Alberto "Explosivo" Machado (18-0, 15 KOs) scored an impressive unanimous decision victory against Carlos "The Solution" Morales (16-2-3, 6 KOs) to unify the NABO and NABA Super Featherweight titles in the main event of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at Ferial de Puerto Rico in Ponce. Both fighters reawakened the historic rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico that once again produced fireworks. Ultimately, it was Machado that came up with the victory, with scores of 99-90, 99-90 and 98-91.
"I felt good in the ring," said Alberto Machado. "I needed this for my career. I put myself to the test because almost all my fights had been by knockout, and I'm happy with the victory. Carlos Morales is a tough fighter who used everything his arsenal and pushed until the end. Hopefully I will now be rated no. 2 or no. 3 with the WBA, and it is a matter of meeting with my promoters, taking time to rest and seeing what comes next."
"I feel good," said Carlos Morales. "I felt like I did my best in the ring, but after the first round I realized that I needed to change it up and not get caught again. Machado is a strong fighter; he hits very, very hard. Now it's time for me to review, rest and get back up."
In tonight's co-main event, Nate Green (9-0, 2 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York scored a controversial eight-round unanimous decision against Emanuel "Bebo" Rivera (17-2, 11 KOs) of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Rivera was dominant in every round, even dropping Green with a right hand in the second round before hurting him in every round that followed. Nevertheless, the judges gave Green the victory with three scores of 77-74.
Opening up the televised portion of the card, Edwin Rodriguez (8-4-1, 4 KOs) scored a surprising six-round majority decision victory over Juan Carlos "El Indio" Camacho, Jr. (6-1, 4 KOs) in a super flyweight bout. The bout started explosively as both fighters exchanged in the center of the ring. However, as the rounds progressed, Rodriguez began applying pressure more effectively, landing hard left hooks that even caused Camacho's right eye to swell. Rodriguez won with two scores of 58-56, while one judge scored it a 57-57 draw.
Josean Serra (10-1, 7 KOs) of Ponce, Puerto Rico, defeated Manuel Galaviz (7-20, 3 KOs) of Sonora, Mexico via four-round unanimous decision. Serra walked away with from the bantamweight fight with scores of 40-36, 49-37 and 39-36.
Super lightweight prospect Luis Feliciano (3-0) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin scored a six-round unanimous decision victory against Vega Baja, Puerto Rico's Jimmy Rosario (2-5, 1 KO) in the first fight of the ESPN 3 broadcast. Feliciano won with three scores of 60-54.
In a battle pitting two puertorriqueños against each other, Edwin Valentin (1-0, 1 KO) made a successful professional debut with an impressive first-round knockout of Franklin Torres (0-1). The fight was stopped at 1:10 of the very first round.
Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico's Jose Bartolomei (4-0, 4 KOs) made quick work of Giovanny Rivera (1-9, 1 KO), stopping him at 2:29 in the first round of a featherweight fight initially scheduled for four rounds.
In the first fight of the evening, Christian Tapia (3-0, 3 KOs), a lightweight prospect from Coamo, Puerto Rico, scored an impressive fourth-round TKO victory against Jose Carmona (1-7, 1 KO). After three rounds of punishment, the fight was stopped at the very beginning of fourth round.
Machado vs. Morales was a 10-round fight for the NABO and NABA super featherweight titles, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions that took place Friday, Aug. 18 at Complejo Ferial De Puerto Rico. The event was sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD and Hennessy, Never Stop, Never Settle.
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