By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

2016 Olympic bronze medalist Souleymane Cissokho (13-0, 8 KOs) from Bagnolet, France by way of Senegal, scored a surprisingly close split decision to claim the WBA Intercontinental Super Welterweight title over UK’s Kieron Conway (16-2-1, 3 KOs).
It was a chess match from the opening round as neither fighter would give an inch. Cissokho often initiated the action with jabs to the head and body and Conway would look for a counter right hand. Cissokho also controlled distance throughout the fight and would often slip out of the way after he landed his jab or right hand. Conway was often a step behind as he tried to time the elusive Cissokho.

It wasn’t until round nine that Conway was able to land and hurt Cissokho with uppercuts through a tight guard. Cissokho dropped to the canvas and appeared to sustain a left eye injury. He rose to his feet, but was clearly compromised. Conway jumped on Cissokho and unleased a combination, but soon after Cissokho recovered and continued to outbox the Brit.

The Virgil Hunter-trained Cissokho waited until round ten to land his biggest punch of the fight, an overhand right, with a minute left in the contest. Hunter, of course, trained hall of famer Andre Ward throughout his undefeated career.

The judges saw a close fight as the scores read 97-92 for Conway, 96-93 for Cissokho and 95-94 for Cissokho, who won a split decision and became the new WBA Intercontinental Super Welterweight champion.

This was the first fight in the U.S. for Conway who had Visa problems getting here and the second for Cissokho who just fought in Dallas in March under the epic Chocolatito-Estrada barnburner.

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In the opening bout of the DAZN broadcast from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, under the Canelo-Saunders super middleweight unification showdown, unbeaten WBO #6, WBA #14, WBC #14 heavyweight Frank “The Cuban Flash” Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) went toe-to-toe with veteran Nagy Aguilera (21-11, 14 KOs) over six foul laden rounds of the scheduled ten and retained his WBC Continental Americas title with a technical decision.

Sanchez came out the aggressor and backed Aguilera into the corner and dropped a big right hand that got Aguilera’s attention. But it wasn’t until round three when things got heated and was a precursor of things to come. Aguilera complained to referee Rueben Perez about a rabbit punch and looked his way and Sanchez unloaded a powerful right to the face of Aguilera. Aguilera ate a few more punches, before he fired back some of his own in return. Aguilera still frustrated, intentionally head-butted Sanchez. Sanchez landed another hard right with Aguilera against the ropes midway through the round.

In round five, Sanchez went back the jab and kept Aguilera at the end of it most of the round. However, in round six, the fight got out of control, as an overhand right by Sanchez landed to the side of Aguilera’s head and slightly around his neck. As the referee went to warn Sanchez for a second time throwing a rabbit punch, Aguilera flopped to the canvas in apparent agony and the doctor entered the ring to check his status. The replay, however, did not show a clear foul that would that put Aguilera down in that fashion. After several minutes of confusion, the fight was halted by referee Perez.

It went to the scorecards since four rounds were completed and the official ruling was an accidental foul by Sanchez. All three judges scored it 60-54 for Sanchez as he earned the technical decision at 1:42 of round six. He remained unbeaten and retained his WBC Continental Americas title. The fans inside the stadium loudly booed every time the screens panned on Aguilera and cheered Sanchez. Aguilera berated the referee in the ring as the conclusion of the fight was being determined.

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One of Matchroom Boxing’s young, rising star’s super featherweight Marc Castro (3-0, 3 KOs) out of Fresno, CA, took on the battle-tested Irving Macias Castillo (9-2, 6 KOs) from Monterey Mexico in a scheduled six-round affair. Castro came out firing from the opening bell, landing massive shots to the tall, razor thin Castillo and bloodied up is face in the process. It looked like the fight would be over quickly, but Castillo showed his Mexican toughness and took the shots and lasted through the round. In round two, Castro continued to use Castillo’s face for target practice as Castillo had no answers for the constant onslaughts. And finally in round four after another flurry of punches by Castro, referee Rosario Solis waived it off apparently after the cumulation of punishment Castillo had taken to that point. The time of the stoppage was 2:04 of round four.

Castro earned the TKO victory and after a sensational amateur career where he captured 17 national titles, Castro is finally in full swing as a pro with his 3rd fight in six months, all coming under the pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez. Castro had a rough start to his pro career as several fights fell through due to Covid and other factors, but after a big win in Texas, Castro is certainly on a roll now.

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Former Olympic medal hopeful and now young pro phenom, lightweight Keyshawn Davis (3-0, 2 KOs) out of Norfolk, VA, squared off against Mexico’s Jose Antonio Meza (7-5, 2 KOs) in a scheduled six round contest. Davis used the first half of round one to study the taller, lanky Meza, but landed a solid straight left that wobbled Meza towards the end of the round, however, before Davis could finish him off the bell sounded.

In round three, Davis showed off his fast hands and diverse arsenal, but Meza came to fight and countered Davis at times. In round four and five, Davis let his hands go with double left hooks and overhand rights as he connected to the head and body of the durable Meza. Davis tried to finish Meza inside the distance, but Meza was able to stay on his feet to the final bell. All three judges scored it 60-54 for Davis as he remained undefeated with the unanimous decision.

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Welterweight Xavier Wilson (11-3-1, 1 KOs) out of San Antonio, TX battled Christian Alan Gomez Duran (20-2-1, 18 KOs) hailing from Guadalajara, MX at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX under Canelo-Saunders. Duran, fighting his second fight in the states in a row after all previous fights in his native Mexico, scored the TKO victory at 2:19 of round two of the scheduled eight. Duran landed a short, left hook after missing with the right and put Wilson on the canvas. Wilson staggered to his feet; however, referee Rosario Solis didn’t like how he responded and waived it off as Duran earned the twentieth win of his career.

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In the opening bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, under the mega Canelo-Saunders super middleweight unification, super lightweight Kelvin Davis (2-0, 1 KO) fighting out of Norfolk, VA, faced Jan Marsalek (8-3, 7 KOs) from the Czech Republic in a scheduled four rounder. Kelvin, the older brother of blue-chip prospect Keyshawn, also fighting on the card, used his length and reach to keep the awkward Marsalek on the outside most of the fight, as he punctuated round one with big left hands to the face and right hooks to the body. In round two, Davis decided to work inside, which worked to the advantage of the stalky Marsalek.

The southpaw Davis, though, got caught in the final round as Marsalek landed a right hand on the jaw of Davis and sent him to the canvas with 30 seconds left in the fight. Davis survived and escaped Texas with scores of 38-37 from all three judges. The fight was shown live on Before the Bell on DAZN and Matchroom Boxing’s YouTube page.