Junior lightweight Deonte Brown made it look easy on Friday night.
Brown won a 10-round unanimous decision over Grimardi Machuca at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California. Scores were 96-94, 96-94 and 97-93.
Brown got off to a strong start, displaying good footwork and a solid jab that kept Machuca off rhythm. Brown continued to box well in the early rounds, landing a check right hook when Machuca pressed forward recklessly.
Brown, of Morgan City, Louisiana, lulled Venezuela’s Machuca to sleep with methodical boxing, which looked very similar round after round. By the fifth, Brown’s clean punches began to have an impact on Machuca, as his mouth hung slightly ajar and his body language appeared discouraged.
Machuca had his most success in the seventh, but Brown continued to control the action with his jab. The bout concluded with Brown staying elusive and holding Machuca at bay. Despite a rather dominant showing, the judges saw the fight as being much closer.
Brown, 29, improved to 17-0 (11 KOs), while Machuca fell to 17-3, losing his third straight fight.
Earlier, bantamweight Saul Sanchez, of North Hollywood, California, and Edwin Rodriguez, of Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, fought to an eight-round draw. Two judges had the bout 76-76, with one judge calling it 78-74 for Sanchez.
The bout was a rematch of a 2019 bout that saw Rodriguez win a split decision. This bout was tactical and close, with Sanchez pushing forward and Rodriguez looking to counterpunch and use Sanchez’s aggression against him. Neither fighter was able to separate and take control of the fight, and Sanchez was unable to avenge his first career loss.
Sanchez, 28, is now 21-4-1 (12 KOs), and the 32-year-old Rodriguez, 12-9-3 (5 KOs), snapped a two-fight losing streak with the draw.
Junior welterweight Darian Castro, of Las Vegas, had to get off the canvas to defeat Criztec Bazaldua, of Los Angeles, via a unanimous decision. Scores were 57-56, 57-56 and 58-55. Bazaldua dropped Castro with a straight left hand in the second round, after which Castro got off the canvas and got to work. A combination of fast reflexes, along with a high output and solid fundamentals, saw Castro cruise to the victory.
A 22-year-old from Cuba, Castro improved to 4-0 (1 KO). Bazaldua, 21, has now lost two fights in a row. Earlier this year, he was knocked out by Alan Ezequiel Dutra in the WBC Grand Prix. He saw his record dip to 6-2 (1 KO).
Shakilya Ellis, a 2020 US Olympic featherweight from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, made her professional debut, winning a six-round unanimous decision over Mexico’s Maria Salinas. Scores were 60-54, 58-56 and 59-55.
Ellis, 30, is now 1-0, and the 36-year-old Salinas is 27-13-6 (7 KOs).
Featherweight Cornellio Phipps, of Oxford, Pennsylvania, won a six-round split decision over Jessie Mandapat, of Anaheim, California. Two judges had it for Phipps with the scores of 59-55 and 58-56, while one judge saw it 58-56 for Mandapat.
Phipps, 20, is 6-0 (2 KOs), while Mandapat, 27, is now on a two-fight losing streak and dropped to 9-3-1 (5 KOs).
In the card’s opening bout, junior welterweight Angel Perez, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, knocked out Sachin Rohila, of New Delhi, India, in the first round. The time of stoppage was 2 minutes, 4 seconds. Perez landed a short left hook to Rohila’s body, which forced Rohila to take a knee and led to him being counted out.
Perez, 23, improved to 10-0-1 (8 KOs), and the 28-year-old Rohila sank to 8-5 (2 KOs).
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
