NEW YORK — On a night of close fights, Ariel Lopez ended the night with the most dominant finish of the show.

The Mexican-American brawler from Brooklyn finished off former title challenger Gregorio Lebron in round one of an eight round scheduled junior featherweight bout. It was a left hook to the body which left the 41-year-old Lebron doubled over in pain, rolling on the floor through the ten count, which was reached at the 2:28 mark.

Lopez (21-1-1, 11 KOs) has now won five straight since his lone defeat, a unanimous decision in May of 2021 to Jose Velasquez. Lebron (24-7, 18 KOs) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republican has now lost four times by stoppage, including his last two fights, at the tail end of a career that saw him drop two majority decisions in Thailand to Yutthana Kaensa for the WBA interim flyweight title.

Lopez says he saw that Lebron could be susceptible to the body shot because he saw on videos that didn’t tuck his elbows.

“I did see when I caught him with a body shot that maybe I can finish him with a body shot,” said Lopez.

“I want to go for a world title hopefully, and display my talent.”

The show was promoted by Boxing Insider Promotions and streamed live over their YouTube channel.

In a battle of speed and strength, strength won out.

Jaica Pavilus (4-6-1, 1 KO) used her superior strength and aggression to outslug “Speedy” Chiara Dituri (7-1, 3 KOs) to a majority decision win in a six-round featherweight bout. One judge had the fight even at 57-57, while the other two had it 58-56 for Pavilus, a Haiti-born New Yorker. Expectations for the fight were perhaps skewed by Pavilus’ upside down record, though an analysis of her record shows that spoiled two unbeaten fighters’ records, and had fought opponents who weighed as much as 145 pounds in these losses.

Dituri, a physical education teacher at Brooklyn’s John Dewey High School, was rocked in the second round by a pair of left hooks which nearly put her down. Dituri continued to be plagued by the same issue, keeping her head in the middle as she traded punches, resulting in her getting the worst of exchanges at the end of the third. Dituri showed no signs of relenting, fighting fire with fire, opting to try to fight her way out of trouble. Though she landed at times with her right hand, it didn’t have nearly the same impact as Pavilus’ punches did.

Photo by David Algranati/The Fight Photos

St. Patrick’s Day celebrations kicked off a little early as the ballroom was filled from wall to wall with fans waving Irish flags in support of Emmet Brennan, the 2020 Irish Olympian who was making his U.S. debut against the tough-as-a-Tad’s-steak Devaun Lee. The chants of “Olé Olé Olé” for the Dubliner erupted into applause after he was announced as the winner by a hard-fought majority decision.

One judge had the eight-round super middleweight bout even at 76-76, while the other two had it for Brennan (3-0, 1 KO) by the scores of 78-74 and 77-75. The fight was just as tough as it seemed on the cards.

Lee (11-11-1, 6 KOs) of Jamaica, Queens used a high guard to walk Brennan down in round one, trying to catch and counter with straight right hands. Lee couldn’t miss with the uppercuts in round 3, as Brennan kept his head in the middle on the inside. Lee listened to his trainer’s exhortation to “Touch that soft ass body” with a series of body punches that opened up right hands over the top.

Brennan found an answer in the fifth, landing body shots of his own which allowed him to land left hooks to the chin. Instead of his steady stream of trash talk, Lee began saving his breath to find a second wind. Lee looked to be having a strong bounce back round in the sixth, landing energy sapping body punches, but Brennan was able to find the gaps in Lee’s tight guard with straight punches that knocked his head back.

Technique faded as the two fighters tired, but Brennan moved his hands more down the stretch to gut it out.

The “Pryce” was right once again as heavyweight prospect Pryce Taylor moved his record to 3-0 (2 KOs) with a one-sided unanimous decision over Antonio Torres (4-2, 4 KOs). All three judges scored the fight 40-36 for Taylor, a two-time New York Golden Gloves champion from Brooklyn. Taylor, 27, made his presence known before the opening bell rang, with his 6’4”, 266-pound frame having him look the part of a modern heavyweight.

Taylor showed he had quick hands for his size, letting his punches go in combination with greater frequency. His amateur pedigree shone through as he cut the ring off on his southpaw opponent, throwing the double hook to take away his escape right, and then firing straight right hands to the body and head.

Photo by David Algranati/The Fight Photos

Torres, 28, of Jameston, N.Y. did his best to redeem himself following his first loss, when he was stopped by Lorenzo Medina in three rounds last August. Torres landed the odd straight left hand but didn’t have the speed or power to keep up with Taylor.

Taylor had been a three-time national finalist as an amateur.

Jason Castanon, a Brooklynite who brought a sizable crowd with him from the Sweatbox Gym, scored a third round knockout in his pro debut, knocking out Luis Rivera-Reyes at the 2:59 mark. 

Castanon was in search of a first round knockout but found that it wouldn’t come so easy. After an opening flurry, Castanon caught some return fire from the stockier, shorter fighter in the form of an overhand right that convinced him to put a brake check on his offense. After his early reality check, Castanon, who was significantly taller, found his range with the jab, which set up a left hook that hurt Reyes in the second round.

Castanon finally found the punch he was looking for in round 3, jabbing to the body to bring Reyes’ hands down before a right hand – and another one after the fact – put him down. Reyes beat the count but was determined to be unable to continue, ending the bout

“I can’t even explain it, it’s sinking in right now. I put in the hard work and it showed,” said Castanon, who wore the Mexican and Puerto Rican flags on his trunks.