Angel Acosta prevailed in his long overdue flyweight debut.
The former junior flyweight titlist bounced from a controversial title fight loss earlier this year in stopping Philippines’ Raymond Tabugon inside of five rounds Thursday evening live on DAZN from Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Acosta looked filled out and properly replenished at flyweight, after having spent most of his career squeezing his lean frame into a 108-pound uniform. It remains to be seen how effective he will be at the new weight, but for this bout he simply needed to be the more accurate puncher which was never an issue.
Tabugon came with the intention of playing the spoiler role, throwing more punches overall but landing at just a 10% clip in total punches. The veteran gatekeeper had his moments, connecting on Acosta’s chin in round three as he briefly froze the former titlist in place. It was a singular moment, however, as Acosta’s cleaner combinations proved far more effective.
The entertaining affair took a sharp turn early in round five. Acosta connected with a left hook to put Tabugon on the canvas for the first time on the night. The scrappy Filipino boxer beat the count and did his best to punch his way back into the fight. It never took, as Acosta saw the wild punches coming and was able to slip all of the incoming before flooring Tabugon (22-11-1, 11KOs) for the second time in the round.
Referee Raul Caiz Jr. waved off the contest immediately following the second knockdown, with the official time of the stoppage coming at 1:02 of round five.
Acosta (21-2, 21KOs) returns to the win column after suffering a controversial 12th round stoppage at the hands of Elwin Soto in this very venue this past June. The bout ended his title reign, which also prompted the decision to move up in weight where he now plans to campaign and—with any luck—fight for a flyweight title in 2020.
Soto makes his first title defense in the evening’s main event, facing Philippines’ Edward Heno.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
