Robert Terry advanced to the semifinals of the OTX junior middleweight tournament after cruising past Estevan Villalobos in the co-main event of the OTX 7 card Friday night at Houston’s Red Owl Boxing Arena.
The judges scored the fight 100-90 (twice), 98-92.
Terry will go on to face the winner of the main event between Andreas Katzourakis and Kudratillo Abdukakhorov on the same card.
Terry (12-0-1, 4 KOs), who was reported by DAZN commentators to be working a graveyard shift when he wasn’t training, made it a long night for Villalobos (16-3-1, 12 KOs). Villalobos, who took the fight on short notice and cut a lot of weight prior to the weigh-in, was slow and followed Terry around the ring. Although Terry didn’t have the power to hurt Villalobos often, he outboxed and maneuvered him, causing Villalobos visible frustration as the fight progressed.
In the seventh round, Terry hurt Villalobos, who retreated. An eager Terry appeared to punch himself out while attempting to finish the fight, but Villalobos couldn’t find Terry to take advantage and land a meaningful punch. Terry continued to land himself, with Villalobos showing his toughness by taking clean shots – but unable to respond productively.
CompuBox punch stats saw Terry land 231 of 680 punches, compared to 84 out of 398 for Villalobos.
Junior welterweight Giovanni Marquez (9-0-1, 5 KOs), the son of former world champion Raul Marquez, made history by fighting to a draw with fellow Texan native Jason Limon (8-1-2, 2 KOs) in the most unique of ways.
After eight rounds, the judges scored the bout 77-75 Limon, 77-76 Marquez and 76-76 – a draw. But because OTX Boxing (Overtime Boxing) implements an overtime round to settle draws, they fought on. The additional round, however, still wasn’t enough to determine a clear winner. The round lacked the action many had hoped for, with consequential blows being hard to find and score.
The final scores – 86-85 Limon, 86-85 Marquez and 86-86 – ensured that the fight remained a draw even after the extra round.
According to punch stats, Limon landed 127 to Marquez’s 96.
After the bout, both fighters expressed interest in a rematch.
In earlier results, undefeated junior bantamweight Leanna Cruz (9-0) winning a unanimous decision over last-minute replacement Nancy Franco (19-21-2, 5 KOs), who took the fight on 24 hours’ notice, according to the DAZN commentators. Cruz won the fight 60-54 on all three judges’ scorecards.
Cruz, who has yet to record a knockout, landed numerous shots in the final 15 seconds without Franco responding, but the bout was not stopped.
Junior lightweight Alexander Espinoza (22-6-2, 8 KOs) upset undefeated prospect Gustavo Rivera Rio (9-1, 7 KOs). Espinoza dropped Rivera Rio in the first round but lost a point in the sixth round for a low blow. The judges scored the bout 76-74, 76-74 for Espinoza, with one seeing it 76-74 for Rivera Rio.
In the broadcast’s opening bout, undefeated junior welterweight Breyon Gorham (17-0, 14 KOs) earned a third-round technical knockout over Jose Luis Baltazar III.
A right hand-left hook combination from Gorman forced Baltazar to take a knee near the end of the round. When Baltazar’s corner then removed his tape between rounds, the fight was declared over and the time of stoppage was listed at 3:00 of the third.
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