San Diego’s Giovani Santillan took on Alexis Rocha and his hometown crowd at The Fabulous Forum on Saturday nite, knocking out Rocha and silencing his fans with an excellent stoppage win over six rounds for the NABO welterweight title.
The DAZN televised fight had pre-fight hype as a contender for Fight of The Year, yet Santillan dominated from the outset, scored three knockdowns and eventually stopped Rocha with a barrage of blows that left Rocha bloodied and on the canvas.
“I feel good. It was the outcome we were looking for. You never know how these types of fights will go,” said Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs).
“Alexis is a great fighter, and he’s tough. He got up twice and he’s never been stopped before! It’s different with all these people here and when you’re the b-side. He brought all his fans and his supporters which makes boxing a great sport. 2024 is going to be a great year for me now with this performance.”
Rocha, (23-2, 15 KOs) hails from nearby Santa Ana and had been the mandatory challenger to Terence Crawford heading into the fight.
“I am sorry to all my fans,” said Alexis Rocha. “I will be back.”
In the co-main event of the Golden Boy Promotions event, in association with Top Tank Promotions, John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-0, 9 KOs) notched a fourth round knockout in a WBA Super Flyweight Title Eliminator against Ronal Batista.
Coachella Valley’s Gabriela Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs) won her fight in an IBF Flyweight Title match against Arely Muciño via two knockdowns with a fifth round corner stop win.
Photos: Bryan Figueroa
