| CHICAGO (Aug. 2, 2025) — In a gritty, back-and-forth battle between hometown pride and Mexican firepower, Oscar “La Migraña” Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs), of Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico, edged Chicago’s own Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. (22-3-1, 8 KOs) via majority decision in a thrilling 12-round WBA super lightweight title eliminator. Judges scored the action-packed bout 115-113, 116-112 and 114-114. The fight headlined a stacked card live from Credit Union 1 Arena and was broadcast globally on DAZN. The event was presented in association with Cancun Boxing.
«I am very happy, it was a great fight, a war,» said Duarte. «I am very happy about this victory and I am very happy to be closer to be fighting for a world title. Sims Jr. brought much experience and had great conditioning. He came very prepared. However, I felt that I was very prepared and that I was in control of the rounds. It was a fight where I learned a lot. I am ok with doing a rematch with him, wherever he wants to do it. If he wants to run it back in Chicago, we can do it here again too, but I would come ready to knock him out.
“I thought I won. It was a good fight, tough fight, but I thought I won.” said Kenneth Sims Jr. “He brought pressure like I expected. Relentless pressure. It was nothing that I didn’t expect. I mean, I could’ve sharpened my defense. It was a good fight. He’s a tough fighter. It was amazing (the fans). I love my hometown, I love my city. It’s good to see they love me too. Absolutely (run it back). I want it right back because I won that fight. It was a close fight, but I won it. We can go right back to it.”
In a co-main event that delivered 10 rounds of nonstop action, former world champions Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs) of New Orleans and Joseph “JoJo” Diaz (34-7, 15 KOs) of South El Monte, California battled in a brutal super lightweight war that showcased heart, grit, and experience from both fighters. Diaz fought through a cut over his left eye caused by a headbutt in the fourth round, followed by a second cut in the fifth. Prograis went down in round 4, but it was ruled a slip. After 10 grueling rounds, the judges scored the fight 98-92, 96-94, and 96-94 in favor of Prograis.
“It was like when you have the jitters coming into a fight, then after that you get hit with the first one — and then it’s a fight,” said Prograis. “I knew it was gonna be a fight with him. I went to my corner and they said, ‘Listen, just keep your jab out.’ And that’s what I did. That’s how I got the job done. People are gonna say what they wanna say, but I felt like I needed this. JoJo’s a veteran. He’s real tough, and he came to fight. We went 10 rounds — 10 hard rounds — and that’s something I definitely needed in my bag,” he added. “For me, I want to get back to being a champion. I want the big money. Big money or a world championship — that’s what I want next.”
On the DAZN undercard, cruiserweight prospect Tristan “Sweet T” Kalkreuth (16-1, 11 KOs) of Las Vegas stopped Houston’s Devonte Williams (13-3, 6 KOs) one second into round 3 of their scheduled 10-round bout. In heavyweight action, undefeated U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards (4-0, 4 KOs) made quick work of Hinckley, Minnesota’s Cayman Audie (4-2, 2 KOs), scoring a TKO at 1:30 of the first round in their scheduled six-round fight. Chihuahua, Mexico’s Yair Gallardo (10-0, 8 KOs) remained undefeated after earning a unanimous decision over Gastonia, North Carolina’s Quinton Rankin (21-10-2, 16 KOs) in an eight-round super middleweight bout. Scorecards read 79-72, 79-72, and 80-71.
In preliminary action, Gael Cabrera (9-0, 6 KOs) of Sonora, Mexico, earned a first-round knockout over Miami’s Richard Diaz (3-1-1, 2 KOs) at 2:30 in a scheduled eight-round featherweight contest. Opening the night, rising lightweight Mehki Phillips (7-0, 7 KOs) continued his knockout streak, defeating Sonora, Mexico’s Joseph Cruz-Brown (12-15, 7 KOs) via second-round KO at 2:27.
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