Later on tonight at Resorts World, Las Vegas, Miguel Berchelt will fight for the first time since his knockout loss to Oscar Valdez in February, 2021. Standing across the ring from him in their ESPN main event will be Jeremiah Nakathila.
Carlos Caraballo (15-1) returned from his October loss to Jonas Sultan with a majority decision victory over Luis Fernando Saavedra (9-7). 76-76, 79-73, and 77-75 were the final tallies.
Puerto Rico's Caraballo outboxed Saavedra for large stretches of the fight but Saavedra also had moments of success slipping inside and attacking the body. With the victory Caraballo should be in position for a more meaningful fight in the bantamweight division.
Tiger Johnson (3-0) stopped Sebastian Gabriel Chaves (5-4) in the 4th round of their welterweight clash. The 2020 U.S. Olympian dazzled the fans, displaying a lightning fast jab that left his overmatched opponent frustrated.
The Argentinian attempted to cut off the ring on multiple occasions but his lack of speed prevented him from having much success. A right hand sent Chaves to the canvas early in round 4. A straight right finished him seconds later. The time of the stoppage was 1:42.
Josue Vargas (20-2) survived a few scares but was able to bounce back from last October's first round knockout loss to Jose Zepeda with a unanimous decision win over Argentina's Nicolas Pablo Demario (15-6-3) in their super lightweight showdown.
After a tentative opening round, both men let their hands go more in the second. Vargas was having a good round but Demario closed the round strong landing several punches as Vargas hung on the ropes.
What appeared to be more of a push than a punch sent Vargas to the canvas midway through the second round and was counted as a knockdown by referee Robert Hoyle. Vargas had a good third but did hit the canvas again. Hoyle correctly ruled it a slip as Demario had stepped on Vargas' foot. The first legit knockdown occurred in the 5th, with Demario flooring the Puerto Rican as he leaned in with his head. However, he had a point deducted towards the end of the round for biting Vargas' right shoulder.
Both fighters had moments in the 7th and 8th but Vargas landed the more meaningful punches. Sensing that the fight was close, both fighters came out swinging in the 8th and final round. Vargas closed the round strong to secure the victory. The final scores were 76-74 twice and 76-73.
Haven Brady Jr improved his record to 6-0 with a TKO victory over Jose Argel (8-3) of Iquique, Chile. The featherweight prospect didn't take long to feel out his overmatched opponent. By the second round he was picking him apart with a varied attack, going to both the head and the body.
In the fourth round Haven landed a right hook to the head that floored Argel midway through the round. Seconds later a perfectly placed right uppercut dropped Argel to a knee which prompted referee Russell Mora to wave off the fight. The time of the stoppage was 2:05.
Highly touted light heavyweight prospect Dante "Free Smoke" Benjamin (2-0) impressed in his second professional bout against Kevin Johnson (2-1). His superior defense and varied punch selection befuddled Johnson throughout their 4 round battle. The final scores were 40-36 on all three cards.
Juan Hernandez Martinez (2-0-1) and Arturo Cardenas (2-0-1) both entered the ring undefeated and left the ring undefeated. The two super bantamweight prospects fought on even terms throughout the 4 round fight which the scorecards reflected. The final scores were the same as the first fight, 39-37 for each fighter and 38-38 for the split draw.
Adrian Serrano (0-0-1) and Estevan Partida (0-1-1) kicked off the evening's action with a split draw in a high action fight. Both lightweights were offensive minded throughout their 4 round scrap. The final tallies were 39-37 Serrano, 39-37 Partida and 38-38.