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Brian Norman Jr. and Janelson Bocachica were left with nothing to show in their brief yet bloody affair.

A headbutt-filled welterweight crossroads bout ended in a No-Decision after just three rounds. Bocachica was cut over the left eye in the opening round and atop his forehead in the second, and reached a point where the ringside physicians would not allow the bout to continue. Norman was also cut over his right eye and forced to overcome an opening round knockdown in their ESPN+ preliminary headliner Saturday evening from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

The fight did not go to the scorecards since it did not go more than four rounds.

Norman (25-0, 19 knockouts; 1 No-Decision) entered his first bout of 2024 after an active three-fight campaign, though one that left more questions than answers in his once-promising career. Saturday’s meeting with Bocachica (17-2-1, 11 KOs; 1 ND) came with the claim that he was fully healed from a prior hand injury and ready to conquer the welterweight division.

Bocachica came to spoil the party, even after a clash of heads that left him with a diagonal slice across his left eyelid. Norman walked Bocachica into the ropes but came in with his left hand too low to pick off a counter right hand which sent him to the canvas for the first time in his career. The unbeaten prospect from Conyers, Georgia beat the count and made it out of the round but was in an early hole.

Norman was forced to overcome a cut of his own in round two. An accidental headbutt produced a gash just outside his right eye. Bocachica was able to get away with an errant elbow later in the round but couldn’t avoid a third head clash, this one high atop the center of his forehead. The ringside physician took several minutes to examine the wound in an effort to stop the bleeding, at which point action resumed.

It wouldn’t last much longer, though. A slow-moving third round ended with the doctor’s back to examine Bocachica, this time with the decision reached to stop the contest.

PRELIMINARY UNDERCARD RESULTS

Rising middleweight Troy Isley provided the first stoppage of the night. The 2020 U.S. Olympian dropped Marcos Hernandez (16-7-2, 3 KOs) with a right hand, after which referee Mark Nelson picked up his count and halted the contest at 1:30 of the seventh round. Isley (12-0, 5 KOs), Alexandria, Virginia, went the distance in his previous five outings but delivered a fluid performance in his first fight under the dream tream headed by 2023 Ring Trainer of the Year Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre.

Bryce Mills (15-1, 5 KOs) outboxed Buffalo-based Congolese prospect  Gerffred Ngayot (6-2, 5 KOs) over six rounds in their regional junior welterweight rivalry. Scores were 60-54, 60-54 and 58-56 for Mills, who hails from nearby Liverpool.

Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (11-0, 3 KOs) remained perfect as a pro after an eight-round, unanimous decision victory over Puerto Rico’s Edwin Rodriguez (12-8-2, 5 KOs). Judges Don Ackerman (79-73),  John McKaie (80-72) and Tom Schreck (78-74) all ruled in favor of Diaz, a 20-year-old bantamweight now trained by McIntyre.

Rohan Polanco (12-0, 8 KOs) twice floored unbeaten Moroccan junior welterweight Tarik Zaina but had to settle for a dominant eight-round unanimous decision victory. Scores were 78-72, 79-71 and 79-71 for Polanco, who represented the Dominican Republic in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Zaina (13-1-1, 8 KOs) was dropped midway through the seventh round, though it appeared to be more of a push. Polanco was far more emphatic with a right uppercut to score his second knockdown on the night with just 30 seconds to go in the bout. Zaina beat the count and made it to the bell but was dealt his first pro defeat in the process.

Nico Ali Walsh earned a win at the venue where his aunt, Laila Ali made her pro debut and fought three times in her Hall of Fame career. The grandson of the late, legendary Muhammad Ali went the distance in a six-round, unanimous decision over Charles Stanford (7-6, 4 KOs) in a bout fought at a 157-pound contracted limit. Scores were 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55 for Ali Walsh (10-1, 5 KOs), who is now trained by Ismael Salas.

Brandon Moore (14-0, 8 KOs), opened the show with an eight-round shutout of Helaman Olguin (9-7-1, 4 KOs), South Jordan, Utah.  Scores were 80-72 on all three scorecards for Moore in their one-sided heavyweight affair.

Headlining the show are a pair of featherweight title fights.

Unbeaten contenders Otabek Kholmatov (12-0, 11 KOs) and Raymond ‘Savage’ Ford (14-0-1, 7 KOs) collide for the vacant WBA 126-pound title. The evening’s co-main event will see Mexicali’s Luis Alberto Lopez (29-2, 16 KOs)—The Ring’s No. 2-rated featherweight—will attempt the third defense of his IBF 126-pound title versus mandatory challenger Reiya Abe (25-3-1, 10 KOs), No. 8 at 126 by Ring who enters his first career title fight and in his U.S. debut.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox

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