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Berchelt impresses on Rios-Alvarado undercard

Miguel Berchelt. Photo by Chris Farina - Top Rank
Fighters Network
31
Mar

Undefeated Mexican junior lightweight standout Miguel Berchelt needed only one round to dispatch Carlos Claudio in his American debut on the undercard of the Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado undercard on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Berchelt (17-0, 14 KOs) needed only 1:53 to dispatch Carlos Claudio (15-10-3, 8 KOs) ,of Kissimmee, Fla. Berchelt landed a bevy of power shots early, then eventually stunned Claudio, sending him to the ropes. Berchelt wasted no time jumping on his opponent, landing a signature Oscar De La Hoya style flurry of punches that forced referee Kenny Bayless to stop the fight.

Highly touted 2012 U.S. Olympian Jose Ramirez (2-0, 2 KOs) made quick work of Hastings, Neb.’s Charlie Dubray, dropping him twice in the opening round en route to a TKO. Ramirez bounced a right hand off the top of Dubray’s head early in the round, resulting in a knockdown. Dubray returned to his feet and Ramirez jumped on him, unleashing a furious body attack before referee Robert Byrd halted the bout at 1:06.

Las Vegas welterweight Michael Finney (11-0, 9 KOs) scored a rare highlight-reel body shot knockout against Osvaldo Rojas (7-3-2, 2 KOs) of Portland, Ore., in the fifth round.



Rojas proved to be a game challenge, landing some hard shots throughout the fight. Finney, however, turned in one of his better performances as a pro, showing an improvement in his combination punching. In the fourth round, Finney hurt Rojas, staggering him still for a few seconds. In the fifth, Finney and Rojas traded hard blows, and Finney came back with an absolutely brutal left hook to the body. Rojas went down like he had a full clip unloaded in him, and was counted out by Vic Drakulich at 49 seconds of the round.

Former amateur standout Tramaine Williams (6-0, 2 KOs) of New Haven, Conn., boxed a four-round shutout of Roswell, N.M.’s John Herrera (4-6-1, 2 KOs) in their junior featherweight contest. Williams was just many classes above his opponent, landing combinations in sixes and sevens with regularity. Scores were 40-36 across the board.

In the most exciting bout of the untelevised undercard, heavyweights Brett Rather (3-0) of Las Vegas and Juan Guajardo (2-1, KO) of McAllen, Tex.,engaged in a four-round slugfest. Rather got dropped in the opening round but was able to come back and outhustle Guajardo to a narrow decision victory, winning 38-37 on all three cards.

Las Vegas junior welterweight Juan Heraldez (5-0, 4 KOs) earned a dominant four-round decision over Roberto Lopez (4-5-2, KO) of Kissimmee, Fla. Heraldez dropped Lopez with a left hook upstairs in the second round en route to a 40-35 victory on all three scorecards.

Junior welterweight Manuel Lopez (2-0, 2 KOs), a stablemate of main eventer Mike Alvarado, scored a second round stoppage of Las Vegas-based Jason Tresvan (0-2) in their scheduled four-round bout. Lopez overwhelmed Tresvan in the second round, battering him until referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight at 2:06.

Photo: Chris Farina-Top Rank

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