Former lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko returns to the ring on Saturday (ESPN+, 7:15 p.m. ET) to face Masayoshi Nakatani in the main event of a Top Rank Boxing card at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. This is Lomachenko’s first fight since losing his belts to Teofimo Lopez in October 2020.
Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs), 33, of Ukraine, is taking a big risk against Nakatani (19-1, 13 KOs), 32, of Japan, who in 2019 gave Lopez one of the toughest fights of his career. Defeating Nakatani could be a good way for Lomachenko to reestablish himself as top fighter in the division. And he knows it.
“I can’t wait to be back in the ring,” Lomachenko said at a press conference on Thursday. I’m very excited and I want to show my best skills. I want to prove to myself, my family, my friends, my team, who I am in the ring.”
Gervonta Davis (24-0, 23 KOs), 26, of Baltimore, is moving up in weight to face junior welterweight titlist Mario Barrios (26-0, 17 KOs), 26, of San Antonio, Texas, who holds the WBA “regular” belt (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET). While Davis, who has titles at junior lightweight and lightweight, is the smaller fighter, he said he has been fighting bigger guys in the gym to get ready for Barrios, and believes he can become a three-division titleholder on Saturday.
“I hate when people think that I’m small and try to take advantage of me,” Davis said. “I think he is making a mistake. It’s not just the height. He thinks he’s stronger than me, so we are just going to have to wait and see. If he believes that I’ve never seen anyone like him, then so be it. But they always learn on fight night. That’s when the real me comes out.”
In another boxing card in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (DAZN, 7 p.m. ET), Julio Cesar Martinez defends his WBC flyweight world title against Joel Cordova, and Daniel Matellon puts his WBA interim junior flyweight belt on the line against Jose Argumedo.
Follow along with Brett Okamoto and Michael Rothstein as they recap the action from the biggest boxing cards of the night.
In Las Vegas: Fight in progress — Robert Rodriguez vs. Luis Fernando Saavedra, six rounds, bantamweights
In Mexico: Fight in progress — Christian Alan Gomez Duran vs. Jorge Perez Sanchez, 10 rounds, welterweights
Results:
In Las Vegas: “Cash” Diaz dominates Jasso to stay unbeaten
It was a good night for the hometown kid, as 18-year-old Las Vegas prospect Floyd Diaz earned a clear decision over Jaime Jasso, 19, of Laredo, Texas, in a bantamweight fight.
Diaz (2-0, 0 KOs) proved to be quicker and more technical than Jasso (2-1, 0 KOs) over the course of four entertaining rounds. Jasso was not out of his league against Diaz, but he struggled to match his foot and hand speed. Diaz dropped his hands on multiple occasions, inviting Jasso to throw punches. He also didn’t mind standing in the pocket at times, where his defense held up.
All three judges scored the bout a clean sweep for Diaz 40-36. He arguably did his best work in the third round, shortly after Jasso shook his head in his direction — a gesture to indicate his punches were having little effect.
Diaz turned pro earlier this year inside the Top Rank bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
In Mexico: Diego Pacheco vs. Jesus Moroyoqui Palomares by sixth-round TKO. Pacheco dominated Palomares, and eventually a flurry of punches forced the referee to stop the fight in Round 6.
In Las Vegas: Vianello demolishes Williams in first-round TKO
Heavyweight Guido Vianello, 27, of Rome, made quick work of Marlon Williams, 37, of Lafayette, in the form of a first-round TKO stoppage.
Vianello (8-0-1, 8 KOs) simply took away Williams’ will to fight. He dropped Williams at the 20-second mark with a right hand to the body, and even though Williams (6-2, 3 KOs) got to his feet and continued, the fight was over from that point on. Once action resumed, Vianello sprinted across the ring and forced Williams to a knee with a short burst of punches.
At the conclusion of the first round, Williams went to his corner and appeared ready to answer the bell for the second, but the referee ruled it a TKO and did not allow the second round to begin.
In Las Vegas: Murata makes successful debut
In his professional debut, Subaru Murata, 24, of Tokyo, knocked out Kevin Monroy, 21, of Stockton, California, with a vicious left hand at the 1:42 mark of the second round.
Monroy (1-2, 1 KO) immediately protested the stoppage, but it was easy to understand referee Russell Mora’s decision. Murata landed a stiff three-punch combination leading up to the finish. The punches put Monroy’s back against the ropes, and Murata pounced with a straight left. Monroy immediately went limp and fell awkwardly to the canvas, with his right leg tucked beneath him. Monroy did get back to his feet relatively quickly, but the junior featherweight bout had already been waved off.
Murata kicked off his pro career with a flourish, following an amateur career in which he went 4-4.
In Mexico: Gabriel Valenzuela defeats Juan Ocura by seventh-round TKO. Valenzuela hasn’t lost since March 2017 and has a record of 21-0-1 since then.
In Las Vegas: Harris dominates Godoy in TKO win
DeMichael Harris, 24, of Cleveland, extended his perfect start in professional boxing with a third-round TKO of lightweight Jonatan Hernan Godoy.
Harris (4-0, 4 KOs) punished Godoy (5-9, 0 KOs), 29, of Buenos Aires, with left hands to the body before putting Godoy away with the right hand. He scored three knockdowns in the third round, starting with a left hook to the body with a minute left. Godoy took a knee twice more at the 30-second mark, and then right before the bell. His corner opted to call it before the fourth round began.
Still to come:
In Las Vegas (ESPN+)
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Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. Masayoshi Nakatani, 12 rounds, lightweights
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Rob Brant vs. Janibek Alimkhanuly, 10 rounds, middleweights
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Giovani Santillan vs. Cecil McCalla, eight or 10 rounds, welterweights
In Atlanta (Showtime PPV)
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Title fight: Mario Barrios vs. Gervonta Davis, 12 rounds, for Barrios’ WBA “regular” junior welterweight title
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Erickson Lubin vs. Jeison Rosario, 12 rounds, WBC junior middleweight title eliminator
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Carlos Adames vs. Alexis Salazar, 10 rounds, junior middleweights
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Batyr Akhmedov vs. Algenis Mendez, 12 rounds, WBA junior welterweight title eliminator
In Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (DAZN)
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Title fight: Julio Cesar Martinez vs. Joel Cordova, 12 rounds, for Martinez’s WBC flyweight title
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Title fight: Daniel Matellon vs. Jose Argumedo, 12 rounds, for Matellon’s WBA interim junior flyweight title