Agustin Ezequiel Quintana pulls off upset win over Marc Castro

Agustin Ezequiel Quintana didn’t just challenge undefeated Marc Castro on Saturday night at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico — he stunned the boxing world by delivering a career-defining performance that handed Castro his first loss.

Quintana handed Castro his first professional loss in a competitive 10-round split decision, with scores of 97-93 and 96-94 in Quintana’s favor, and one dissenting 96-94 card for Castro.

The lightweight bout, contested at a catchweight due to Quintana’s travel-related weight adjustments, showcased Castro’s early aggression. The Fresno fighter Castro made the ring feel suffocating for Quintana in the first two rounds, who struggled to find his rhythm. Castro’s relentless volume punching, a hallmark of his style as highlighted by broadcaster Sergio Mora, set the tone in the opening rounds.

By the third, Quintana, 28, began to adjust. The Argentinian boxer Quintana landed thudding body shots and clipped Castro with a clean right hand, forcing Castro to briefly fight off his back foot. A well-placed left hook in the fourth inspired Quintana to press forward.

The fifth round was a seesaw battle, with Quintana landing sharp counters while Castro relied on his engine to pile on the punches. Round six saw Castro’s conditioning shine as he upped the pace, boxing effectively off his back foot and proving he wasn’t fading.

Yet, just when Castro appeared to regain control, Quintana roared back in the eighth, landing wide hooks and a sneaky uppercut that momentarily reversed the narrative. Castro’s resilience kept him in the fight, but the ninth round turned into a battle of attrition, with both men trading heavy leather and slipping on the canvas due to the ring surface not punches.

In the final round, Castro, 25, dug deep, surged forward, and outworked Quintana, leaving some to believe he had done enough to win. However, Quintana’s earlier work ultimately sealed the victory. Quintana, now 21-2-1 (13 KOs), walked away with the biggest win of his career, while Castro, 13-1 (8 KOs), heads back to the drawing board. 

Flyweight Yankiel Rivera, a 2020 Puerto Rican Olympian, delivered a dominant performance, stopping Angel Gonzalez of Longwood, Florida, via fourth-round technical knockout. The win marked the first knockout of the card and handed Gonzalez his first career loss.

Rivera’s talent and pedigree were on full display from the opening bell. The 27-year-old southpaw Rivera landed clean, effective punches while Gonzalez, 31, struggled to find his footing. Coming in under the flyweight limit, Gonzalez looked undersized and was consistently walked down by Rivera, who began targeting the body late in the second round. By then, Rivera’s physicality and precision had Gonzalez on the defensive, retreating around the ring.

In the third round, when Rivera landed a perfectly timed counter right hook, flooring Gonzalez. From that point on, the result seemed inevitable. The question wasn’t if Rivera would win, but how.

The answer came in round four. A brutal body shot sent Gonzalez to the canvas for a second time. Moments later, Rivera unleashed a flurry of punches, prompting Gonzalez to fall forward. Referee Luis Pabon ruled it a knockdown and immediately stopped the fight before Gonzalez could continue. While some may have considered the stoppage slightly premature, the outcome appeared inevitable.

Rivera improved to 7-0 (4 KOs) and solidified his status as a rising contender, holding rankings of No. 9 by the WBC, No. 3 by the WBA, and No. 11 by the IBF. Gonzalez, now 14-1 (7 KOs), leaves with a learning experience but no longer an unblemished record.

In a battle of unbeaten Puerto Rican junior welterweights, William Ortiz outmaneuvered Lionell Omar Colon in a measured eight-round affair. Ortiz claimed a unanimous decision with all three judges scoring it a shutout at 80-72.

The 21-year-old Ortiz, now 7-0 (4 KOs), displayed superior ring IQ and patience, controlling the action with a good jab. Colon, 19, fell to 6-1 (3 KOs) in what turned out to be a tactical but largely uneventful contest that was good for the development of Ortiz’s young career.