Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) won a 12-round majority decision over Kenneth Sims, Jr. (22-3-1, 8 KOs) in a WBA light welterweight title eliminator on Saturday night at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
In the first round, Sims may have had an edge. In the second round, Duarte hurt Sims several times with headshots. In the third round’s final minute, Duarte hurt Sims with a right on the chin. In the final seconds, Duarte landed half a dozen unanswered punches.
In the fifth round, Sims had his best round, going to the body of Duarte. In the final minute of the round,, Sims landed a solid left hook to the chin. Duarte landed a right uppercut to the chin of Sims in a close round.
In the seventh round’s final minute, Duarte had Sims in a corner with a combination to the chin before Sims countered with a left hook to the chin at the bell. In the ninth round, Duarte had a good round until the final seconds, when, off the ropes, Sims landed a left hook to the chin of Duarte.
In the tenth round, Duarte had a good round going to the body. In the final minute, Sims turned southpaw and landed several right uppercuts to the body of Durate. In the eleventh round, Duarte followed Sims around the ring with a good body attack.
In the twelfth and final round, Duarte was the aggressor, landing well to the chin, while Sims countered him well to the body in a fight that could go either way.
Scores 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113. Mark Nelson was the referee.
In the co-main event, former WBA and WBC light welterweight champion Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs) won by 10-round unanimous decision over Olympian and former IBF World super featherweight champ southpaw Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz (34-8-1, 15 KOs) in a war.
In the first round’s final minute, Diaz landed a left to the chin, almost dropping Prograis, who barely managed to get through the round. In the second round’s final seconds, Diaz landed a left on the chin, having Prograis out on his feet at the bell.
In the fourth round, an accidental head butt caused a nasty cut on the left eyebrow of Diaz, causing the ring physician to check. In the final minute, Diaz pushed Prograis to the canvas and hit him.
In the fifth round, Prograis outlanded Diaz, who had blood running down his face from the left eyebrow cut, ending the round, hurting Prograis with a combination.
In the sixth round, the ring physician checked the cut on Diaz. Diaz outlanded Prograis, hurting him midway with a right on the chin. In the final seconds, Diaz landed a left, having Prograis out on his feet at the bell.
In the eighth round, Diaz landed a dozen unanswered punches after a minute. Prograis managed to get to the end fighting back. In the ninth round, Diaz controlled, ending the final minute, rocking Prograis with a right on the chin.
In the tenth and final round, the ring physician again checked the cut of Diaz. With the fight possibly on the outcome in this round, Prograis outlanded Diaz except for a Diaz left on the chin with a minute remaining, getting the attention of Prograis. This could be considered one of the fights of the year!
Scores were 96-94, 96-94, and an odd 98-92. Ben Rodrguez was the referee.
Cruiserweight Tristan Kalkreuth (16-1, 11 KOs) stopped late sub ‘Boogeyman’ Devonte Williams (13-3, 6 KOs) after one second of round three of a scheduled 10 rounds.
In the first round, Williams, who took the fight on late notice, landed left hooks to the chin of Kalkreuth at the start. In the final minute, Williams landed a lead right to the chin of Kalkreuth, taking the round.
In the second round’s final minute, a left hook from Kalkreuth on the elbow dropped Williams for an 8-count from referee Joel Campuzano, Jr. Williams walked away, taking out his mouthpiece. However, the referee allowed him to continue to get to the end, but Williams refused after a minute in the corner to continue to come out claiming an eye injury.
Light heavyweight Yair Gallardo (10-0, 8 KOs) defeated southpaw Quin ‘The Chosen Boy’ Rankin (21-10-2, 16 KOs) by an eight-round unanimous decision.
In the third round, with a minute remaining, Rankin landed a good left on the chin, getting the attention of Gallardo. In the final seconds, Gallardo landed a solid right on the chin, stunning Rankin.
In the fourth round, after a minute, Gallardo drove Rankin around the ring until the final seconds, when Rankin landed several left uppercuts at the bell. In the sixth round, after a minute, a left hook from Gallardo to the ribs dropped Rankin for an 8-count from Referee Joel Campuzano, Jr.
In the eighth and final round, Rankin, knowing he needed a knockout, came out firing left uppercuts to the body. Midway, Gallardo came back well.
Scores 80-71, 79-72, and 79-72.
Heavyweight Olympian Joshua ‘Rocket’ Edwards (4-0, 4 KOs) knocked out Cayman Audie (4-2, 2 KOs) at 1:29 of the first round of a scheduled six rounds.
In the first round’s first minute, Edwards dropped Audie with a right on the chin, taking an 8-count from referee Ben Rodriguez. Midway, a right from Edwards drove Audie across the ring into the ropes, forcing referee Rodriguez to wave it off.
The Ring Announcer was Joe A. Martinez.
Last Updated on 08/03/2025