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By Arne K. Lang
Top Rank was back inside the MGM Grand “Bubble” tonight with another installment of their semi-weekly summer series on ESPN. The four-fight card included three matches in the 140-pound weight class.
In his second fight back since getting stopped in the seventh round by defending WBA 140-pound champion Maurice Hooker, Oklahoma City’s Alex Saucedo won a lopsided 10-round decision over Toledo’s Sonny Frederickson. Saucedo pressed the action from the opening gun and Frederickson was complicit in his defeat, spending too much of the fight with his back against the ropes. Although his defense still needs tightening, overall it was a good performance for Saucedo (pictured in the black trunks) who turned pro at age 17 and was formerly trained by Ronnie Shields and Abel Sanchez, the latter of whom he faulted for his bad showing vs. Hooker, his lone defeat in 30 pro fights.
The scorecards read 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92. The lanky, light-hitting Frederickson slipped to 21-3.
Other Bouts
Josue Vargas, a southpaw from the Bronx, born in Puerto Rico, outclassed Guadalajara’s Salvador Briceno in the 10-round co-feature. Briceno (17-6) seldom took a backward step, but his punches caught mostly air. Vargas, who defeated Shakur Stevenson as an amateur, was making his first fight without his father and coach in the corner. The elder Vargas ventured outside the Bubble and had his “passport” confiscated. Vargas (17-1) suffered his lone defeat by disqualification when he was under contract to Floyd Mayweather.
In an 8-round fight, southpaw John Bauza, a 22-year-old New Jersey-based Puerto Rican, improved to 14-0 with a wide unanimous decision over hard-trying but limited Larry Fryars (11-3), a carpenter by trade from New York via Clones, Ireland. The scores were 79-73 and 80-72 twice.
The TV opener was a dull 6-round middleweight match between Detroit’s Isiah Jones and Donte Stubbs from Riverside, CA. It was a quick turnaround for Jones, the grandson of world title challenger David Braxton, who fought here two weeks ago, losing a 6-round decision to Nikoloz Sekhniashvili. He made a far better showing tonight, advancing his record to 9-2 with a majority decision. The scores were 59-55. 58-56, and 57-57. It was the first loss for Stubbs (6-1), a Navy veteran with an MMA background.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams for Top Rank
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