Sylve used his youth, speed, and movement to control much of the fight. Diaz, who entered the bout having lost eight of his previous 10 contests, pressed forward and had his moments, but Sylve consistently landed the cleaner punches and controlled the distance. Diaz remained competitive throughout, though Sylve finished strongly to secure the decision.
In the co-feature, undefeated lightweight Devin Cushing improved to 19-0 with a unanimous decision victory over J’Hon Ingram over 10 rounds.
Cushing outworked Ingram in the opening rounds and hurt him with a right hook late in the second. Ingram bounced back well in the third and fourth rounds, stunning Cushing with a lead right hand in the fourth. The fight remained competitive throughout, with both fighters having success, but Cushing’s stronger work in the later rounds helped him secure the victory by scores of 97-93 on all three scorecards.
WBO International super lightweight champion Ernesto “Tito” Mercado improved to 19-0 with 18 knockouts by stopping veteran Juan Carlos Burgos in the second round.
Mercado dominated from the opening bell, landing sharp combinations and repeatedly finding the target. Early in the second round, a combination dropped Burgos for an eight-count. Less than a minute later, Mercado scored a second knockdown with a right hand, ending the fight at 2:40 of the round. The stoppage marked the first knockout loss of Burgos’ professional career.
Middleweight Amir “Cashman” Anderson remained unbeaten, improving to 8-0 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Jonas Sylvain to capture the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title.
Sylvain enjoyed early success with body punching before Anderson switched to southpaw and began taking control of the fight. Anderson outlanded Sylvain through much of the middle rounds and finished strongly after surviving a solid right hand in the ninth. All three judges scored the bout 100-90 in Anderson’s favor.
Welterweight prospect David Lopez moved to 9-0 with a first-round stoppage of Joey Borrero.
Lopez dropped Borrero less than a minute into the contest with a left hand and body shot combination. After the knockdown, Lopez unleashed a barrage of punches, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 1:41 of the opening round.
In women’s super flyweight action, Kayla “The Truth” Gomez won her professional debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Shayntain Creer.
Gomez controlled the fight from the outset, displaying the skills that made her a highly regarded amateur. Creer showed toughness and improved as the fight progressed, but Gomez landed the cleaner shots throughout and finished the contest strongly. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in Gomez’s favor.
Also seeing action on the card were Ethan Smith, Daniel Mercado, and Kevin Gudino.
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