LAKELAND, Fla. —Starling Castillo stood tallest in a battle of junior welterweights coming off layoffs, defeating Shinard Bunch Friday night by unanimous decision.
All three judges scored the fight in favor of the Dominican southpaw, with two judges having it 98-92 and the third scoring it 99-91, at RP Funding Center. The fight was the co-featured bout on a card that aired live on ProBox TV.
Castillo, 20-1-1 (13 KOs), has now won three straight, while Bunch, 21-3-1 (17 KOs), of Trenton, New Jersey loses his second in three fights.
After a quiet start to the bout, Castillo, 29, was the first to solve his opponent’s puzzle: He began timing Bunch in the second round with uppercuts each time Bunch dropped straight down in a defensive posture. Castillo’s confidence began to rise in the third as he brought a right hook back after landing an uppercut, while Bunch mostly missed over the top.
Bunch continued to be too easy a target to find as Castillo angled lefts to connect in each position Bunch would drop into after throwing his own punches. Castillo also found an inviting target to the midsection as Bunch often stood in front of Castillo in an earmuff stance.
Sensing the fight getting away from him, Bunch followed the advice of his trainer, Ronald Harris, in the fifth round to “Have fun in there, Scrap,” as he landed 1-2-3 combinations and stepped to his left to get away from the incoming punches. Still, Castillo was able to regain the upper hand by the end of the round, Bunch rarely countering when Castillo initiated.
In the sixth, Castillo swarmed the exhausted Bunch with punches along the ropes. Bunch’s corner continued to shout words of encouragement, with Harris telling his fighter “Believe in yourself…you’re one punch away.” Bunch seemed closer to finding that one punch in the eighth. A pair of right hands seemed to hurt Castillo, who retreated into his opponent’s corner by the force of those shots. Still, it was Castillo who closed the fight stronger, as Bunch was unable to sustain a meaningful attack afterwards.
The fight was the first for Castillo since his split decision win over Jesus Saracho in March of 2024, while Bunch hadn’t fought since August of 2023 after splitting with long-time promoter Nedal Abuhamoud.
Marques Valle, a popular fighter in the Tampa area, made a big statement in his return after his first defeat, knocking out the previously unbeaten Luis Georges in the first round.
Valle, 11-1 (7 KOs), dropped Georges, 12-1 (10 KOs), with a left hook to the body that finished the fight at the 2:07 mark of the first round of their middleweight bout scheduled for 10. The fight ended a 16-month layoff for the 26-year-old Valle, who last fought in April of 2024, dropping a split decision to Damian Sosa just down the road in Plant City. The win made it 2-0 on the night for the Valle family, as his brother Kenyan Valle won a decision over Lai Thang earlier in the night in his pro debut.
Weljon Mindoro used a concerted effort to the body to break down Colombian journeyman Dormedes Potes, forcing his corner to throw in the towel after the third round of their eight-round scheduled middleweight bout.
Mindoro, 15-0-1 (15 KOs), of Dumingag, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines stretched his win streak to five - all within the first three rounds. The feat was sweet revenge for Mindoro after Potes, 14-8-1 (10 KOs), missed the contracted weight of 162lbs the day before, which the 25-year-old Mindoro says shocked him.
If Mindoro took it personally, he didn’t do much to hide it, as he ripped away at the southpaw’s midsection from the opening bell. After Potes protested several times about phantom headbutts and rabbit punches, Mindoro gave him something to really complain about midway through the first as a hook to the body put Potes down for the first time. Mindoro, who turned pro in 2019 after only about 40 amateur bouts, used his straight right to the body to create openings for uppercuts up the middle which knocked sweat off of Potes’ body. Mindoro swarmed his opponent in the second round, chopping away at his midsection like a lumberjack trying to fell a tree. Although obviously outgunned, Potes continued to fight back, taking his medicine at a time when he would be forgiven for staying down.
Mindoro turned up the heat another degree in the third, as a body shot followed by an uppercut stunned Potes once more. After an uppercut to the chin followed by a left hook, Potes walked backwards across the ring and took a knee from a delayed reaction. Potes grimaced each time Mindoro ripped the body, which hinted that this round would be the last.
Mindoro, who is co-promoted by ProBox TV and Viva Promotions, says he was taking some of the power of his shots and just trying to land combinations.
“I wasn’t expecting a knockout in this fight. I actually wanted to finish the rounds so I can gain more experience in this fight,” said Mindoro.
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