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Undefeated Welterweight prospect Freduis Rojas faces Saul Boustos in the first of three fights on Shobox :The New Generation on Showtime.
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02:39an event very true to what is the mission of this whole Showbox series.
02:44And at the end of this whole thing, about two hours from now,
02:47somebody's going to take that big step up, and somebody, at best, is going to do a lateral arabesque.
02:52Make no mistake about it, Barry, but in the case of Rafael Pedroza,
02:55he's tasked with proving himself the hardest way possible tonight in his opponent's backyard.
03:00It's not enough that Pedroza is making his U.S. debut and fighting out of his native Panama for the first time.
03:05On a series like Showbox with a mission statement that's long been about pairing top young prospects
03:10against one another in the toughest fight of their career.
03:13He'll be in front of a hostile crowd here in San Antonio, where Cardenas is unbeaten as a pro.
03:18On Mexican Independence Day weekend tonight, tough task here for Pedroza.
03:24But as we look at tonight's card, one thing to notice, the amateur background has long been a key criteria
03:29for Showbox over its 22 years in selecting fighters.
03:32The combined pedigree of the six fighters in tonight's tripleheader, according to our own Hall of Famer,
03:36Steve Farhood, is as good as any Showbox show in recent memory.
03:41Now, as we look at tonight's main event, there's the 26-year-old Rafael Pedroza comes to us from Panama City, Panama.
03:48He credits his Hall of Fame countryman, Roberto Duran, with still inspiring a new generation of young Panamanian fighters
03:54to find a bright path and get away from drugs and delinquency.
03:58Pedroza told us he hopes American fans wake up Saturday morning wanting to see more of him
04:03and fancies himself a showman inside the ring.
04:07Across from him is the 27-year-old Ramon Cardenas.
04:11He's facing his third straight fight in the Alamo City, where he's fought nine times in 24 pro bouts as a whole.
04:19Cardenas, as you can see, sports a fun rat tail, which he started growing in 2019,
04:23and he said he won't shave until he suffers his first defeat.
04:26And when talking to us about his opponent, Pedroza, Cardenas was respectful.
04:30But one thing he did say, he thinks Pedroza's record is padded,
04:34and he doesn't expect to see anything in the ring tonight that he hasn't seen before.
04:41And let's say hello to the third member of our broadcast team.
04:44El Diamante is here, the former junior middleweight champion of the world, Raul Marquez.
04:47Steve Farhood will also join us a little bit later as our unofficial scorer.
04:51But let's talk, Raul, about this main event.
04:53Two guys very different in almost every way, a little guy against a big guy.
04:58What are you looking for?
04:59Well, Pedroza is a very smart technical fighter.
05:02He adapts so he could box at long, mid, and short range.
05:06For tonight, he's got the advantage in height and reach.
05:09So the key for him is to dissect with a busy jab and just keep everything long.
05:14He's got to start early and dominate the distance from the beginning.
05:18When I say that, it doesn't mean he has to run all over the place.
05:21He's got to be able to land long, accurate shots and win the rounds decisively.
05:26Now, for Cardenas, he's got to bring the action tonight, Barry.
05:29He's a lot shorter, so he's got to find a way to get past Pedroza's jab by jabbing in
05:34and countering to the body.
05:37Once he gets in the inside, he's got to keep the fight there at mid to short range
05:41and block and counter with different combinations from different angles
05:45and just keep imposing his tempo to make it awkward for Pedroza.
05:50Barry, there's a lot at stake here tonight.
05:53Both fighters know that a win here will get him closer to fighting for the world title.
05:58I cannot wait to see what happens tonight, Barry.
06:00Yeah, I think that can be said of all three of us here, and I'm sure for Steve, too.
06:02A simple fact is, if Styles really do make fights, then this one should be a great one.
06:07Well, that's our main event.
06:08It's coming up a little bit later in this program, a tripleheader from San Antonio.
06:12But now, let's get started with our first fight of the evening.
06:15It is in the welterweight division, Freores Rojas Jr. of Houston, Texas,
06:21taking on El Monte, California's Saul Bustos.
06:27And here is our first look at 29-year-old Saul Bustos.
06:35He had a short amateur career, just 30 fights as an amateur before he turned pro back in 2014.
06:42Now he's a nine-year professional.
06:45Bustos has had just 18 fights with just one in 2021 and only two in 2022.
06:52And tonight will be his first fight this year after an 11-month layoff.
06:56In his last fight, that was in October of last year, suffered his only loss as a pro,
07:01a 10-round majority decision against underdog Alan Sanchez.
07:05Tonight, he'll look for redemption.
07:08Bustos has been training at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, California,
07:11under the tutelage, of course, of Freddie Roach.
07:13They have been together since 2021, but tonight is the first time that Roach will actually be in Bustos' corner.
07:20This will figuratively and literally be a tall order for Bustos.
07:24He'll be giving away three inches in height, and he'll be stepping up in caliber of opposition as well.
07:30So, Brian, let's go behind the numbers with Saul Bustos.
07:33Thanks, Barry.
07:34Although Bustos has recorded an impressive record to start his pro career,
07:37he has fought just six times in nine years against opponents with winning records
07:41and is 4-1-1 in those fights.
07:44And the slow burn for his career has been inactivity.
07:47It's been a bit of an issue since Bustos turned pro in 2014.
07:51He's fought just three times since his opponent, the 11-0 Rojas, made his pro debut in January 2021.
07:59And experience matters.
08:00Bustos went 10 full rounds in his lone career defeat, a decision loss to Alan Sanchez last fall.
08:06But he's boxed at least eight rounds in three of his last four contests overall.
08:16And the other half of our first matchup tonight, 25-year-old Friotas Rojas Jr.
08:22comes out of Houston, Texas, and he brings a perfect 11-0 record with him tonight, all by knockout.
08:28He was a decorated amateur.
08:30He earned a silver medal in the U.S. Olympic trials, gold medals in the U.S. National Championships,
08:34both in 2016 and 2018.
08:38You can hear he's got some crowd support here.
08:40He was a bronze medalist in the World Championships in 2017.
08:44His amateur career totaled more than 180 fights, and he only lost about 15.
08:49Freddie, as he's known to his friends, and that's how we will continue to refer to him tonight,
08:54comes from a boxing family.
08:56His dad is a retired professional lightweight.
08:58His brother, Emmanuel, an unbeaten super lightweight.
09:01And his youngest sister, Karina, she's an amateur, and he says she's the toughest one in the family.
09:06He's trained by his longtime amateur, Coach K. Karoma, as to what he intends to do tonight.
09:12He says, I got a plan A.
09:13I got a plan B.
09:15I got a plan C.
09:17And if that doesn't work, I got a plan D.
09:20Tell us a little more about him.
09:22Absolutely.
09:22For Rojas, although he was born and raised in Las Vegas to parents of Cuban and Mexican descent,
09:27he's fought more than half of his pro fights in Costa Rica, where he made his pro debut two years ago.
09:31And upon further review of his resume up to this point of the 11 pro opponents Rojas has faced,
09:37only two had winning records at the time, and four had double-digit defeats.
09:41And how about some high voltage?
09:42Not only has Rojas yet to go the distance as a pro, he has only boxed beyond the fourth round just once
09:47when he stopped Diego Santiago Sanchez in round seven of their Showtime Championship boxing bout in July.
09:54All right, with that then, we are set to go.
09:56Our first fight of the evening, eight rounds in the Welderweight division.
10:00For the introduction of the fighters, we'll go to the center of the ring for the first time tonight.
10:04And our ring announcer, welcome back, Lupe Contreras.
10:09Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to the Boeing Center at Techport, San Antonio, Texas, it is.
10:16Another edition of Showbox, a new generation.
10:19Proudly presented to you by Samson Boxing.
10:22Paco presents in association with Davies Entertainment, the Gomez Law Firm, and Showtime.
10:28We extend a very warm welcome to our men and women in uniform serving around the world
10:33and tuning in on American Forces Network.
10:37These bouts are being sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
10:41Event supervisor is Cesar Martinez, program manager.
10:45Jose Gregorio Alvarez.
10:47Our judges scoring at ringside are...
10:49Mark Colloy, Corey Santos, and John Shirley in charge of the ring.
10:55Referee, Ellis Johnson.
10:59This contest, eight rounds or less in the Welderweight division.
11:04Introducing first, the fighter standing in the red corner.
11:08He enters wearing white with gold, green, and red trim.
11:11He weighed in officially at 146 and three-quarter pounds tonight.
11:16He enters the Showbox ring for the 19th time as a pro.
11:20With a record of 15 victories against one defeat, one draw, one no contest.
11:25Eight of those victories coming by way of knockout.
11:29Fighting out of South El Monte, California.
11:32Saúl Busto.
11:41His opposition across the ring in the blue corner.
11:44Wearing white with red and green trim, he weighed in at an identical 146 and three-quarter pounds.
11:50After a decorated amateur career, he now enters the Showbox ring, an undefeated pro.
11:57With 11 victories, all 11 victories coming by way of KO, reppin' H-Town, Houston, Texas.
12:07Traulis, one-way Roja.
12:14ANDRENDOVicionas.
12:19Paraisy, you have your stretch in the rear.
12:36Again, protect yourself at all times.
12:38Read my commands at all times.
12:39When a bell rings, I'm going to go to work.
12:41to go to work, have a good, clean bout.
12:43Touch him up, back to the corners.
12:49As we see the tail of the tape for our opening fight,
12:51Rojas, four years younger, you see the three-inch height
12:54advantage for the southpaw and a reach advantage
12:56amounting to two inches.
12:59And rules of the fight, no standing eight count,
13:01no three knockdown rule.
13:02Only the referee can stop the fight.
13:04A fighter cannot be saved by the bell in any round,
13:08and the fight becomes official in case of a foul
13:10after the close of round four.
13:13So we are underway, our first fight of the evening here.
13:17Both wearing white trumps.
13:22Bustos has a gold belt.
13:27Rojas, a little bit bigger the two.
13:35Take a look at the amateur backgrounds of both.
13:37You see just 30 fights for Bustos.
13:39Rojas on the other side, a 2020 US Olympic alternate,
13:43once defeated Frank Martin in the 2016 finals of the US
13:47national.
13:49Interesting too, I think, Raul, the fact that Rojas has
13:52knocked out all 11 of his opponents.
13:54When we talked to him the other day, he said,
13:56I don't really necessarily think of myself as a knockout guy.
13:58Well, yeah, I agree.
14:02You know, I know him and his brother from the amateurs.
14:06They were more of guys that used to like, I mean,
14:09they like to use the whole ring and box on the outside.
14:11As you can see him, he's an outside fighter,
14:13trying to use his range, his reach, left-handed precision.
14:17And so far, he's doing a good job of keeping boosters on the outside.
14:22Now, what he is with 11 knockouts,
14:23he doesn't necessarily consider himself a big knockout guy,
14:26although that's all he's done in his career so far.
14:28But what he is is a good finisher.
14:31Yeah, there seems to be a good maturity for Rojas
14:33in understanding that he doesn't want to blow away guys
14:36early with knockouts.
14:37He wants to get the rounds, get the experience,
14:39and prove that he's a complete, well-rounded fighter.
14:44Yeah, so far, Rojas is really picking apart bustos
14:47with the long jab, changing the levels of the jab to the body.
14:51Straight left hands, accurate shots.
14:54That was a very sharp left hand.
14:57And what I'm noticing in Rojas,
14:58he talked about it at the fighter meetings.
15:01You know, he's maturing more into a professional fighter,
15:04not the amateur, decorated amateur that he was.
15:07He's sitting more on his shots, Barry.
15:08He's not running as much, like, moving a lot too much.
15:11You see that, you know, he plants his feet
15:13and he sits on his shots,
15:14and you could tell he's got more power.
15:16Nice combination.
15:17Again, it was the right hand that did more damage
15:19than the left, but left hand lead once again.
15:22Another good left hand from Rojas.
15:25Rojas really having his way early in this fight.
15:28Yeah, bustos really eating at those left hands from Rojas.
15:34Nice combination again.
15:36Again, a left hand lead.
15:38Bustos said that he didn't feel Rojas had a lot of speed,
15:41but I think he's noticing now that speed is power.
15:45And we see why Rojas is connecting very well
15:49so far, uh, bearing this first round.
15:52So far, dominant first round for Freddy Rojas.
15:57Very focused, very alert.
15:59He's relaxed.
16:00He's just letting things flow.
16:02He's also giving him a lot of different looks.
16:03A lead with a jab.
16:04He's oftentimes come with a left-hand lead.
16:07That type of jab in the left hand behind it.
16:09Triple jab right there, all effective.
16:13Oh!
16:15Big round.
16:23Thank you, sir.
16:24Great.
16:25I love it.
16:25Well, we talked to both fighters
16:27about their plan for this fight.
16:28Here first is Freddy Rojas.
16:32Oh, my hook.
16:32You know, that's my specialty.
16:33I love that baby.
16:34That baby's like my best friend.
16:36My lead hook and my straight coming right after.
16:39So if I get him, I know if I could touch him with that,
16:42uh, within the first round,
16:43I'm like, okay, I could get him
16:44throughout the whole night.
16:46So that's something that everybody
16:47should be watching for tonight.
16:50I think his biggest weakness would be, uh,
16:53probably pressure.
16:54Pressure and, uh, taking,
16:56he hasn't really taken punches, you know,
16:58to the body or the head.
16:59So we'd like to see how he reacts once he gets hit.
17:02You saw Freddy Roach in Bustas's corner.
17:17Wise, wise man.
17:19The Hall of Famer and no slouch on the other side
17:23when we're talking about the corner of Rojas.
17:24Kay Kauroma, former US boxing coach
17:27and star amateur himself and a rising trainer here.
17:30He's been with Rojas since he was 12 years old.
17:36Yeah, Boosters is going to have to change his plan of attack
17:39in the second round.
17:41We saw in the last round, Barry, he was standing too much
17:44on the outside and then moving his head,
17:45and he got picked apart.
17:47He's not going to win from the outside.
17:48He's got to find a way to get in the inside.
17:50Once he gets in there, he's got to work to the body.
17:53Keep him there.
17:54He's got to rough him up, push him back.
17:56A guy like Rojas, you've got to push him back.
17:59So far, Rojas is not letting him get inside at all.
18:03Very sharp, accurate jab by Rojas to the body, to the head,
18:07just dissecting him with the jab.
18:10I love when a fighter does that because, you know,
18:12the jab is everything in boxing.
18:14Another great combination.
18:15They threw that combination off his heels.
18:20When we talk about the short amateur career of Bustos,
18:22he told us straight up.
18:23He was 20 years old.
18:25He didn't want to be poor anymore.
18:26He made the decision to turn pro and test his fortunes.
18:29The only issue as we said off the top, a little bit inactive.
18:33He's definitely getting out quick early in this fight.
18:37You know, that's why I always say amateur background is very important.
18:41If you compare Rojas to his amateur background,
18:44I mean, he was a...
18:44I know him and his brothers, like I said.
18:46He was a decorated top amateur.
18:48He almost made the Olympic team.
18:50Had a lot of international fights.
18:51Fought everywhere, you know, all over the country,
18:53all over the world,
18:54and then you got a guy like Bustos
18:56that didn't have that much amateur pedigree.
18:58It's showing right now, Barry.
18:58You know, and just a moment ago,
19:00I thought what he did there,
19:01he came with a right-hand jab to his stomach,
19:03and then he came up upstairs,
19:04did not take a backward step with the right hand
19:06and clipped him in the chin.
19:07Yeah, he's changing the levels of the way he punches.
19:12He'll jab to the head.
19:13He'll jab to the body.
19:14What about the left hand?
19:16A lot of left handers don't like to throw
19:17the left hand to the body.
19:18That's what I'm talking about.
19:20That's always going to...
19:21You're always going to hit a fighter
19:22with a left hand to the body.
19:24You might get hit a little bit, but not...
19:26For some reason, it feels like a very awkward punch,
19:29and you see the way he landed
19:30that left hand to the body.
19:31He changes it up.
19:32And it was really a good shot.
19:34There's no question in my mind,
19:35Bustos felt that.
19:36I'll tell you what, Bustos so far,
19:48he's lost in there.
19:49He didn't expect this.
19:51He didn't expect the speed.
19:53And I think he's feeling some kind of power
19:55because Rojas is sitting on his shots.
19:57But most importantly, just the speed,
20:00the quickness, the foot movement, too.
20:03Four-punch combination, Brian, and all scored.
20:08Love the poise of the young Rojas.
20:11So much confidence in there.
20:14Two dominant rounds from Freddie Rojas.
20:17What are you going to do, Rojas?
20:30What are you going to do?
20:32Straight ahead.
20:34You have to do that, so you're going to do some jab.
20:40All right?
20:40You got to get room for that straight-up hand.
20:44You can beat him to it.
20:47All right?
20:47Right now, you're letting him beat you to it.
20:50All right?
20:50You beat him to it.
20:51The one-two right down the middle.
20:52Okay, okay.
20:52One-two, one-two.
20:53Let's go right away.
20:54Yes, sir.
20:54All right?
20:55So, you overlock this?
20:57All right?
20:58Yeah.
20:58Cut the distance?
20:58Huh?
20:59Um, cut the distance?
21:00Yeah.
21:00Yes, sir.
21:01You have to.
21:02Yes, sir.
21:02All right?
21:03Well, when we talked to Freddie Rojas yesterday, he told us his plan, plan A, remember he said
21:21he's got a plan A, B, C, and D. So far, he may not have to get off of plan A. He said,
21:26keep him outside, frustrate him, and get him to jump in.
21:29And that's exactly what's happened so far.
21:31Well, interesting advice from Freddie Roach in the corner of Bustos.
21:35Freddie told us before the fight, Roach did.
21:37He thinks Bustos could outbox Rojas fairly easily.
21:40And you heard the instruction before round two.
21:42Sit down on that one-two right down the middle and see what happens.
21:48Yeah, Bustos definitely needs to cut that distance.
21:50And he's not going to do it by throwing one jab.
21:54He's not going to do it by throwing one jab, he's going to throw a double, triple jab and get in there.
22:03Just a shot again.
22:04Let's not forget, this is a bit of an early referendum fight for Bustos from the standpoint of he suffered his first pro defeat 11 months ago.
22:14He said it was freeing and that it released a lot of pressure, but looking to scratch that long layoff away and step up to another level.
22:21I think the bottom line of this fight right now is he's just getting terribly out quick by Rojas.
22:28Yeah, Rojas very accurate with his combinations, just boxing, beautiful school of boxing.
22:35You've got to remember, these guys are Cuban and Mexican, so, you know, they can fight like a Mexican, come forward.
22:39You can fight like a Cuban, the Cuban school of boxing.
22:42You can move around, stick and move combinations, but he's really matured from his last fight to now.
22:49I love what I've seen in Rojas.
22:50Yeah, very impressive, Saffron.
22:55Extremely accurate.
22:57Again, a three-punch combination ending with the rights of the body.
22:59Bustos is trying to move in without throwing any shot.
23:14He's just throwing one shot coming in.
23:16A guy that has the speed, the reflexes, like Rojas, you're not going to get him that way.
23:21You've got to put your punches together, put that jab in there, three, four jabs.
23:25Little jabs, like Mike Tyson used to come in.
23:27Sharp left hand leading, yes.
23:29There's only one Mike Tyson there.
23:30That's very true.
23:35Albuso is backing up.
23:42Left to the body, right to the body, and left and right to the head.
23:46Good counter.
24:01Left hook.
24:03Right hook by Rojas.
24:05Stop!
24:06Stop!
24:07Stop!
24:08Stop.
24:09Let's dominate.
24:10Keep it clean.
24:11Stop.
24:12Once again, I don't know what you're saying.
24:16Another dominant round.
24:17Three up, three down for Rojas.
24:18Now all he's going to do is try to apply pressure, okay?
24:19We're only trying to apply pressure.
24:20That helps you out.
24:21That's why I'm trying to apply pressure.
24:22He's not coming on offense.
24:23He's just really coming with his face.
24:24Okay?
24:25Keep flicking and flicking and flicking like you're doing.
24:26He's going to the high guard.
24:27Touch the high guard and get to the body and go.
24:28Okay?
24:30But don't go too crazy.
24:31Go so you can come right back and stop and see and then boom, boom.
24:32Okay?
24:33Come on.
24:34Come on.
24:35Come on.
24:36Keep going.
24:37Keep going.
24:38He's going to the high guard.
24:39Touch the high guard and get to the body and go.
24:40Okay?
24:41But don't go too crazy.
24:42Go so you can come right back and stop and see and then boom, boom.
24:44Okay?
24:45Come on.
24:46Come on.
24:47Come on.
24:48Come on.
24:49Come on.
24:50Come on.
24:51He's going good.
24:52Four coming up.
24:53He's four, isn't he?
24:54Mm-hmm.
24:55Yeah, four.
24:56Stay boxed like that.
24:57When you're in that center of the ring, I don't want wide steps back.
24:58tippy-toe steps back, okay?
25:00So you can turn everything over and come.
25:02Now start coming with season three, okay?
25:04Let's go.
25:17This is round four.
25:19Fight's scheduled for eight rounds.
25:24And Brewster's gonna have to find something.
25:28He got a quick right hand from Rojas.
25:33It's not so much about what Bustos is not doing.
25:35It's more about what Rojas is doing.
25:37Hey, pressure!
25:39Whether it's through pressure or flipping the script,
25:43if Bustos stays on this track,
25:44we see the direction that it's heading.
25:46He's got to do something to break up the rhythm
25:48of the slicker, more confident fighter at the moment.
25:51Sharp right hand.
25:52Turn that right hand.
25:54Let him go. Let him go.
26:05Let's bring in our unofficial scorekeeper.
26:08He, of course, is Steve Farhood.
26:10Steve, I'm gonna guess I know how you've seen this so far.
26:14Barry, I'm sorry I won't be surprising you, but, you know,
26:18it's pretty simple.
26:19You talked about Rojas out-quicking Bustos.
26:21When Bustos takes a step forward,
26:23Rojas takes a step backward or takes a step to the left.
26:26As a result, he's keeping his distance.
26:28He's landing his jab.
26:29I really don't remember more than one or two punches.
26:32Bustos has landed of any meaning.
26:34So after three rounds, 30, 27,
26:37three rounds to zero for Freddy Rojas.
26:39He looks good.
26:40Yeah, well put, Steve.
26:41We will get, of course, back to Steve
26:43and be with us all night long.
26:45It's interesting is Bustos not throwing that right hand at all,
26:48which can be, especially as a lead punch,
26:50effective against a softball.
26:52Exactly. You're right about that, Brian.
26:54Right hand, left foot.
26:56That's the way they supposedly beat left-handers.
26:59I mean, I was a left-hander, so...
27:02I didn't get beat that many times, only four times.
27:05Oh, you squared up a lot.
27:06You know, that works.
27:08I don't know if it really works, but that's what they say.
27:20A little swelling around the left eye of Bustos.
27:23Nothing serious.
27:24Again, a very quick right hand.
27:27And it starts out like a jab, and he turns it.
27:29Into a hook.
27:31Yeah, there's some next-level craft that Rojas is flashing here,
27:34and maybe that's what happens when you spar with the likes
27:36of Terrence Crawford and Jerron Vucenis,
27:39which we asked Rojas, what'd you learn from that?
27:41He said, I learned there's levels to this game.
27:43And he also said, I learned I'm not there yet.
27:46Exactly, but you can see the confidence in stepping up,
27:49and everything he's throwing is landing at this point.
27:51It's really something that's fueling his confidence.
27:54What can Burgos do to flip this script?
27:56Yeah, Rojas really showing, you know,
28:01he's a different level here.
28:03Definitely a good prospect.
28:05He shows great amateur background.
28:08This is a good fight for him.
28:09This is a good fight for him.
28:10This is a good fight for him.
28:11He's dominating every round.
28:13So an improvement, too, Barry.
28:15Halfway through our opening bout,
28:23and you can see the show stats.
28:25Total punches, a dominant route for Rojas, 80 to 22.
28:3056% of his power punches landed overall,
28:34and can it get worse for Bustos?
28:36The jab, not part of it, just two of 46 landed.
28:43Let's look back at the action.
28:44It's been all Rojas, seemingly, all the time,
28:47only he's doing it with a variety of weapons.
28:49The lead left hand, combination punching,
28:52disguising the jab, and turning it into a hook.
28:55As we look back at round three,
28:58Bustos not aggressive enough to try to get inside that jab
29:02and try to turn around the fortunes of this fight.
29:14So here we go, round five, scheduled for eight.
29:17Dominant performance thus far for Freddy Rojas.
29:29And I don't think he could be sad.
29:30It's not that Bustos isn't trying.
29:32I think he is.
29:33I just think he's being stymied at every turn.
29:35Well, I think he tries at times,
29:38but I think he could try a little bit more in that kind of way.
29:41See, if you get in there, don't back up, Barry.
29:43He already made progress by stepping in twice,
29:47and then he wants to jump back out.
29:49It's going to, it's not going to happen like that.
29:53You've got to put constant pressure with a guy like Rojas.
29:57A lot of head movement, a lot of jabs,
30:00three and four punches, mix it up,
30:02change the speed to the combination.
30:04You can't load up.
30:05That's the kind of fight right there.
30:07That's the kind of fight he's got to keep making.
30:10He's got to keep putting that pressure.
30:12Even though it looks like he's not paying off,
30:14but he's making Rojas think and running.
30:17And when you think like that,
30:19that's pressure, and it gets you tired.
30:21So if you invest, you would invest it early in body shots,
30:26it'll show in the second half of the fight.
30:28There was body shots.
30:29I think it took two in return.
30:30When he has them on the ropes,
30:32he's got to try to keep them there.
30:42Let's take a look back at their history
30:43and going deep into fights.
30:45We mentioned Rojas has knocked out every pro opponent
30:47he's faced.
30:49Bustos has more experience going deep,
30:51three and one overall in bouts
30:52that have gone past the fourth round.
30:54Kind of more of the same this round for Rojas.
30:56I'll tell you what, so far it looks like Rojas can be the first guy
31:00that goes the distance.
31:01I mean, Bustos can be the first guy that goes the distance with Rojas.
31:08He's taken his shot pretty well.
31:10Oh, beautiful.
31:11And that's what he was talking about.
31:12Like, that's what I'm talking about.
31:13He's been working on sitting on his shots.
31:14And we saw it right there, Brady.
31:15Talking about Rojas.
31:16Bustos has side-to-side movements in this round.
31:17And Bustos, I think, has done a better job getting inside this round.
31:19He's just not landing anything cleanly,
31:20and doesn't seem to have the confidence to let his hands go in combinations
31:21when they're in close like that.
31:22And Bustos, I think, has done a better job getting inside this round.
31:26He's just not landing anything cleanly, and doesn't seem to have the confidence to let
31:31his hands go in combinations when they're in close like that.
31:34Bustos, that left hand and left foot to the body.
31:57I love when he uses that.
32:01And not a lot of left handers like to use that method to the body.
32:05It's a very awkward punch.
32:16Hard to score in any other way, but the way it's been going.
32:27How you feel?
32:28I feel actually good, but...
32:31Moabugger's hard hit.
32:32Yeah.
32:33Yeah.
32:34Yeah, he's hard to hit.
32:35Yeah, he's hard to hit.
32:36You know, when I bring pressure, he's really good.
32:38Pulling back.
32:41I think if you put more pressure on him, you would need some fights.
32:44Yeah, I'm going to do that right now.
32:46Body.
32:47Body and we're finishing ahead.
32:49How's he going to go quick? Not even power.
32:51All right, quick. I'm very bad.
32:52Can you do a speed, okay?
32:54Exactly.
32:55Because he's counting every time I throw right hand to the body, he's counting with the...
32:57He's going left.
32:58Either come with a looping hook or a right hand over the top when he leans back, okay?
33:03Oh, yeah.
33:04Cut that ring off.
33:05Let's go!
33:06Let's go!
33:07Let's go!
33:08Let's go!
33:09Let's go!
33:10Let's go!
33:11Let's go!
33:12Let's go!
33:13Let's go!
33:14Let's go!
33:15Let's go!
33:16Let's go!
33:17Let's go!
33:18Let's go!
33:19Let's go!
33:20One thing to remember that we talked about earlier in terms of the activity, Rojas turned pro two and a half years ago.
33:28He's fought 11 times in the span that Bustos has only fought three times,
33:32and one of those a defeat, which he took an 11-month absence heading into this one.
33:37He's the sharper fighter, the busier fighter at the moment.
33:40And definitely a factor as the fight goes on.
33:46That was the left hand from Bustos.
33:47A little bit more aggressiveness by Bustos.
33:50I believe I heard that he told Freddie Roach that he doesn't have a lot of power, but he's just very fast, very quick.
33:58That's probably well said.
34:00He also told him it's hard to be accurate against him, hard to find him.
34:06Oh, nice.
34:06Good, yeah.
34:09And a body shot, a left hand, left hand slap behind the body shot.
34:15A little bit around here for Bustos.
34:17A little bit around here for Bustos.
34:18Oh, good, yeah.
34:23Bustos!
34:32Bustos's corner screaming for him to let that right hand go over the top.
34:35Still reluctant to throw it, although he's much more busy with his jab this round, which is becoming a factor.
34:41And a little more in range.
34:42I think he's a little bit more enriched
34:44because Rojas might be getting a little bit winded.
34:47He's more stationary.
34:48He's not moving as much.
34:50He's standing there,
34:50so Bustos should take advantage of these opportunities.
35:02There's that sharp jab from Rojas.
35:05He takes a step back.
35:12He's trying to set up that straight left hand
35:13or straight up or an uppercut.
35:15Leave with an uppercut.
35:27I think he rolled an ankle.
35:31That's a very tough break.
35:34Can he continue like that?
35:38Left ankle.
35:39Your doctor right here.
35:41All right.
35:42I'll tell you what.
35:43Stuff like that,
35:44he can't be able to catch his balance.
35:50Yeah, that's tough.
35:52Well, the timing's bad
35:53because even though this has been a one-sided fight,
35:55Bustos was starting to pick it up
35:57and enjoying some success this round.
35:59Step to the right.
36:00Step forward.
36:02Step forward.
36:02He's trying to play it out.
36:05Bustos is trying to continue.
36:07But look at him.
36:08He's still not moving yet.
36:10He's hurting.
36:11That's really tough.
36:18That was Bustos.
36:19Just don't move.
36:21Stay in the pocket.
36:22Let Rojas come at him.
36:24Well, what could be dangerous
36:28for re-aggravating this left ankle injury
36:30is the fact that their feet
36:32are constantly touching
36:33at the South Paul versus Orthodox setup.
36:35Yeah, that happens a lot.
36:37And there again,
36:37they just stepped on each other's foot.
36:39I don't think that's what caused it
36:41in the first place,
36:42although it might have been.
36:42Good left hand for Rojas.
36:52And really a much better round for Bustos.
36:58You're going to give it to Bustos?
36:59I'm going to give it to him.
37:00I'm going to give it to him.
37:00Thank you, sir.
37:03You got all the fun
37:04and all the fun.
37:05What are you about?
37:07How was it?
37:08Good, good, good.
37:09It's actually not being smart.
37:10We're good.
37:14You see the repeat where he...
37:16Yeah, look.
37:17It looks like Rojas stepped on his foot
37:19and then he twisted.
37:21Bustos twisted his ankle, Barry.
37:24You'll see another angle.
37:25Oh, yeah.
37:25That's a trick.
37:27You know, left-handers do that.
37:28That's part of the game.
37:29He stepped on it and then...
37:30Oh, and then he...
37:31It was just trying...
37:32He was trying to get...
37:34That was...
37:34Yeah, he was trying to get to...
37:36Incidental contact.
37:37Yeah, absolutely.
37:38So you're closer with the right hand.
37:39But are their feet touching constantly?
37:42Yeah.
37:43Especially as the fight goes on.
37:45Early in the fight,
37:45I was thinking to myself,
37:46he's doing the right job.
37:47He's always inside Rojas' lead foot,
37:49but not so much in the last couple rounds.
37:56This is round seven.
37:57The office court.
38:19What you've got to be most interested in seeing
38:21is how much does this left ankle,
38:23soreness, injury,
38:24motivate Bustos to go after it.
38:26That's true.
38:27He's a left hand.
38:28A good left hand.
38:28Bustos really on the gas here.
38:30Yeah, he's closing that gap.
38:31He's coming after him.
38:33Showing some heart.
38:34Showing that...
38:35He's trying to do something.
38:37He's trying to...
38:37I mean, the only way he wins
38:38is by getting him out of there.
38:39Yeah, and he's...
38:39He's being absolutely game.
38:42Let's take a look at Steve Farhood's card.
38:44Well, Barry, I did give Bustos the sixth round,
38:50and, you know, you see that he's much more animated now
38:53than he was, even with the bad ankle.
38:55But he might be too far behind to catch up
38:57without any knockdowns or a knockout.
38:59So Rojas still in control
39:00three-quarters of the way through this fight.
39:04All right.
39:04Thank you, Steve.
39:05We will, of course, get back to you for more.
39:19And now midway through round number seven.
39:21This, this, this, this.
39:25Rojas told us he expected
39:37Freddie Roach's game plan for Bustos
39:39to be a constant body attack.
39:40That's something we just haven't seen here.
39:42A little bit kind of left hand from Rojas.
39:47No, you're right.
39:47He has not done that very much.
39:50Now he's in full headhunter mode
39:52as Rojas pieces him up with a combination.
39:55Look, I like Rojas.
39:58You can't hunt the head.
40:00You've got to hit him on the arms,
40:01hit him on the elbows,
40:04hit him on the body,
40:05down the middle,
40:06hit him on the chest,
40:07especially in the early rounds.
40:11And I believe Rojas is a little bit gassed.
40:15He's actually a lot of gas,
40:17but he's very busy the first five rounds.
40:18Right, right.
40:22That's a good body shot for Rojas.
40:25Man, Bustos just eating everything,
40:32the jabs, the left hands.
40:34Look at that jab.
40:35That's a really good jab.
40:36Well, coming up next,
41:02visitor from Argentina,
41:04Mirko Cuello against Rudy Garcia.
41:08That'll be a 10-round fight.
41:10It is coming up next.
41:11Another big puncher is Cuello.
41:14And Rudy Garcia, tough guy
41:15and with a great motor.
41:20That's our next fight.
41:21Let's go, baby.
41:30Let's go, baby.
41:43Let's go, baby.
41:48Let's go, bro.
41:49Let's go, bro.
41:50Let's go, bro.
41:50Let's go, bro.
41:51I love it, man.
41:52You're doing great.
41:53I love you, man.
41:54You're doing great.
41:55I don't know if you're in front of your ass,
41:57and I love you, man.
41:57You're great.
41:58It's one of the amazing things about boxers.
42:05I mean, I think there really is a healthy respect
42:07because they know nobody else would get in there and do it.
42:13There's a different spirit in Bustos.
42:15Excuse me, Raul, to start this round.
42:18Well, he knows he's got to go for stroke.
42:20He knows he's a match round.
42:21He knows he needs a knockout to win.
42:24But let me tell you something, baby.
42:25What you were saying, you know,
42:26I retired from boxing when I was 37 years old.
42:28You know, I tell you guys all the time,
42:30and I've been covering boxing for a long time
42:32and I've been with Showbox for, what, 10, 11 years?
42:35And I'm always saying, why did I do it?
42:39Why did I do this?
42:39Yeah, you've got to be crazy.
42:40What was I thinking, guys?
42:42I don't know.
42:44Worked out okay for you.
42:45I guess it got me here next to you, Baron.
42:47That was it.
42:48That's all that matters.
42:50I got next to you, and I've never been in a fight in my life.
42:58Four-punch, five-punch combination unanswered from Rojas.
43:12Bustos is letting the time left in this round just click off
43:15without much activity.
43:16Stop!
43:18All right.
43:19All right.
43:19Keep it clean.
43:20Keep it clean.
43:21Keep it clean.
43:21Keep it clean.
43:22You know, a good lesson for Rojas, too,
43:29because he likely now is going to go the distance for the first time.
43:31First time.
43:32First time.
43:32I mean, you know, that's the one thing you always learn in boxing.
43:38When you're coming up, you're knocking everybody out.
43:41You're undefeated.
43:41You're knocking guys out, and then all of a sudden this guy takes your shots.
43:45You're like, man, I went the distance, but you need to go to the rounds.
43:49Yeah.
43:49You're going to need them.
43:50They're going to pay off later on.
43:51And he said himself, you know, that he didn't really think himself
43:53was necessarily a big knockout guy,
43:56even though he's knocked out everybody's foot.
43:58But I think his head screwed on pretty straight over.
44:01Showed much maturity in our fighter meetings,
44:05and you're seeing that play out in the ring,
44:06although let's give Gusto's credit.
44:08It is now or never time, but he's doing a good job cornering Rojas
44:11and at least forcing him to fight with him.
44:20And you know what?
44:21I love Rojas' body language.
44:23I mean, it's the eighth round.
44:24He's really worked there.
44:25He's worked hard.
44:27And trust me, I'm sure he's trying to get him out of there.
44:29He couldn't, but he's in shape.
44:31He hasn't lost focus.
44:33He's still jabbing.
44:33Look at that jab.
44:34Look at that straight left hand.
44:36His speed, his footwork.
44:39It's a really good jab that he has,
44:40and that's going to get him a rose.
44:42Yes.
44:47And he's got good movement also.
44:49Final seconds of the fight.
44:50Two guys have brought their heart out, really.
44:58You love the sportsmanship.
44:59Yeah, it's just, it's something that you see in the sport.
45:02I can't really say I see it in any other sport to this extent.
45:05So it's enhanced the judges.
45:23I don't believe this decision is very much in doubt.
45:25So Rojas, a very impressive performance, I think, here on Showbox.
45:42Well, he answered the questions we had of him.
45:44What does it look like later in a fight?
45:46Turns out it looks very good,
45:47because this was start to finish controlled by Freddie Rojas.
45:51Never got in trouble, never made too many big mistakes,
45:55and here's the key.
45:56Disciplined his opponent from the very beginning.
45:58Right, and he talked about that.
45:59He talked about the fact that hard work and discipline,
46:01yeah, it's a cliche,
46:02but he said that's kind of the words he lives by,
46:05and it showed in the ring tonight.
46:07You talk about that, too.
46:08Yeah, it did.
46:09I mean, a lot of times you get a guy
46:11that has all the talent in the world.
46:13How many times have we seen it?
46:14But he doesn't have the discipline, Barry, and it shows.
46:17But this guy, he's talented.
46:19He's got the discipline.
46:20You see he's in great shape.
46:22He got in shape to go eight hard rounds,
46:24and it's a good learning experience for him.
46:26All right, let's find out officially how this thing went
46:29as we go to the center of the ring.
46:30For the decision here again is Lupe Contoros.
46:33Lupe.
46:34Ladies and gentlemen,
46:34we're going to all eight rounds here at the Boeing Center at Tetcourt.
46:37We go to the scorecards.
46:39Judges Santos and Shirley turn in identical scores of 79 to 73,
46:44and Judge Colloy scores about 80 to 72.
46:48All in favor of the winner by way of unanimous decision.
46:53Still undefeated.
46:56Traudis.
46:57One way.
47:00Roja.
47:01Well, this fight only went one way.
47:08There was no question about that.
47:09He told us in our meetings, he said,
47:11you're going to see a new Freddy tonight.
47:13I'll move when I need to move,
47:14but basically I'm going to stay in the pocket as advertised.
47:17As advertised.
47:18Combination punching seemed to have his way at every turn.
47:21It doesn't matter how explosive your opponent is.
47:25If he's not going to be able to get clean punches off,
47:28you can control the action.
47:29And let's see how the stats illustrate this.
47:32Wow.
47:3349% overall power punch connect for Rojas.
47:38Nearly tripled the total punches landed of his opponent,
47:42Bustos.
47:43And you see the jab was just not part of the game plan here for Bustos.
47:46Just 7% overall.
47:48The stats in this case tell an accurate picture.
47:50This was a masterpiece from the young Rojas.
47:53I think so too.
47:54I'm interested in how Steve Farwood saw this fight.
47:56I know how you scored it, Steve,
47:57but just give me a general impression.
47:59Well, I scored at 79-73, same as two of the judges.
48:04I did give Bustos the sixth round.
48:07And as we take a look at the official scores,
48:09two of the three judges gave Bustos the sixth round.
48:12Otherwise, it was totally one-sided for Freddy Rojas
48:15and very easy to score.
48:17All right.
48:18Thanks very much, Steve.
48:18There are the official judges' scorecards.
48:21They only had one round difference between them.
48:22And Steve, of course, saw it the way two of the judges saw it
48:25and the way we had it.
48:26Oh, by the way, too.
48:28So we are just getting started from here at the Bowling Center
48:31at Techport in San Antonio.
48:33Coming up next, a 10-round matchup of unbeaten featherweights.
48:37Miracle Cuello facing Rudy Garcia.
48:40And then it's our main event of the evening.
48:4210 rounds scheduled in the Super Bantamweight division.
48:45Undefeated Rafael Pedrosa takes on once-beaten Ramon Cardenas.
48:51And next Saturday, Bellator MMA is coming back to Ireland
48:55to bring you another night of action in the cage right here on Showtime.
48:59The Bellator Middleweight Championship is on the line
49:01in the evening's main event.
49:03Champion Johnny Elbin shared his thoughts
49:05that's going into this title defense with Amanda Guerra.
49:14We're here at ATT.
49:15We have a big setup because you are the champ.
49:17So let's talk about Fabian Edwards.
49:19Yeah.
49:19How would you describe him?
49:21Kind of like a brat.
49:23How so?
49:24He's not humble.
49:25He's not a humble person, I can tell.
49:27Is he going to be humbled when you step in that cage?
49:29Yeah, I'm going to put the pressure on him, break him,
49:31and humble him for sure.
49:33Tell us about Paris.
49:35You're in Paris.
49:36He beats Mousasi.
49:37You get to step in the cage and have a stare down with him.
49:40Yeah, so after he won, I turned.
49:43Like, it's just the look of his face I didn't like.
49:46It's just, I'm a competitor at heart,
49:48and when there's somebody in my way,
49:51I'll do everything I can to take them out.
49:53Him and his brother have a dream
49:54of being champions at the same time.
49:56Yeah, I'm here to crush that dream
49:57because it's not a part of my dream.
49:59My dream is to solidify my name and be the GOAT,
50:02and he's in the way of that dream,
50:03so I guess I don't have to crush those dreams.
50:05So you've had plenty of fights in the United States.
50:08This is your first international fight.
50:10You're going to be there in Dublin.
50:11Does the Johnny Eblen World Tour begin here?
50:15Damn right.
50:16The Johnny Eblen World Tour is about to take flight, baby.
50:18Let's go.
50:19So somewhere over in England, he's training.
50:23What would you say to him right now?
50:27It doesn't matter.
50:28You can train all you fucking want.
50:30You're never going to beat me.
50:31You're never going to have that dream
50:33of having a belt with your brother
50:35because I'm here to crush that fucking dream.
50:40In addition to Eblen versus Edwards
50:42for the middleweight title,
50:44the five-fight card includes
50:45Aaron Pico versus Pete Carvalho,
50:48Sinead Cavanaugh versus Sarah Collins,
50:50and Mads Brunel versus Daniel Vichel,
50:53all in three-round featherweight bouts.
50:56The card starts off with Sabah Homasi
50:58versus LeBron Chocoli
51:00in a three-round weatherweight bout.
51:03It all gets underway at 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 Pacific,
51:06with the preliminary bouts available
51:07on the Showtime Sports
51:09and Bellator YouTube channels.
51:12The action in the cage continues
51:13with Bellator 300 on October 7th.
51:17In the headliner,
51:18Usman Nurmagomedov faces Brent Premis
51:20in the lightweight World Grand Prix semifinal.
51:24In a night of championship fights,
51:26Chris Cyborg faces Kat Zingano
51:28for the women's featherweight championship.
51:30Ryan Bader and Linton Vassell
51:32square off for the heavyweight championship.
51:35And Liz Karamush takes on
51:37Alimale McFarlane
51:39for the women's flyweight world championship.
51:42For more of the best content
51:43spanning all Showtime sports franchises,
51:46join our Facebook page
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52:07And back here at the
52:13And back here at the
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