Boxing’s youngest undisputed champion now reigns in the women’s flyweight division.
Gabriela Fundora secured her place in history with a seventh-round technical knockout over Gabriela Celeste Alaniz, claiming all four major titles Saturday night at The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The fight was stopped at 1 minute and 40 seconds of the round.
“This is amazing,” Fundora said in the ring after the fight.
The 5ft 9ins Fundora’s height proved a key advantage, making it difficult for Alaniz to close the distance. Fundora set the tone with a right hook in the first round. After a competitive second round, Alaniz found some success using footwork to land a big right hand in the third, showcasing her hand speed. Fundora responded in the fourth with a powerful right hook that caught Alaniz’s attention, but Alaniz pressed on and landed a sharp left hook in the closing moments.
The fifth round featured both fighters looking to counter, but Fundora landed the biggest shot in the final seconds. The sixth round saw Fundora connect with a clean straight left while Alaniz kept up the pressure and landed good body shots. Despite the close nature of the fight, Fundora appeared to be in control.
In the seventh, a straight left hand sent Alaniz to the canvas. Although Alaniz gestured at the referee, suggesting her foot was stepped on, Fundora seconds later landed another powerful left that floored Alaniz heavily. Alaniz’s corner threw in the towel, prompting referee Robert Hoyle to halt the fight.
Afterward, Fundora dedicated her win to her promoter, Oscar De La Hoya. “He’s making a new era of Golden Boy now,” Fundora said. “He’s welcoming the Golden Girl.”
Fundora improved her record to 15-0 (7 KOs), while Alaniz suffered her first knockout loss, dropping to 15-2 (7 KOs).
Super middleweight Darius Fulghum secured a technical knockout over veteran Christopher Pearson, with fight being stopped at 1:02 of the third round.
Fulghum, a 28-year-old from Houston, put Pearson on the ropes early, landing a left hook that pressured him into taking a knee near the end of the first round. Fulghum began the second round aggressively, pushing Pearson, a 33-year-old from Selma, Texas, back into a corner. Despite Pearson’s reputation as a durable opponent expected to take Fulghum into deeper rounds, he struggled to respond, absorbing punches without mounting much offense.
Between the second and third rounds, referee Mike Ortega warned Pearson and his corner that more action was needed or the fight would be stopped. Fulghum continued his dominant performance in the third, overwhelming Pearson on the ropes. Ortega stepped in as Pearson remained unresponsive and failed to show he could turn the tide.
With the win, Fulghum improved to 13-0 (11 KOs), while Pearson’s record fell to 17-5-1 (12 KOs).
In the DAZN telecast opener, welterweight Joel Iriarte, of Bakersfield, California, continued his impressive ascent with a fifth consecutive knockout to start his pro career, stopping Xavier Madrid of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the first round. The bout was halted at 2 minutes and 50 seconds.
Iriarte, 21, spoiled the confidence of Madrid, a tough 32-year-old veteran. Dressed in orange-and-black Halloween-themed trunks, the 6ft 1ins Iriarte towered over his opponent. The decisive sequence began with a right uppercut, followed by an onslaught of punches capped by a jab and a powerful straight right that sent Madrid to the canvas. Referee Thomas Taylor waved it off after Madrid’s unconvincing response to his instructions.
Iriarte improved to 5-0 (5 KOs), while Madrid’s record fell to 5-6 (2 KOs).
In the main event of the YouTube preliminary card, welterweight Eric Tudor won a unanimous decision over Harold Calderon in a lackluster bout. The judges scored it 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92 for Tudor.
Tudor, 12-1 (7 KOs), from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Calderon, 28-2 (19 KOs), from Miami, fought a cautious and calculated match despite what should have been plenty of familiarity between the two. (They reside just 30 miles apart.) The first round set the tone with minimal action as tension built. Tudor threw more punches early, but both fighters remained tentative through the opening rounds.
Calderon started to adjust in the middle rounds, targeting Tudor’s body with straight punches. Tudor maintained his forward pressure, using his jab to set up quick right hands, but neither man took control and clean punches were rare.
Momentum shifted slightly in Calderon’s favor in the sixth round as he pressed forward with body shots and walked Tudor down. While Tudor responded with flurries, Calderon’s consistent activity kept him competitive. The seventh and eighth rounds were marked by exchanges from which it was difficult to determine who had the upper hand. Calderon’s body shots and a left hand – disguised as a body shot but landing on Tudor’s head – highlighted the ninth round. Tudor answered with his right hand, but the methodical nature of the fight continued.
The fight concluded as it unfolded throughout, with both fighters looking for single effective shots without urgency. Tudor’s performance left questions about his future trajectory.
Tudor is now on a three-fight win streak since his loss to Jose Luis Sanchez over a year ago. Calderon has now dropped two of his last three fights.
Junior featherweight Asa Stevens won a unanimous decision over late replacement Garen Diagan, of the Philippines. Diagan stepped in earlier this week after Stevens’ original opponent withdrew. The judges scored the fight 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55 for Stevens.
Stevens, from Waianae, Hawaii, started fast, likely due to Diagan’s short-notice preparation and career-high fighting weight. Stevens, 7-0 (2 KOs), controlled the fight from the outside but was cautious as the awkward Diagan made the bout disjointed, leading with big power shots instead of jabs.
In the fifth round, Stevens landed his best punch – a left hand – but the fight remained awkward and slow. The final round featured three head clashes, none resulting in cuts, which stood out as the round’s most notable moments.
This marked Stevens’ first fight of 2024. Diagan, 10-5 (5 KOs), last fought in a strawweight world title match against titleholder Oscar Collazo. Prior to Saturday’s bout, the highest weight Diagan had competed at was flyweight.
In a battle of unbeaten junior lightweights, Hawaii’s Dalis Kaleiopu secured a six-round unanimous decision over Manuel Lerma, of Pharr, Texas. All three judges scored the fight 60-53 for Kaleiopu.
Kaleiopu, 6-0 (4 KOs), fought patiently from the outside, utilizing his 5ft 11ins frame and 1½in reach advantage. He was also 2ins taller than Lerma. Kaleiopu dropped Lerma, 4-1, in the second round with a short overhand right after Lerma, fighting from the southpaw stance, threw a lazy left. The same sequence had previously rocked Lerma.
Lerma showed resilience in the third, pressing forward despite the earlier knockdown – though it was unclear if he was winning rounds. Kaleiopu caught Lerma’s attention with a solid right uppercut with just over a minute left in the sixth and final round, but he was unable to close the show.
In the opening bout, bantamweight Jordan Fuentes improved to 2-0 with a unanimous decision over Roberto Pena, of McAllen, Texas, who dropped to 4-5 (3 KOs). Judges scored the fight 40-36, 40-36 and 40-35.
A straight left from Fuentes stunned Pena in the first round, forcing him back to the ropes. Fuentes unleashed relentless combinations in the fourth and final round, rocking Pena’s head with a varied attack to the head and body. Despite the onslaught, the tough Pena managed to survive until the final bell. Fuentes remains without a knockout in his young pro career.
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.
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