Zurdo Kos Sullivan Barrera in Massive Fight Card in LA

By Lauren Rodriguez

Published July 11, 2021

LOS ANGELES-Boxing returned to Los Angeles. The fully stacked bout card, presented by Golden Boy promotions and DAZN, included 12 bouts. The anticipated return of boxing in LA was braved by die-hard fans who endured the heat of the outdoor arena.

In the main event, Mexican fighter Zurdo (41-0, 27 K.O.) went up against Cuban boxer Sullivan Barrera (22-3, 14 K.O.).

Zurdo, the first Mexican WBO super middleweight champion of the world, made his debut as part of Golden Boy Promotions. The undefeated fighter had fans roaring from the second he walked onto the ring runway.

The first few rounds of the fight were filled with heavy hits that echoed around the ring. Sullivan connected with Zurdo throughout, but it was Zurdos powerful punches to the body that noticeably slowed the fighter down. What seemed to be a fight that would run the entire 12-rounds, ended abruptly in the 4th round.

A shot to the body knocked Sullivan down in the 3rd round but the fighter rose to continue the battle. In the 4th round Zurdo ate a face shot before a heavy hit to the body knocked Sullivan down for the third and final time, forcing referee Thomas Taylor to bring the bout to a halt. The fight ended at 1:38 of round 4, by way of knockout.

When asked what’s next for the Sinaloa fighter, Zurdo stated,

“I could fight Canelo cause he’s Mexican and he’s a pound for pound fighter. If he wants to move up, if the fans want it, if he wants the title let's do it, let's make it happen.”

When asked how quick he wanted to get back in the ring, the fighter stated as soon as Monday he is getting back to work. Training out of Brick House gym in Los Angeles, with new and veteran boxers, it's clear Zurdo is receptive to his training and maintaining his undefeated title.

Zurdo’s trainer Julian Chua said the body attack was a pre-set battle plan.

“We knew he [Sullivan] could take a good shot to the head.. we wanted to see what would happen if we tested his body…cause Andre Ward landed a lot of shots down there, but he doesn’t punch like Zurdo does. Because Andre was so accurate there, he was definitely going to be open there. So, we wanted to see what happened when Zurdo did it and... we saw,”

With an undefeated record of 42 wins and 28 knockouts, it's hard to tell where Ramirez could improve. Chua, who has worked with Ramirez for three years said he has a few areas he’d definitely have the fighter sharpen up.

“Every now and then, when he would exit the clinch, he’d kinda get turned off a little bit…like he’d get pushed or something and he’d just back off and let it be.. I want him to be in a better ready position whenever he exits a clinch,” stated Chua.

Co Main:

The co-main event between Joseph “JOJO” Diaz (31-1-1, 15 K.O.) and Javier Fortuna (36-2-1, 25 K.O.) in a fight for the WBC Interim world lightweight title ran for 12 full rounds as the fighters brawled. The fight ran close as the two tried to maintain their energy.

By the 4th round, Diaz began bleeding profusely from his left eye after a clash of heads. It hindered his performance. The boxer powered through and the two exchanged blows until the very end. The closely scored fight ultimately favored Diaz as he moved to his 32nd win.

“I want to fight one more time before the end of the year so October November December, whoever wants to fight. I’m 28, I want the best fights now. I want to give the fans their money's worth and fight the foo fighters,” said Diaz.

Seniesa Wins

The main female fight of the night featured East Los Angeles native Seniesa “SUPERBAD” Estrada and Japan's Tsunami Tenkai (28-12-1, 16 K.O.) for the WBO light flyweight world title. The mashup between two female champions was nothing short of action packed. The two saved little energy to spare as they fought as if it were life or death.

Tsunami, having traveled across the world for this match, held nothing back as she barreled a hard left and right blow to Seniesa, leaving Superbad unable to move around.

Seniesa ring IQ was apparent as she moved around and utilized every inch of free space in her zone. The fighter shook off jabs and threw combos towards her opponent, utilizing her speed and ability to quickly bob and weave.

By the 5th round, Tsunami appeared tired as Seniesa upped her smashing power, brushing off jabs from Tsunami.

The final rounds were a slugfest for viewers to see as the fighters threw in every last ounce of power they had into their final moments.

The bout was scored ; 99-91, 98-92, 98-92 in favor of Estrada. Superbad remains undefeated and adds the WBO light flyweight title to her resume. She wants more.

Zepeda Wins

The opening fight of the DAZN broadcast, Hector “El Finito” Tanajara (19-0, 5 K.O) against William Zepeda (22-0, 200 K.O.) in the lightweight division.

The two fighters played tag with their bodies, taking shot for shot as they heated up the ring each round. The two went toe-to-toe, not stopping until the round bell rang. By the fourth round, Zepeda picked up his speed as he continued to drill Tanajara with combinations from all angles.

Midway through the match, it was evident to viewers that an undefeated Tanajara may have met his first defeat with Zepeda. Zepeda increasingly showed his power while Tanajara struggled to move away from impact.

In the 6th round, Referee Robert Garcia waved the fight to a close as Tanajara received too many blows and appeared unable to continue. The fight ended in a TKO of the 6th round, winner Zepeda. Zepeda moves to his 23rd victory.

Pre DAZN broadcast/ undercard:

WBA flyweight world titlist Naoko Fujioka (19-2-1, 7 Kos) rallied from a slow start to catch and pass Sulem Urbina (12-2) with a consistent body attack and win by majority decision.

It was a firefight that saw Urbina match blows with Fujioka a five-division world champion. Those titles didn’t matter as the Arizona prizefighter was relentless in trading blows with Japan’s best fighter until the very last second.

Once Fujioka targeted the body the faster Urbina began to visibly slow down. From that point on the Japanese champion began to out-land Urbina consistently until the end of the 10^th round.

The scores reflected the fight at one judge scored it 95-95 and two others saw it 99-91 and 96-94 for Fujioka who retains her world title and could be matched against WBC titlist Marlen Esparza who was in attendance.

Other bouts

Bryan Chevalier (15-1-1, 12 K.O.) v. James Wilkins (9-1, 6 K.O.)

The two who had engaged in altercation at the press conference, poured every ounce of anger into their fight. The 10-round bout ended in victory for Chevalier who moved to his 16th win..

In the lightweight division, Miguel Gaona (pro debut) against Gilberto Aguilar (0-2) , Gaona secured his first professional win.

The super featherweight division between Lamont Roach Jr. (20-1-1, 8 K.O.) and Daniel Rosas (21-4-1, 13 K.O.) ended in a knockout of the second round. Roach improves to (21-1-1).

The close fight between super bantamweights Azat Hovhannisyan (19-3) and Jose Gonzalez(23-8-1), Hovhannisyan was named victor. Hovhannisyan moves to (20-3).

The heavyweight division between Mihai Nistor (2-0, 2 KO) and Colby Madison (9-2-2, 6 K.O.s) ended 2:16 of the second round, Nistor as winner. Nistor improves to (3-0, 3 K.O.)

The super lightweight fight between Starling Castillo (14-0, 11 K.O.), and Miguel Contreras (11-0, 6 K.O.), ended at 46 seconds of the second round. Castillo knocked Contreras down. Castillo moves to (15-0, 12 K.O.)

The first fight of the event, between Gregory Morales (12-0, 8 K.O.) and Rodrigo Guerrero (26-11-2, 16 K.O.) was scored in favor of Morales. Morales remains undefeated, improving to (13-0).

(Photo by Al Applerose)