A mild upset occured as Nahir Albright (16-2, 7 KOs) of Sicklerville, N.J., defeated 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas (14-2, 12 KOs) of Santa Maria, Ca. Albright was extremely sharp in a tactical fight that saw Albright land the cleaner shots over the course of eight rounds. The scores were 76-76, 77-75, and 77-75 for Nahir Albright, who won via a a majority decision.
2020 Dominican Olympian (the Olympics took place in 2021) super lightweight Rohan Polanco (10-0, 6 KOs) of Santo Domingo, DR, stopped Cesar Francis (12-2, 7 KOs) of Brooklyn, N.Y., in five rounds. The bout moved at a snail's pace. Polanco dropped Francis in the fourth round and sent Francis down again in the fifth in which referee Robert Hoyle decided Francis was unable to continue at 1:05 of that round.
Abraham Nova (23-1, 16 KOs) of Albany, NY, got a third-round knockout, former world champion Jonathan Romero (35-2, 19 KOs) of Cali, Col., in a wildly fun fight. Nova dropped Romero in the second round when the two were involved in wild back-and-forth action. The following round saw Nova land a big punch that saw Romero land face first and unable to get up. The time of the stoppage was 2:47 of round three.
Power-punching junior featherweight Subaru Murata (5-0, 5 KOs) of Tokyo, Japan, who is trained by Augie Sanchez, stopped seasoned veteran Juan Centeno (8-9-3, 1 KO) who was unable to answer the bell for the fourth round. Murata dropped Centeno in the second round, and Centeno fought valiantly but between the third and fourth rounds, Centeno confessed to his corner that he couldn't continue.
Light Heavyweight Dante Benjamin (7-0-1, 5 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio, fought to a split draw with William Langston (8-3-1, 3 KOs) of Kenosha, Wi. The scores were 58-56, 57-57, and 57-57. Benjamin won the early rounds with his youth and a good use of distance, Langston came on late finishing very strong. Benjamin finished with a bloody nose and Langston got a black eye on his right eye. Benjamin fought on July 1st of this year and returned to the ring only 27 days later.
The first fight of the evening saw lightweight Charlie Sheehy (7-0, 5 KOs) of Brisbane, Ca, stopped Kaylyn Alfred (4-5-2) of Lafayette, La, in the third round. An impressive and well-timed lead left hook that knocked down Alfred. The time of the stoppage was 0:31 seconds of round three.
