By Ryan Burton
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas - Melinda Cooper (22-2) defeated Celina Salazar (4-1-2) by majority decision. The fight featured great two way action but Cooper got the best of it and definitely deserved to leave the ring with her hand raised. The final scores were 57-57 59-55 and 60-54.
Ishe Smith added another victory to his resume (24-5) when he defeated tough journeyman Irving Garcia (17-8) via unanimous decision. It looked like the fight would end early as Smith dropped Garcia in the first round. The Puerto Rican fighter regained his senses and had a few moments of his own throughout the fight but was outclassed by Smith. Garcia landed a few big punches which caused Smith to box a little more carefully but never had him remotely close to being in danger. The final scores were 100-89 twice and 99-90 once.
In the opening bout of the Sho Extreme broadcast, Daquan Arnett (7-0) kept his perfect record intact when he defeated Jesús Tavera (3-3) via TKO. Tavera was game but severely over matched. He absorbed a lot of punishment throughout the fight and referee Tony Weeks finally saw enough and waved the fight off at the 1:37 mark of the fourth round. It was an impressive victory for the Al Haymon managed fighter.
