Super middleweight prospects Richard Vansiclen and Manuel Gallegos fought to a majority decision draw Wednesday night at the Whitesands (aka ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida. 

One judge scored the bout 96-94 for Gallegos, while the other two judges submitted scorecards of 95-95.

Fighting at a contracted weight of 170 pounds, the southpaw Vansiclen, who resides in Seattle, Washington, boxed well from distance during the first two rounds, throwing and landing combinations to Gallegos’ head and body. Gallegos did well during the third round, not smothering himself and connecting from the outside after pinning Vansiclen against the ropes or in a corner.

Vansiclen looked as though he momentarily stunned Gallegos during the fourth round, connecting with a combination to the head after Gallegos’ mouthpiece flew out of his mouth. Vansiclen was unable to follow up as referee Christopher Young intervened during a lull in the action, giving Gallegos time to recover as his mouthpiece was put back into his mouth.

The fight was fought in ebbs and flows as both were able to land their share of combinations, particularly during the middle rounds. One fighter would connect, prompting the other fighter to land his share of punches.

Gallegos (19-1-1, 16 KOs), who resides in the boxing hotbed of Los Mochis, Mexico, was the aggressor during much of the second half of the fight. The tactic worked as Vansiclen fought defensively off his back foot, where he was not able to sit down on his punches as he had done earlier. 

By the eighth round, Vansiclen was able to find a second wind, mixing his attack after creating distance between the two fighters. Vansiclen mixed his attack to the head and body of Gallegos, whose punch output dropped. Both fighters had their moments during the final round, although Vansiclen’s punches looked like they had more effect than those of Gallegos. 

Vansiclen (13-0-1, 6 KOs) last fought on September 9, defeating previously-unbeaten Hakim Lopez by unanimous decision. Gallegos had won his previous two fights since suffering the only defeat of his pro career at the hands of Oziel Santoyo in October 2020. 

In the co-feature bout, middleweight prospect Darrelle Valsaint defeated Lucas de Abreu by unanimous decision. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56 for Valsaint, who improved to 7-0, 5 KOs. 

Valsaint, a 2020 Olympian from Haiti and now residing in nearby Orlando, effectively worked behind a consistent jab, landing one or two-punch combinations to the head and body of de Abreu.

Throughout the fight, Valsaint would switch from conventional to southpaw, and back to a conventional stance. de Abreu had his moments, especially landing straight and counter right hands to the head, but Valsaint excelled at timing de Abreu, connecting on his share of right hands and left hooks to the body.

The Brazil-born de Abreu drops to 14-3, 11 KOs. He has split his last four bouts.  

In light heavyweight action, Najee Lopez of Ellenwood, Georgia outboxed Argentina’s Cristian Rios, winning by decision over six one-sided rounds. All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Lopez, who goes to 6-0, 5 KOs.

Lopez was the more-effective fighter throughout most of the fight. Early in round 5, Lopez hurt the southpaw Rios with a right uppercut to the head, but Rios was able to utilize his ring generalship to keep Lopez at bay and survive the round.

Rios drops to 23-17-3, 7 KOs and has now lost seven of his last eight bouts. 

Valsaint and Lopez are both managed by Tim VanNewhouse. 

Junior middleweight prospect Marques Valle of nearby Wesley Chapel defeated Jarrod Tennant by unanimous decision. Scores were 60-54, 60-54, and 59-55 for Valle, who improved to 8-0, 6 KOs.

The scorecards did not reflect the competitiveness of the fight as Tennant was game, connecting on telling punches to the head, but Valle was the more-effective fighter, outboxing Tennant, who resides in Los Angeles and drops to 8-2, 4 KOs. 

In the opening bout of the ProBox TV stream, light heavyweight Alex Cintron of the Bronx, New York was successful in his pro debut, defeating Mexico City’s Dario Guerrero (1-3-1 1 NC) by unanimous decision. Scores were 39-37, 39-37 and 40-36 for Cintron. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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