By Cliff Rold
MORE LIVE RESULTS TO COME................
In Jr. middleweight action, 28-year old Daniyar Yeleussinov (7-0, 3 KO), 150 ¼, of Kazakhstan worked his way to a unanimous six-round decision against Juan Norabuena (3-2-1), 149 ½, of Chile.
Norabuena looked early on like he might be overwhelmed as Yeleussinov worked him to the body and blasted away upstairs. The underdog stood his ground and made it a real night’s work for the favorite.
Yeleussinov, the 2013 world amateur champion and 2016 Olympic welterweight gold medalist, took some hard shots to the head in spots but clearly earned the win, rewarded by the judges at 60-54 twice and 59-55. The referee was Vic DeWysocki.
19-year old super middleweight Lorenzo Simpson (4-0, 3 KO), 165, of Baltimore, Maryland landed five southpaw left uppercuts, a pair of hooks, and then a right cross to bring a rapid end to the night for 30-year old Rafael Garcia (9-3, 6 KO), 169 ½, of Tucson, Arizona at 1:19 of round one. It was Garcia’s first knockout loss and the second first round stoppage for Simpson.
While Garcia kept his feet, referee Harvey Dock saw the inevitable and jumped in to save Garcia further punishment. Simpson has made two straight starts at the MGM and from the sound of things is bringing some local fans out to see him.
A multiple time national Jr. amateur champion, Simpson opted to turn professional despite being viewed as a strong contender to make the 2020 US Olympic team.
The televised portion of the card was streamed in the US on DAZN, promoted by Matchroom Boxing.
In the non-televised lightweight opener, 30-year old Luis Gerardo Perez Salas (6-2, 1 KO), 136, of Puebla, Mexico scored a six-round unanimous decision over 21-year old Mack Allison IV (9-3-1, 7 KO), 133, of Baltimore, Maryland. Both men went for it from bell to bell, giving early arrivers a bonus for their ticket price. Salas was a step ahead most of the way and overjoyed at final scores of 59-55 across the board. The referee was Vic DeWysocki.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com