| PALM DESERT, CALIF. (January 16, 2026) — Adding another victory to his unbeaten record, Raul “El Cugár” Curiel (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defeated last-minute replacement Jordan “The Patriot” Panthen (11-2, 9 KOs) in a 10-round middleweight bout featured on the night’s doubleheader. Panthen stepped in for the previously announced opponent, Alexis Rocha, who was forced to withdraw due to a medical emergency. While Panthen was able to keep pace with Curiel throughout the contest, Curiel’s power and ring control proved decisive. Judges scored the bout 97-93, 98-92, and 97-93, all in favor of Curiel.
“First of all, I want to thank God, the people of Palm Springs, and all the fans who came out. I hope you enjoyed the fight,” said Raul Curiel. “For my former opponent, Alexis Rocha, I hope he gets better and I wish him the best. For me, it’s a dream come true to fight this year—my first fight at middleweight. Panthen is a warrior and gave the people a tremendous fight. I want to thank my team—we had a tremendous camp, and I have the best team in the world. I tried to do the best I could, and I almost knocked him out. The body shots were doing their damage, and I was breaking him down. I want to thank Golden Boy for this opportunity—Oscar, Eric, and Razo—for always believing in me. I want that world title next.”
In a back-and-forth firefight, fans were on their feet for the highly anticipated rematch as Tijuana’s Jorge “El Niño Dorado” Chávez (15-0-1, 8 KOs) defeated hometown favorite Manuel “Gucci Manny” Flores (20-2-1, 16 KOs). Chávez captured the WBA Continental USA and California State Super Bantamweight Titles in a 10-round bout that went the distance. Judges scored the fight 97-93, 98-92, and 96-94, all in favor of Chávez.
Also on the undercard, Uzbekistani Olympian Ruslan Abdullaev (4-0, 2 KOs) delivered a jaw-dropping knockout victory over Eduardo Abreu (14-2-2, 10 KOs) to claim the WBA Continental Gold Title. Scheduled for eight rounds, Abdullaev secured the stoppage at 2:59 of the fifth round. Opening the DAZN broadcast, blue-chip prospect Cayden Griffiths (7-0, 6 KOs) of the Coachella Valley went the distance against Managua, Nicaragua’s Lesther Espino (10-8, 8 KOs) in a six-round super welterweight bout. Griffiths earned a unanimous decision with scores of 60-53 across all three scorecards.
Los Angeles’ Scrappy Ramirez (16-1, 9 KOs) closed out the preliminary YouTube broadcast with a hard-fought win over Matagalpa, Nicaragua’s Byron Rojas (29-6-3, 12 KOs) in a 10-round super flyweight contest. Ramirez earned the victory by majority decision with scores of 98-92, 97-93, and 95-95. Recently signed to Golden Boy, undefeated middleweight Fabian Guzman (9-0, 8 KOs) of Santa Ana impressed with a knockout victory over Guayaquil, Ecuador’s Jose Rodriguez (3-2, 2 KOs). Guzman secured the stoppage at 2:36 of the sixth round. Opening the night, Los Angeles’ Ricardo Ruvalcaba (15-0-1, 10 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Buenos Aires, Argentina’s Jonathan Eniz (37-25-1, 17 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight bout. |
