight, so that cannot be reviewed.
03:13 I like what Xander's doing. I like his feints. He's trying to draw something.
03:19 He's trying to get Valenzuela to show his cards.
03:24 Show that right hand. Show that power. He's looking to take it away from him.
03:29 But I love his patience. I love his poise. He's not rushing things.
03:33 Excellent start for Xander Zayas in his 17th professional fight against the dangerous Valenzuela.
03:41 Zayas!
03:44 We don't know any first responders who only give night.
03:49 We don't know any first responders who only give night.
03:54 We don't know any first responders who only give night.
03:59 We don't know any first responders who only give night.
04:04 We don't know any first responders who only give night.
04:09 We don't know any first responders who only give night.
04:14 We don't know any first responders who only give night.
04:19 At Amica, protecting what matters most to you.
04:24 At Amica, we know the most important part of the car.
04:29 At Amica, we know the most important part of the car.
04:34 Tennessee, Florida. Colorado State, Colorado. Tonight on ESPN.
04:39 First knockdown looked clean and left hooked, but the right second one, no replay, could have changed things.
04:49 Yeah, the first knockdown was a short, crisp, looked like it was a up jab right there from...
04:55 Beautiful shot. See, that's double impact. The reason why that had so much effect was because Valenzuela was coming forward.
05:02 But the second knockdown right here, you see it was a push down from Xander Zayas.
05:07 And the referee, there's no instant replay now, so he can't go over here and review it to overturn it.
05:12 So that's a 10-7 round for Xander Zayas.
05:15 Their feet got tangled, and then the right hand landed when Valenzuela was in a vulnerable position.
05:21 Oh, he hurt him again with the jab.
05:23 That time, though, Xander Zayas lands clean, and it's once again that double impact that you described, Tim, with Valenzuela coming in and Zayas timing him perfectly.
05:31 Yes, it's a head-on collision. Think about it. Your momentum's coming forward, and the punch is meeting you, and it's meeting you at the same time.
05:37 And that's the reason why those jabs are having so much effect on Valenzuela.
05:42 Zayas ranked number 5 by the WBO at 154 pounds.
05:50 You see the legs that Zayas has, how he creates angles of attack, and then immediately ties up Valenzuela.
05:58 See a little blood right there, high on the head of Valenzuela on the right side.
06:02 It's from the nose, I think, and it comes up on the glove.
06:10 Nice right hand there from Valenzuela. That's what you said we had to watch out for tonight.
06:16 The right hand of Valenzuela is dangerous. He's flattened a lot of guys. 21 of his opponents with that right hand.
06:23 Well, 20 of 21, but he wants to make it 21 tonight.
06:28 And Zayas very attentive. The eyes tell the story, as you mentioned early on in this fight, Tim.
06:35 The focus of Zander has to be on point, because any mistake, and Valenzuela will make you pay.
06:41 That's a slip, or a pulldown from Zayas.
06:44 That shows you how strong Zander Zayas is. He's physically strong.
06:50 21 years old now, getting his man bones on.
06:54 He's maturing. That muscle is starting to mature. You see how he's able to throw down Valenzuela.
07:00 And he's hitting him with a power jab, and it's really rocking Valenzuela.
07:04 It's hurting him. It's buzzing him, just for a split second.
07:08 The irony is Valenzuela Jr. told us, "Look, my last opponent, Murtazaliev, was bigger and stronger than Zander, and I was able to take his shots."
07:16 Well, apparently not.
07:18 Apparently not.
07:20 You can see the footwork of Zayas really bothering Valenzuela. He's not there to be hit.
07:35 And the speed. The speed difference between the two.
07:38 The younger Zayas is quicker, quicker on the trigger. He can get his punches there.
07:42 Valenzuela, he needs you to sit still, to be able to sit down on his punches and have power.
07:49 We don't know any first responders.
07:52 Who only give night.
07:54 We don't know any first responders.
07:57 Who only give night.
07:59 We don't know any first responders.
08:02 Who only give night.
08:04 We don't know any first responders.
08:07 Who only give night.
08:09 We don't know any first responders.
08:12 Who only give night.
08:14 We don't know any first responders.
08:18 Who only give night.
08:19 We don't know any first responders.
08:22 Who only give night.
08:24 At Amica, we know the most important part of the car.
08:28 At Amica, your coverage.
08:33 At Amica, we know what happens to your home.
08:38 Here's where legends are born.
08:42 And every match is a spectacle.
08:45 So cold, racing.
08:46 Yes, guys!
08:47 Yes, guys!
08:49 [BELL RINGING]
08:51 Excellent start for Xander Zayas after two rounds.
08:54 We remind you that 10-7 round opening up the fight with the two knockdowns.
08:58 And then a good second round against the rugged and dangerous Roberto Valenzuela Jr.
09:04 Bernardo Usuna alongside Timothy Bradley and Mark Creagle on the call from Corpus Christi, Texas tonight.
09:11 Jowett Gonzalez getting his gloves signed off in the locker rooms.
09:16 He will challenge for the featherweight world title for a third time.
09:20 And I expect to see the dog in Jowett tonight because last few times he left that little extra in the tank when he should have just emptied the tank.
09:29 You better bring that dog tonight.
09:30 I mean, this is your third opportunity of the world championship.
09:32 You say you want it.
09:33 This has been your dream.
09:34 Well, this is an opportunity for you.
09:36 And I think this is the right guy he can do it against as well.
09:39 He has to stand there.
09:40 He has to bag this man up.
09:42 If he can bag up Lopez all night and put the pressure on him and force him to a place that he's never been, he can win this fight.
09:49 But if he sits on the outside and he tries to box, he's not going to win this fight.
09:52 Luis Alberto Lopez, the IBF champion, making the second defense of his world title.
09:58 He had a spectacular first defense, knocking out Irish Olympian Mick Conlin in Belfast with a brutal right uppercut.
10:07 He'll try to deliver the first knockout loss in Jowett Gonzalez's career.
10:11 You see the blood now over the right eyelid of Valenzuela.
10:16 This is exactly what the matchmakers wanted to see from Xander Zayas.
10:21 They wanted to see good defense, and I know it's early on and there's still a lot of fight left, but they wanted to see good defense.
10:27 They wanted him to slow down the pace a bit.
10:29 They wanted him to be able to pick his shots, be a complete professional.
10:33 And that's what you're seeing tonight from Xander.
10:36 Short left hook there from Xander Zayas, Tim.
10:39 It's target practice at this time, and you know what it's like to see a man bleeding and how you want to go after him.
10:46 I've seen Valenzuela, Jr. shake off his right hand several times.
10:50 Have to keep an eye on that, see if it's injured.
10:53 You can see that blood dripping down in the eye, impairing the vision a little bit.
11:01 You see Valenzuela rubbing his eye occasionally, trying to clear his vision.
11:07 See, any time Xander gets in space and he stands still for a minute, it's dangerous for him.
11:12 He has to keep moving his legs side to side and make sure he gets his head off the line once he sees that right hand comes, as he did there.
11:19 Now Valenzuela, he has to do what he needs to do to try to get close and make this fight rough and tough for Xander Zayas.
11:28 Xander is having his way right now, and Xander has to conserve and keep his composure, I should say.
11:36 Keep his composure and don't get into a firefight with Valenzuela.
11:41 You hear the Mexico chants, and you will hear them in our main event, because IBF champion Luis Alberto Lopez,
11:50 he took an unconventional route to this title, traveling overseas to beat hometown favorites.
11:56 [crowd cheering]
12:22 What an embarrassing story of a fight.
12:25 Timmy, we always argue about pedigree. This is a guy that didn't even have an amateur career.
12:30 I don't know where he came from. He beat prospects, he beat undefeated guys, he won his title in Leeds,
12:37 he beat Nick Conlin in Belfast. Wow. I mean, I don't like, I'd like to know where he's going.
12:43 Luis Alberto Lopez defending the world title for the second time,
12:50 he's dangerous because he's got a confidence about him, an air of invincibility since he became a champion,
12:56 and he's playing with house money.
12:58 Well, I see an orthodox style as well. I mean, you know, his soccer background actually helps him inside the ring.
13:05 You know, he has this like bull rush type of offense, where he would unleash a quick combination
13:11 with blazing fast hands, plus on top of that with power, and from odd angles.
13:15 So he's unconventional, you know, and sometimes being unconventional, it gives conventional fighters, boxing styles, problems.
13:23 You know, they nicknamed him El Venado because he was fast, but he's got those soccer player legs and he lunges with those.
13:30 He jumps in the air sometimes, he leaves his feet sometimes.
13:33 That's what deer do. El Venado.
13:36 So you'll see that in tonight's main event, following Zayas Valenzuela,
13:40 with Zayas having an excellent showing so far, a cut on the bridge of the nose of Roberto Valenzuela Jr. and Tim.
13:47 Blood sometimes brings out that urgency in fighters, and you see Valenzuela pawing at that cut,
13:54 and the blood on his gloves is now transferring to the face of Xander Zayas.
14:00 That's a hard cut to stop bleeding.
14:04 It is, right on the bridge of the nose.
14:07 The mouthpiece came flying out, replaced by referee Mark Nelson.
14:11 Very difficult to stop that.
14:13 As Valenzuela tries to land the overhand right, Zayas countered with a left hook.
14:22 Anything close on the bone or the cartilage is always difficult to stop bleeding.
14:27 Even punches on top of the head are hard to stop bleeding.
14:33 Wouldn't be Mexican Independence Day weekend without a bloody crimson mask inside the ring,
14:40 and tonight it's Valenzuela who gets to wear it at the hands of Puerto Rico's Zayas.
14:46 Zayas is laser focused tonight, he's sharp.
14:50 We hadn't seen this level of focus in a while now.
14:53 No, and another thing, that jab is vicious.
14:56 They might stop this fight with the bleeding.
15:00 Going to the neutral corner, getting it checked out by the doctor here.
15:05 He's fine. Texas. Just need to wipe it off.
15:07 It looks bad, but he's fine.
15:09 It's just the amount of blood.
15:11 And they worry about that. They do.
15:13 He's gonna stop it, he says.
15:18 You gotta let the corner do their work. The corner do their job.
15:23 He says he can see.
15:26 What's your medical opinion?
15:30 Watch it.
15:32 What's your medical opinion?
15:34 I don't think it's gonna stop.
15:36 Let's watch it.
15:39 Valenzuela Jr., a true fighter, says, "I don't want to stop it. Let's do this, and let's see what happens."
15:46 Because once you tell a fighter that they may stop the fight, they might go all out.
15:51 You gotta at least give the corner, the cut man in the corner, an opportunity to stop the bleeding.
15:59 Alright, Mark, you're with the doctor. What did he tell you?
16:01 Dr. Michael Fuentes took a good long look at it.
16:04 He said, "Hey, is his nose broken?"
16:06 Because you see there's so much blood there.
16:08 He goes, "I think it probably is."
16:10 Well, what we do know for sure, whether it's broken or not,
16:13 there's a huge gash on the bridge of his nose that's not gonna stop bleeding.
16:18 Especially if Zayas keeps targeting it with that jab.
16:22 And once again, the doctor's gonna come up.
16:24 He wanted to stop it earlier.
16:26 You see the blood on the face of referee Mark Nelson.
16:29 He says, "I can see."
16:31 He says, "I don't care if I have a broken nose. I want to fight."
16:40 Using the same gauze, by the way, that he started with.
16:47 So sanitary.
16:49 Valenzuela says, "I don't care if it's broken. Let me fight."
16:54 Referee's giving him, and the doctor rightfully is giving him
16:58 every opportunity to finish this round.
17:00 Allow the corner to go to work.
17:02 And this is gonna be a war for whatever time is left.
17:05 Because Valenzuela Jr. can get stopped at any time.
17:09 And he gets clipped.
17:10 And he uses the ropes to stay up here in the fourth round.
17:13 And Zayas is going to work.
17:15 And he's got it.
17:18 He's got it.
17:19 He's got it.
17:20 He's got it.
17:21 He's going to work.
17:23 Left hook from Zander Zayas.
17:30 Another left hook doubles up the Zander Zayas.
17:33 Now he goes downstairs.
17:34 Valenzuela says, "Come on!"
17:36 And we will.
17:37 We don't know any first responders
17:41 who only give night.
17:43 We don't know any first responders
17:46 who only give night.
17:48 We don't know any first responders
17:51 who only give night.
17:53 We don't know any first responders
17:56 who only give night.
17:58 We don't know any first responders
18:01 who only give night.
18:03 We don't know any first responders
18:06 who only give night.
18:08 We don't know any first responders
18:11 who only give night.
18:13 At Amica, we know the most important part of the home
18:16 is the family inside it.
18:18 At Amica, we know what happens to your home.
18:22 GEICO makes it easy to bundle your home and car insurance.
18:26 In fact, it's so easy.
18:28 Tennessee, Florida.
18:29 Colorado State, Colorado.
18:31 Tonight on ESPN.
18:33 What's interesting, the corner does a great job
18:41 of stopping the fight.
18:42 They want one more round.
18:44 They were arguing in the corner saying,
18:47 "Look, the cut is under his eyes.
18:50 "He can see."
18:51 That's their argument for allowing the fight to continue.
18:54 Yeah, but they're worried about the amount of blood
18:56 that the fighter is losing.
18:58 That's what they're worried about.
19:00 And the man who stopped the bleeding
19:02 was Danny Carbajal,
19:04 the brother of former world champion Michael Carbajal.
19:08 The doctor let him work.
19:10 Now Xander Zayas is going to go to work.
19:13 Valenzuela got caught up in the ropes last round.
19:15 It could have been a knockdown.
19:17 No replay in effect here in Texas.
19:19 Oh, there's that jab.
19:20 It should be in effect.
19:22 But beautiful shot right there from Xander.
19:24 Off the back foot.
19:27 Catching Valenzuela.
19:29 Valenzuela catching himself on the ropes right there.
19:32 But that nose is starting to bleed.
19:34 Even now.
19:35 But that nose is starting to bleed even more.
19:38 This fight's going to be stopped here shortly.
19:40 I agree with that.
19:41 Nice left uppercut.
19:42 The jab.
19:43 There it is.
19:44 It's going to be over.
19:45 That's it.
19:46 I mean, Valenzuela Jr., like a true warrior,
19:48 wants to continue.
19:50 But referee Mark Nelson says this fight is over.
19:53 He was dropped twice in the first round.
19:55 One, a clean knockdown.
19:57 The second, a controversial one.
19:59 But nonetheless,
20:01 it was the fact that
20:03 referee Mark Nelson believed that it was affecting his vision.
20:07 Yeah, it was a lot of blood to deal with.
20:09 You know, and it was splatting around.
20:11 And every time he got hit, you know, he was trying to clear his eyes.
20:16 Top-ranked boxing on ESPN is brought to you by Geico.
20:20 See how easy it is to bundle all your insurance needs.
20:25 I don't think they sell health insurance,
20:27 but Roberto Valenzuela Jr. is definitely going to have to go get stitched up
20:31 because that was a bad cut.
20:33 And the Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry on this occasion,
20:36 on Mexican Independence Day weekend,
20:38 goes the way of Xander Zayas,
20:40 who at 21 years old improves to 17-0, 11 knockouts,
20:45 his first victory as a full-fledged 21-year-old adult.
20:49 And I love it.
20:50 I loved every minute of this performance.
20:53 Young man put on a fantastic display of boxing skills.
20:57 He was patient.
20:58 He showed poise.
20:59 He set up his shots.
21:00 He wasn't rushing tonight.
21:02 His legs looked strong.
21:03 He did a lot of great things in his ring tonight,
21:06 and that's the reason why we were able to see this type of performance from this young man.
21:09 But look at that shot right there.
21:11 Just a jab.
21:12 A stiff, stiff shotgun-like jab.
21:17 He fought when he needed to fight.
21:18 He was aggressive, physical when he needed to be physical.
21:21 He landed clean, effective counterpunches off the back foot, off the front foot.
21:26 But the highlight for me was that pistol jab.
21:29 That is a professional, effective jab right there.
21:33 Judges will count this type of work from a jab, no doubt about it.
21:38 But you see the angles right there as he veered off on the angle.
21:41 A lot of great things from this young man.
21:43 I'm telling you right now, the next star of Puerto Rico, no doubt about it.
21:49 I want to see more.
21:51 I mean, I wish the fight could have continued, man.
21:53 It was so good.
21:54 And Valenzuela, I mean, he gave a gained effort.
21:57 He wanted to continue, fearless.
21:59 He came forward.
22:01 I think he still would have been in this fight right now if the referee wouldn't have stopped the fight.
22:04 Absolutely.
22:05 Roberto Valenzuela Jr. is a Mexican warrior.
22:07 He came to fight tonight.
22:09 He even said, "I don't care if my nose is broken.
22:12 Let it be broken.
22:13 Just let me continue to fight."
22:15 He argued a lot of times, Tim, the doctor and the referee will come to the corner,
22:20 and a fighter looks for a way out.
22:21 He was looking for a way back in.
22:23 Absolutely.
22:24 Absolutely.
22:25 I mean, you got to respect that courage that he has.
22:28 And I'm going to tell you right now, if this eye was popping out, no doubt about it,
22:32 with the heart that Valenzuela has, he would have said, "I don't care.
22:35 Put the eye back in.
22:36 I want to go back out here, and I want to finish this fight."
22:38 But you know what?
22:39 The adults in the room did the right thing tonight, protecting Roberto Valenzuela Jr.
22:43 The official time of the knockout with Mark Chinook.
22:46 Ladies and gentlemen, here inside American Bank Center,
22:49 referee Mark Nelson calls a stop to this bout at 42 seconds of round number 5
22:55 for your winner by technical knockout,
22:58 and still the NABO/NABF junior middleweight champion,
23:03 Xander Zayas!
23:08 So, Xander Zayas gets his 17th victory, 11th knockout after a street fight.