The co-main event of the evening saw a marquee upset as Armando Resendiz defeated former unified world champion Jarrett Hurd via a technical stoppage when the doctor stopped the fight at 0:05 into round ten, due to a cut in the lip of Hurd that took place at the Toyota Arena, in Ontario, California. From the opening bell, it was Resendiz who stalked and pressured Hurd, as Resendiz threw 280 out of 780 to outland Hurd who threw 228 out of 562 punches through nine rounds.
For Hurd, this was a fight of many different phases, as Hurd used a jab well, but looked rocked at the end of the seventh round, and just never could find the second wind in this bout as most had the bout even after six rounds. Resendiz just never showed the former world champion any respect, as Resendiz fought tough and rugged in a manner only a family member could love, but just forced Hurd to fight on his terms, and not the terms that Hurd wanted to fight on.
“I was visualizing the fight for so long, and I want to thank my coaches and trainers for this fight,“ said Resendiz. “The sparring was clearly the big thing - I sparred Vergil Ortiz for this fight.“
The fight was bittersweet for Jarrett Hurd, as many assumed this would be his return to greatness, and possibly set a fight with one of the Charlo brothers, but instead, this might be the last time we ever see him fight in a professional bout. Resendiz, a professional veteran of the sport of boxing pulled off a massive upset which should make him an interesting fighter in either the 154 lbs or 160 lbs division. The judges had it 87-84, 89-82, and 87-84 all for Resendiz at the time of the stoppage.
“We had a good game plan, and he executed the game plan,” said Manny Robles, Resendiz’s coach. “We knew we were going to have our hands full, former world champion, gave him nothing, but the utmost respect, and we’re thankful for the opportunity.”
Opening the Showtime telecast we saw what might be the birth of a future star in the sport of boxing as 19-year-old, Elijah Garcia, outboxed Amilcar Vidal, in a battle of unbeaten middleweights. It was the second round that showed Garcia’s merit as a fighter as with a bloody nose, Garcia pressed the action pushing Vidal backward to the ropes and throwing rapid-fire punches in sequence. The end came in the fourth round in which Garcia threw a multi-punch combination that saw Vidal go down when on the ropes, as referee Jack Reiss halted the action at 2:17 as he had seen enough. Garcia screams of an overnight sensation in the sport of boxing as his post-fight interview after the win, was everything that we love about live sports.
“This is what everyone dreams of,” said Garcia about the stoppage after the fight. “I caught him, and I finished him. I didn’t know what I hurt him with…I might be 19[years-old], but I know when I had him hurt."
