By David Robinett and Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Opening the pay-per-view telecast of the Pacquiao vs. Broner card, former two-division titlist Hugo Ruiz (38-4, 31 KOs) had an easy time with late sub Alberto Guevara (27-4, 12 KOs), earning an uneventful ten-round unanimous decision by scores of 99-90, 99-90, and 100-89 in a featherweight non-title bout. Guevara replaced former interim WBA Featherweight Champion Jhack Tepora, who was pulled from the fight and stripped of his title when he weighed in nearly six pounds over the 126-pound featherweight limit.

Ruiz, who was denied an opportunity to fight for a title in a third division when Tepora failed to make weight, took his frustration out on Guevara early, dropping him with a pair of right hooks followed by a left to the chin just moments into the opening stanza.

Despite the inauspicious start, Guevara was able to quickly recover, making sure to keep his distance and try and turn the fight into a safety-first jabbing contest. Guevara’s strategy was largely successful, as his movement and ability to avoid exchanges prevented Ruiz from fully utilizing his power. Ruiz was still the superior fighter, but his success was limited mainly to one power punch at a time before Guevara danced out of harm’s way. There were no other knockdowns nor was either fighter ever in trouble after the first round. It made for yet another drama-free fight in a card with several of them thus far, but the win lines Ruiz up for another title shot, perhaps as soon as his next fight.

Welterweight Jonathan Steele (9-2-1,6 KOs) won an eight round split decision over Jayar Inson (18-2, 12 KOs). Attacking from the start the southpaw Inson landed his power shots as Steele stood and exchanged however in the closing seconds of the opening round, Steele sent Inson to the canvas. Continuing to exchange Inson and Steele kept up the activity as Steele kept his distance backing the wild swinging Inson. The Filipino adapted in the fourth as he began to back Steele and land combinations. Past the halfway point in the fifth round, Inson boxed keeping his distance circling as Steele kept the pressure landing big shots. Steele pressed the action late in the fight as Inson continued to box, counter, tie up and clinch. Controlling the tempo in the seventh round, Steele kept backing a very tired Inson. The eighth and final round, Inson landed a one-two snapping Steele’s head, despite that Steele continued to go forward as both finished the fight trading till the final bell. In the end, scores were 78-73, 77-74 for Steele, and 77-74 for Inson.

Manny Pacquiao sparring partner and protégé, George Kambosos, Jr., (16-0, 9 KOs), earned a workmanlike eight round unanimous decision over faded contender Ray Perez (24-11, 8 KOs). Scores were 80-72 on all three cards for the lightweight bout. Kambosos was in control the entire fight, but was very measured, probably too much so, in his attack. Working patiently behind the jab, Kambosos would work his way into Perez and land a solid left or right hook, but rarely attempted combinations or a sustained flurry, despite the fact that Perez offered very little resistance beyond a weak jab or counter. That made for a one-sided affair lacking drama, but enough to keep Kambosos undefeated and on to the next challenge.

Desmond Jarmon, (8-0, 4 KOs) an undefeated prospect under Adrien Broner’s About Billions promotional stable, squeezed out a tactical majority decision over Canton Miller (3-2-1, 1 KO) in a six-round super featherweight bout. One judge scored the fight a 57-57 draw, overruled by the other two judges, 58-56 and 59-55. Neither fighter seemed eager to engage, with Jarmon content to throw one or two punches in occasional spurts and Miller countering with only limited success. Jarmon had his best round in the fourth, when a right uppercut appeared to hurt Miller near the end of the round, though Jarmon was unable to land a finisher before the bell. Jarmon showed little urgency after that, allowing Miller to stay in the fight, but Miller was never able to land anything significant enough to take advantage.

Welterweight Destyne Butler (5-0, 3 KOs) cruised to four-round unanimous decision over game but outclassed former MMA fighter David Payne (3-2-1, 1 KO) by scores of 40-36 on all three cards. After a competitive first round where Payne was surprisingly aggressive and caused Butler to keep his distance, Butler began to assert himself in round two, planting his feet and firing two hand combinations through the guard of Payne. Butler continued to rely on superior speed and power to batter Payne over the last two rounds, despite some flashes of moxie by Payne, who refused to go down and got in some nice work to the body despite the losing effort.

In the opening bout of the Pacquiao vs. Broner undercard at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, former British national team member Viddal Riley (2-0, 2 KOs) needed all of three punches to earn a first-round stoppage over debuting opponent Mitchell Spangler in a scheduled four-round cruiserweight bout. Riley, who at this stage may be best known for training YouTube star KSI for his PPV exhibition match against Logan Paul, knocked down Spangler with his first two punches, a left jab, right hand combination. Moments later Riley finished it with his third punch, a left hook that dropped Spangler hard and prompted the referee to quickly wave the mismatch over. Official time of the stoppage was 33 seconds.