Battle at the Boat 127

August 26, 2023

Emerald Queen Casino

Unbeaten Austin Brooks faced Anthony Chavez in the main event. The left handed Brooks has dominated opponents winning either by unanimous decision or knockout. Chavez's only losses have come in fights with opponents with winning records.

As can be anticipated in a fight that pits a right handed fighter against a southpaw, the opening round saw a lot of feints and tossing out a jab that caught mostly air. The strategy seemed to be to find an opening in the other's defense. In the second round the men began to step close to each other and in so doing they landed jabs. Brooks proved effective throwing his jab and following it with a left to the body. Chavez, though he took a few punches, proved that he could effectively counter punch, and he too landed body shots.

Brooks began to land his left with some heavy body shots in the third round. Those shots kept Chavez moving, but he was able to counter throwing punches to Brooks' head. Brooks kept pressuring Chavez in the fourth round as he backed Chavez into the corner and landed combinations to his body and head. Chavez slipped out of the corner and moved the action to the center of the ring where he was able to again close the distance between the two and land punches to Brooks' body.

Chavez had a good fifth round as he continued to close the distance, negating Brooks' powerful body shots while landing body shots of his own. Brooks regained momentum in the sixth round as he backed Chavez to the ropes. With Chavez's pinned on the ropes, Brooks landed combinations that landed to Chavez's body and head. Brooks threw a hard left hand that landed on Chavez's chin and dropped him at 2:25 of the round. Chavez stood and listened to the referee count, and when the fight resumed, Brooks jumped back in tight, keeping Chavez on the ropes. Brooks threw a number of punches, smothering Chavez and forcing the referee to step in and wave the fight to an end.

Brooks would remain unbeaten behind the TKO win at 2:43 of the sixth round.

Brooks closes in on Chavez

Brooks catches Chavez with a left

Cruz throws a straight right at Negrete

Greg Cruz and Roberto Negrete fought a six round featherweight bout as the co-main feature on the card. Cruz entered the fight coming off a split decision loss in April; Negrete's last bout ended in a majority draw.

Both men used their jab to assert pressure on the other in the opening moments of the fight. Much of the action took place while the two men stood close, and that gave a slight advantage to Negrete. The in close fighting carried over to the second round which saw the men exchange jabs in the center of the ring.

Cruz changed his tactics in the third in that he created some distance and began to use his height and reach advantage to double his jab and then fire a shot to Negrete's body. Negrete tried to close the distance between the two, but Cruz's jab kept him away. Cruz continued to land his jab in the fourth round, and that slowed Negrete's ability to land punches. Negrete appeared to tire and slow his assault a bit, and that enabled Cruz to land punches.

The fifth round was close as Negrete seemed to find his second wind. Though Cruz was able to score by landing body shots, Negrete closed the round stepping in close and landing shots to Cruz's head. There were a lot of punches thrown in the sixth round as each man seemed to sense the fight was close. Negrete threw more punches in the round while Cruz continued to use height and reach to his advantage.

The judges scores illustrated just how close the fight was as one judge scored the fight 58-56 for Cruz, another scored the fight 58-56 for Negrete, and the third scored the fight even at 57. The fight would end in a split draw.

Lorenzo Caldera brought an unbeaten record into the ring to face Jake Bornea in a scheduled four round super lightweight bout. Caldera's last three fights have been in Mexico while Bornea stepped into the ring fighting for the first time in the United States.

Though the pace of the first moments of the first round was slow, as the round progressed, Caldera began to exert his height and reach advantage to keep Bornea on the move. Caldera landed most of his jabs, which limited Bornea's ability to get in close and land punches to Caldera's body. Caldera dropped his attack to Bornea's body as the second round began. In doing so he was able to back Bornea into the corner. Caldera dropped Bornea with a body shot at :55 of the second round. Bornea rose, but he was feeling the effect of Caldera's body shots. Caldera jumped back toward Bornea when the fight resumed and again landed to Bornea's body. Bornea again dropped to a knee, and as the referee counted, Bornea thought about standing, but did not. The referee waved the fight to an end.

Caldera would remain unbeaten behind the knockout win coming at 1:19 of the second round.

Caldera lands a right to Bornea's head

Cadena's left catches Hernandez

Josue Cadena and Dan Hernandez fought four rounds in a lightweight bout. Cadena scored a win in his professional debut; Hernandez entered the fight on a two win streak.

Both men fought well in the opening round throwing shots to the other's body. Cadena landed a flurry of punches as the round drew to a close to gain the edge. Hernandez appeared to score a knockdown near the midpoint of the second round when he landed a right hand to Cadena's chest, but Cadena fell backwards as a result of Hernandez stepping on Cadena's foot. The referee waved off the knockdown. Hernandez landed strong body shots through the remainder of the round to counter Cadena's fewer, but heavier body punches.

The pace of action quickened in the third round as both men threw a lot of body shots. Cadena was able to slip some of what Hernandez threw while landing body shots of his own. The fast paced action continued in the fourth round. Cadena pressed the action in making Hernandez step back, though Hernandez was able to throw punches at Cadena's head and then drop to fire at his body. Cadena's combinations continued to land as the fight ended.

After four rounds two judges scored the fight 40-36, the third saw it 39-37 all in favor of Josue Cadena who would claim the unanimous decision victory to remain unbeaten.

Undefeated Axl Melendez Salgado faced Lyle McFarland in a welterweight bout scheduled for four rounds. Salgado had scored four knockout wins in being unbeaten. McFarland also had a knockout win on his record, though his last bout ended in a no contest decision.

McFarland opened the fight with a solid first round as he was able to land more punches over the course of the round. Salgado used his jab to try to keep McFarland at a distance and keep him from holding when the two got close. Salgado quickened the pace of his jab in the second round and in doing so he kept McFarland on the move, thus slowing his body attack. When in close, McFarland began to hold Salgado, and the referee issued warnings about taking a point for holding.

Salgado fought in close to McFarland in the third round, and he was able to land strong body shots. However, that forced McFarland to hold, and as a result he was penalized. Twice the referee stopped the fight to take a point from McFarland for holding. Salgado threw more punches to open the fourth round as he backed McFarland into the corner. With McFarland's back on the ropes Salgado landed shots to McFarland's head and body. Again, McFarland stepped forward and held on to Salgado. This time, rather than taking a point, the referee stopped the fight, disqualifying McFarland.

Salgado would claim a win as a result of the disqualification to remain unbeaten.

Salgado catches McFarland with a left

Wesley Rivers avoids Richard Howell's left

Wesley Rivers and Richard Howell battled each other in a four round super lightweight bout. Rivers entered the bout coming off three losses, all to unbeaten fighters. Howell had won two in a row before taking a loss in his last fight.

The pace of the opening round was slow as each man moved to try to create angles to land body shots. Rivers was eventually more successful in doing so as he was able to step in close, fire his left, then step back. Rivers found the rhythm with his jab in the second round and he fought behind it to get in close and land body shots. As the round drew to a close, Rivers landed a flurry of body shots that appeared to momentarily stun Howell.

Howell began to let his hands go in the third round and when he did so he was able to score and land punches that kept Rivers moving. Rivers made the adjustments to his attack and continued to target Howell's body. The fourth round was close as both men were able to land body shots. The momentum made a big shift at the 2:50 mark when Rivers landed an overhand right that dropped Howell.

After four rounds two judges scored the fight 39-36, the other scored it 40-35, all in favor of Wesley Rivers who would claim the unanimous decision win.

Angel Rebollar and Esteban Munoz opened the night in a five round super lightweight bout. Rebollar was looking to get back on track after facing two losses while Munoz was coming off a unanimous decision win.

Rebollar was the more aggressive fighter in the opening round, though Munoz did well to move and throw counter punches. Munoz, with a slight reach advantage used that to keep Rebollar at a distance in the second round. Rebollar then stepped in close and targeted Munoz's body.

The pace slowed in the third round, though Munoz was able to score behind his jab. The fourth round was close as both men shot punches to the other's head. Both were accurate, but Munoz landed the heavier shots.

The fifth round was also close as the men exchanged a lot of punches while standing in the middle of the ring. Munoz continued to fire punches at Rebollar's head while Rebollar countered with combinations.

After five rounds the judges scored the fight 49-46 and 48-47 for Rebollar, and 49-46 for Munoz. Angel Rebollar would get back on the winning track behind the split decision win.

Angel Rebollar throws his right