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(Friday, September 28, 2018) Youthful exuberance carried the night, as Honolulu, Hawaii’s undefeated Logan “The Korican Kid” Yoon (13-0, 10 KOs) won a unanimous 10-round decision over John “El Emperador” Rentería (16-5-1, 12 KOs) of Panama.
Fighting in the main event of Kris Lawrence and The Heavyweight Factory’s “Rumble at the Rock 2” boxing event at the Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla, Yoon outworked the gritty Panamanian.
Often landing three to take one, 19-year-old Yoon is a punching machine with seemingly limitless energy. Renteria landed well at times, but couldn’t match Yoon’s work rate. The scores were 98-92, 100-90, and 99-91.
Miami (via Havana’s) undefeated Livan “Machine Gun Kid” Navarro (9-0, 5 KOs) graduated to prospect status, and probably learned some lessons along the way, with a unanimous 10-round decision over Armando “The Gentleman” Alvarez (18-2, 12 KOs) of Key West.
Navarro came out guns blazing for the first four rounds and landed some thudding shots to the body and head. Staying cool, the more experienced Alvarez began to come on in the middle of the fight, as Navarro began to slow.
To his credit, Navarro found the energy to reignite the buzzsaw in rounds eight and nine to seal victory. Alvarez landed plenty of sharp counters and had his moments as well. The scores were 98-92, and 97-93 x 2.
In an interesting 10-round welterweight tiff, Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (18-0-1, 14 KOs) stayed undefeated with a unanimous 10-round decision over Mexican spoiler Silverio Ortiz (37-23, 18 KOs).
Making his Heavyweight Factory debut, Cuevas seemed somewhat befuddled by the awkward Ortiz at times. He managed to knock Ortiz down with a left hook in round three and the Mexican lost a point in round six for rabbit punching.
That said, it’s obvious why Ortiz has a reputation for taking undefeated records away. Not your typical smash-and-grab veteran, the roughhousing Ortiz throws clubbing haymakers from weird angles that could easily confuse a more conventional fighter.
Cuevas, who punches like a mule kicks, stuck to his training and managed to come out the winner. The scores were 95-93, 96-92 and a wrong 98-90.
In an eight-round featherweight bout, Miami via Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan’s Mussa “Warrior” Tursyngaliyev (8-0, 6 KOs) won a pedestrian unanimous decision over Monteira, Colombia’s Deivi “El Cabo” Bassa (20-6, 12 KOs). A stylistic mismatch, the pair tried to get things going, but it never really happened. Tursyngaliyev won by scores of 79-73, 80-72 and 78-74 for being more effective against the, too often, jab-and-grab Colombian veteran.
Blood-and-guts fan favorite Jessy Cruz (14-7-1, 5 KOs) of Miami had an easier night than usual when Homestead, Florida’s Sergio Aguilar (2-10, 2 KOs) elected not to come out for round four of their six-round featherweight bout. The official verdict was TKO 3 (3:00). Cruz normally goes down, knocks the other guy down and wins some and loses some in the fight of the night. Nice to see him not have to go to the edge of human endurance for once.
Miami’s Jorge De Jesus Romero (11-0, 9 KOs) was too strong for outgunned Hungarian Jeno Tonte (8-4, 7 KOs) in their eight-round featherweight bout. A squat puncher, Romero walked down Tonte with relative ease and ended his night early with a TKO 3 at 2:43. An extended body barrage to a wilting Tonte’s midsection convinced referee Sam Burgos that enough was enough.
Dustin Arnold (6-1 (1 KO) of Coral Springs, Florida, had things all his way for four rounds of his lightweight six-rounder against Raul Chirino (12-10, 6 KOs) of Miami. Chrino came to life and took the fight to Arnold in the last two rounds. Too little too late, as the talented Arnold took the unanimous nod (scores: 58-56, 59-55 x 2). Good, entertaining fight between two Florida rivals.
Miami’s Irosvani Duvergel (4-0, 2 KOs) did what you’re supposed to do against your early opponents when you’re a hard-punching super middleweight prospect. The transplanted Cuban battered Texas veteran Emmanuel Sanchez (7-10-1, 1 KO) for four straight rounds and won a wide unanimous decision (40-35 by all three judges). A true slugger with bad intentions, Duvergel is going to be a fun fighter to watch, especially as he goes up levels and finds some worthy competition. He chased Sanchez around the ring with looping hard shots and was credited with a knockdown in round three.
