Promoter Dmitriy Salita believes that his card over the weekend stole the show for hardcore fight fans, offering both a fight of the year candidate and an upset.

The card was headlined by Subriel Matias getting an eighth-round technical knockout against Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela at Coliseo Tomas Dones in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

The elephant in the room was the competing Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach Jnr pay-per-view on Saturday. The show in Puerto Rico was strategically paced to have Matias-Valenzuela go on before the PPV main event. Yet Davis-Roach still dominated the headlines and had the attention of most boxing fans. Regardless, Salita is proud of his promotion’s second entry to Puerto Rico. 

“That card was the fight of the weekend in terms of quality of fights and competitiveness and excitement inside the ring,” Salita told BoxingScene. “It didn't have the glamour of a Gervonta Davis fight, but in terms of what happened inside the ring, no controversy, just hungry, determined, skilled fighters going at it for a chance to win.”

Matias might have been the star of the show with his dazzling stoppage, but it was an undercard fight that saw junior welterweight Xolisani Ndongeni win a split decision over previously unbeaten Puerto Rican contender Nestor Bravo. 

Ndongeni now has a record of 33-6 (19 KOs), whereas Bravo, 31, is now 23-1 (16 KOs). An overjoyed Ndongeni, the 34-year-old South African, now has a career-defining win after a rough stretch dating back to his first loss, which was to Devin Haney in 2019. The fight embodies Salita’s vision for his company. 

“It’s very important that the fights are competitive and that folks from all over the world get engaged and that that homegrown talent gets tested,” Salita said. “Nestor Bravo got tested by Ndongeni. On paper, it is a good test, but he should have won, but he didn’t. I'm very grateful and happy that the right fighter got a decision.”

As for the main event, a fight that Salita saw as competitive through four rounds flipped on a dime once a cut opened over the 30-year-old Valenzuela’s right eye. Matias is now 22-2 (22 KOs). Valenzuela, of Guadalajara, now holds a record of 30-4-1 (17 KOs), as his five-fight win streak disappeared. 

Salita believes that Matias’ action-oriented style leads to exciting fights.

“Matias was just able to show his incredible strength, conditioning and skill, and pick up the pace and just break the fighter down round by round,” Salita said. “What happens is that his opponents, even though they're in great shape, just cannot keep up with the pace. They cannot mentally deal with the fact that he takes the biggest punches from his opponents and keeps coming forward.”