Fortunately for boxing fans, however, Jordan Panthen stepped in to replace Rocha, and picked up right where Curiel and Rocha left off in their welterweight thriller.
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Although Curiel defeated Panthen by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 98-92) on Friday night at Greater Palm Springs’ Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, California, it’s safe to say Panthen’s stock rose in the loss.
Panthen (11-2, 9 KOs), who had a notable size advantage, pressured Curiel (17-0-1, 14 KOs) from the opening bell. He used a strong punch and a nod to push Curiel back and break the distance. As Panthen entered striking range, he unleashed short, powerful combinations, attacking Curiel’s body and moving up the middle with hooks.
Panthen lifted Curiel’s chin with the uppercut just after the minute mark in Round 2 and continued to put pressure on Curiel in the second frame. Curiel intended to outwit Panthen, using his speed advantage to perform flashy counterattacks and slow him down with body blows. A counterpunch by Curiel was effective in the first minute of the third round, but Panthen returned later in the session with an uppercut of his own and a hard right hand.
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The loser had a strong first three rounds, but the tide began to turn in the fourth round. Although Panthen opened the round with some good body work, the pace and pressure soon eased and Curiel’s counterattacks proved more effective. Curiel traded power blows with Panthen at close range, leading to some fun exchanges in Round 4.
(Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy via Getty Images)
The hook proved effective for Curiel again early in the fifth round, when a brilliant punch broke through the center of Panthen’s guard and was followed by a flashy combination. Curiel continued to have success with the uppercut and attacked the body in an attempt to slow Panthen down further.
Going into the sixth frame, it looked like a different fight than the first few rounds. Panthen was still active and throwing with volume, but the momentum was firmly in Curiel’s favor. Now, the Mexican was suddenly pushing back the much larger and stronger Panthen. Curiel had a minor breakthrough when he appeared to bother Panthen in the midsection in the final minute of the seventh round and then pushed Panthen back with a left hook.
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Panthen was again badly rocked by a right hand from Curiel in the final minute of the ninth round. Curiel mounted a sustained attack, but Panthen, showing a fantastic chin and a tremendous heart, refused to go down and managed to survive the attack.
Curiel found more success in Round 10 with powerful strikes and combinations, before Panthen recovered and the pair battled to the final bell in a thriller. Although Curiel was a clear winner after taking control in the second half of the contest, Panthen has surely prepared himself for more television fights after his late introduction.
In the co-feature of the night, Jorge Chávez defeated Manuel Flores by unanimous decision (96-94, 97-93, 98-92) in their super bantamweight rematch. The pair previously fought to a majority draw in Indio, California, last July.
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Flores started the rematch well, taking the first rounds with aggression. Chavez came to life in the fourth round with a combination of body shots, and the pair went back and forth in the middle rounds. Chavez staggered Flores in the seventh round with a left-right combination. He continued his assault in the eighth round with tremendous uppercuts. Chavez also took control in the 9th and 10th rounds, and the strong final four rounds of the fight were enough to secure him a decision.
Jorge “El Niño Dorado” Chavez punches Manuel “Gucci Manny” Flores during their fight at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, California.
(Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy via Getty Images)
A five-fight card turned into four when news broke on the DAZN broadcast that the scheduled eight-round welterweight showdown between Joel Iriarte and Jireh De Los Santos would not take place.
The fight was canceled just hours before the couple was supposed to enter the ring. Iriarte missed weight at Thursday’s weigh-in, so De Los Santos was offered financial compensation, including double his purse and a return fight, but he refused to accept it.
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According to DAZN’s Chris Mannix, the deeply religious De Los Santos said God told him it wasn’t safe to fight, so he decided not to move forward with the contest.
In super lightweight action, Ruslan Abdullaev (4-0, 2 KOs) ended the 10-fight unbeaten streak of Eduardo Javier Abreu (14-1-2, 10 KOs).
To his credit, Abreu was aggressive and pressured Abdullaev all night, but in the end he paid the price for his willingness to stay within striking distance of the Uzbek amateur star.
Abdullaev dropped Abreu with a brilliant right counterattack just before the two minute mark in R3. Abreu received harsh punishment after the fall, but managed to endure the round. Abdullaev continued his attack of powerful punches on Abreu, who was brave and tough, but was slowly being defeated.
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A second breakthrough came for Abdullaev early in the final minute of Round 5 when he rocked Abreu with a right into a two-piece left hook, and followed up with a right up the middle that sent Abreu to the canvas. Abdullaev had 40 seconds to find a stop and this time he decided he was going to capitalize on his success. A sustained attack from Abdullaev forced Abreu to the ropes, where a flurry of punches forced the referee to stop the action in the final seconds of the fifth round.
In the DAZN opener, Cayden Griffiths (7-0, 6 KOs) dominated and defeated Lesther Espino (10-8, 8 KOs), but was forced to go the distance for the first time in his young career. Griffiths won by unanimous decision (60-53, 60-53, 60-53) over Espino.
main card
Catch weight of 158 pounds: Raúl Curiel defeated. Jordan Panthen by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 98-92)
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Super bantamweight: Jorge Chávez defeated. Manuel Flores via unanimous decision (96-94, 97-93, 98-92)
Welterweight: Joel Iriarte vs. Jireh De Los Santos (cancelled)
Super lightweight: Ruslan Abdullaev defeated. Eduardo Javier Abreu by technical knockout in the fifth round | See video
Welterweight: Cayden Griffiths defeated. Lesther Espino by unanimous decision (60-53, 60-53, 60-53)
Preliminaries
Super flyweight: John “Scrappy” Ramirez defeated. Byron Rojas via majority decision (95-95, 97-93, 98-92)
Middleweight: Fabián Guzmán defeated. José Gabriel Rodríguez by technical knockout in the sixth round | See video
Welterweight: Ricardo Ruvalcaba defeated. Jonathan José Eniz by unanimous decision (79-73, 80-72, 80-72)