By Rich Lopez
It was an action packed night at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The event was part of Premier Boxing Champions and it was televised on Fox Sports 1. All four fights that were televised produced fireworks and none of the fights went to distance.
The main event was in the junior middleweight division. Brian Castano (15-0-1, 11 KO’s) of Argentina, defeated Wale Omotoso (28-4, 22 KO’s) of Nigeria, by a 5th round TKO. This was a result due to a shoulder injury sustained by Omotoso. However, Castano was very impressive last night and he overwhelmed Omotoso. Round one was a feel out round for both fighters. Castano was more in control of the round but using an effective jab to back up Omotoso for most of the round. The action picked up in round two and Castano was in charge. He continued to back up Omotoso with his sharp left jab. This time Castano was putting his combinations together well. He was starting to land his right hand and he was landing some good body shots as well. In round three, Castano continued the assault and hammered away at Omotoso. Castano was reeling off right hands and landing left hooks to the chin of Omotoso. The durable Omotoso was taking it and was fighting back, but he was also taking a lot of damage. In round four, Omotoso fought a little better as he was boxing and moving well, but it was not enough to win the round. As round five started, Omotoso seemed to hurt his left shoulder. Castano sensing that Omotoso was hurt, still kept the pressure on by landing hard right hands. At the end of the round, Omotoso could no longer continue the fight due his hurt shoulder. Castano was awarded a TKO victory at 3:00 of round number five. Wale Omotoso, who goes by the nickname “Lucky Boy,” was not so lucky in this fight. With the victory, we can see Castano against the other top junior middleweights of the division. In the post-fight interview, Castano said he is ready for anyone.
Photo Credit: Javier Fortuna Twitter Account
The co-feature was in the lightweight division. Javier Fortuna (34-2-1, 24 KO’s) of the Dominican Republic, was also impressive last night. He blasted out Jesus Andres Cuellar (29-3, 22 KO’s) of Argentina in two rounds in a slug fest. In the opening round, Cuellar wasted no time and charged at Fortuna. Both southpaw fighters exchanged punches and went toe to toe. Towards the end of the round, Fortuna with his back against the ropes, landed a right hook that sent Cuellar flying on his back. Cuellar got up and was seriously hurt but was able to finish the round. In round two, Cuellar who only knows how to come forward, tried to bully Fortuna again. Fortuna was quicker and beat Cuellar to the punch. Once again with Fortuna against the ropes, he landed a straight left hand followed by a right hook to drop Cuellar again. Cuellar did get up but he was in really bad shape. Fortuna went for the finish landing power shots which prompted the referee to stop the fight. Fortuna scored the TKO at 2:01 of the second round. With the victory, Fortuna remains a force in the lightweight division. For Cuellar, it might be best to try to go back down in weight as he has been unsuccessful in the lightweight divisions.
In a bout before the co-feature, we got to see undefeated David Morrell Jr. (1-0, 1 KO) of Cuba, face off with Quinton Rankin (15-6-2, 12 KO’s) of Charlotte, NC. The fight was in the light heavyweight division scheduled for eight rounds. This was a big test for the Cuban standout but he made the fight look easy. The 21 year old Morrell started off fast. In round one, Morrell landed a nice right hand to the body that dropped Rankin. Rankin got up and Morrell went back to work. In round two, Morrell landed a straight left hand that wobbled Rankin. Morell then came underneath with crushing left uppercut that dropped Rankin again. The referee immediately stopped the fight. Morrell scored his second knockout at 1:01 of the 2nd round. Morell is starting off fast in his professional career as he was an outstanding amateur fighter. We will continue to see his progress in upcoming fights.
In the opening bout of the PBC telecast, Ryan “Cowboy” Karl (17-2, 11 KO’s) of Milano, TX, faced off with Bergman Aguilar (15-5-1, 5 KO’s) of Costa Rica. The fight was scheduled for ten rounds in the welterweight division. In round one, Aguilar came after Karl and both fighters started trading punches. As Karl was backing up Aguilar, Aguilar caught Karl with right hand and dropped him. Karl got up and the fighters started to trade punches. In round two, Karl had a better round. He backed up Aguilar for most of the round hammering Aguilar to the body. You can tell the body shots were wearing out Aguilar. In round three, Karl dropped Aguilar with a low blow. As the action continued, Karl stayed busy working the body of Aguilar. Karl continued his attack in round four. At the end of round four, Aguilar looked more tired. Karl remained in control of the fight in round five and continued to back up Aguilar. At the end of round five, Aguilar could not continue the fight due to a broken left hand. It was relieved that perhaps he broke his left hand in the 1st round after landing a hard jab on Karl in the replay. Karl was awarded a TKO victory at 3:00 in round five. This was Karl’s 3rd straight knockout.