BoxRec

Alexis Rocha vs Blair Cobbs set as new DAZN main event after Vergil Ortiz Jr withdraws

Alexis Rocha vs Blair Cobbs will now headline Saturday’s Golden Boy show on DAZN, following the withdrawal of original main event A-side Vergil Ortiz Jr, who was to face Michael McKinson.

Rocha (18-1, 12 KO) will be looking to pick up his third straight win following his 2020 loss to Rashidi Ellis. He bounced back to stop James Bacon in two rounds last June, followed by a November stoppage win over Jeovanis Barraza.

Cobbs (15-0-1, 10 KO) will aim to stay unbeaten. He hasn’t fought since a June 2021 win over Brad Solomon, a fifth round TKO in Texas.

The card will also feature Bektemir Melikuziev vs David Zegarra, Azat Hovhannisyan vs Victor Ruiz, and returns for Ramla Ali, Alex Rincon, John Ramirez, and more prospects. It’s not the biggest show in the world, but Rocha-Cobbs really should be a fun fight, it’s good matchmaking, and there will be another option with Edgar Berlanga’s return against Steve Rolls on ESPN, too.

nice nails, blair

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑17 Mar 2022, 07:50 nice nails, blair

See, now why can't UK boxers stand like this on posters instead of trying to push through a crap.

Michael McKinson To Now Face Alex Martin On DAZN; Jesus A. Perez (Weight) Falls Through

Michael McKinson is now on his third opponent for his first career fight in the U.S.

Boxing Scene has learned that Alex Martin is now poised to face England’s McKinson, the switch coming shortly after previously approved Jesus Antonio Perez Campos (24-3, 18KOs) was too far beyond the welterweight limit to safely make weight on Friday. The bout is dependent on Chicago’s Martin (17-3, 6KOs) being able to make the contracted limit on short notice for this Saturday’s DAZN show from USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles.

Tijuana’s Perez was cleared by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) on Wednesday and accepted by McKinson (21-0, 2KOs) and his team before learning of the weight disparity.

“My opponent turned up from Mexico 2 stone [roughly 28 pounds] overweight,” McKinson revealed to his social media followers late Thursday evening. “Opponent change AGAIN!”

Perez (24-3, 18KOs) had not fought in more than two years and was not scheduled to fight at the time he received the call to face McKinson on just three days’ notice. The 27-year-old Tijuana native agreed to replace rising welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18KOs), who was pulled from the show after being hospitalized and treated for rhabdomyolysis earlier this week.

It appears that more work needs to be done, though it remains unclear why Perez would agree to terms while knowing he was close to 30 pounds above the welterweight limit.

Representatives from Golden Boy Promotions did not return a message from BS.com seeking comment as this goes to publish. A representative from McKinson’s team confirmed the fallout but declined further comment as the situation is understandably fluid.

Martin called for the fight earlier this week, going as far to suggest that he was being ducked by McKinson and his team after they settled on the orthodox-stanced Perez. The Chicagoland southpaw gets his wish as his number was called to help salvage a show with several moving parts.

The 32-year-old Martin is riding a four-fight win streak, all coming at junior welterweight. In his most recent start, Martin scored a ten-round shutout win over Josec Ruiz last August 14 in Frisco, Texas. Each of Martin’s two wins in 2021 came on the undercard of Dallas area shows headlined by Ortiz.

Martin’s last defeat came in December 2017, suffering a third straight points loss on the year and all at welterweight. Martin dropped an eight-round decision to Bryant Perrella, coming on the heels of back-to-back defeats to then-unbeaten Miguel Cruz earlier in the year.

McKinson previously hinted that he could potentially face “a [G]olden Boy fighter who’s a southpaw,” though the evening’s makeshift main event participants were ruled out.

Alexis Rocha (18-1, 12KOs) and Blair Cobbs (15-0-1, 10KOs)—both of whom are southpaws—are still due to face each other in Saturday’s DAZN headliner from USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles. The fight was advanced from co-feature on Wednesday, once Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18KOs) was pulled from his scheduled 12-round main event with McKinson after being hospitalized for rhabdomyolysis.

Cobbs allegedly offered his services at the time and his team also insisted that he was rejected by McKinson’s side. McKinson and representatives from his management company MTK Global all refuted such claims and vowed a willingness to face any name offered for the sake of fighting this weekend and not allowing a training camp to go to waste. The 27-year-old British southpaw from Portsmouth stayed true to his word in accepting Martin on short notice.

“Such an up and down week but we have [come] to fight, whoever, regardless,” noted McKinson. “Time to adapt to the situations and overcome.”

Weigh in

I hope Cobbs get humbled.

Date: Saturday 19 March 2022
Location: Galen Center - Los Angeles, CA
TV: DAZN

Start Times
DAZN: 4:45 pm ET | 1:45 pm PT | 9:45pm GMT (Preliminary Card)
DAZN: 9 pm ET | 6 pm PT | 1 am GMT (Main Card)

Promoted by: Golden Boy Promotions & Matchroom Boxing

Main Card

10 Round Welterweight Bout
Alexis Rocha vs. Blair Cobbs

10 Round Welterweight Bout
Michael McKinson vs. Alex Martin

10 Round Light Heavyweight Bout
Bektemir Melikuziev vs. David Zegarra

6 Round Welterweight Bout
Evan Sanchez vs. Alejandro Munera

Undercard

8 Round Super Bantamweight Bout
Azat Hovhannisyan vs. Victor Ruiz

8 Round Super Welterweight Bout
Alex Rincon vs. Luis Midyael Sanchez

6 Round Bantamweight Bout
John Ramirez vs. Roberto Pucheta,

4 Round Lightweight Bout
Miguel Gaona vs. Gilberto Aguilar

4 Round Super Bantamweight Bout
Ramla Ali vs. Shelly Barnett

6 Round Lightweight Bout
Alejandro Reyes vs. Daniel Evangelista Jr

4 Round Lightweight Bout
Dalis Kaleiopu vs. Manuel Lara

Action first round. should be fun.

good first 2 rounds , neither guy afraid to trade.

cobbs a bit more explosive, but rocha better schooled

i'll say 1-1

Good Lord, Cobbs is a pretender.

rocha steadier work in the third, cobbs with some moments but looked a bit erratic and flustered at times

Cobs is a fun watch... lands a nice shoulder when they clash every time too...

I hate golden boys coms team... its like they dont watch the fights... Then no matter whats happening ask for more body work and more jabs...

same story in 4th.......cobbs with some moments, but rocha more consistent. cobbs starting to smirk and bounce around a bit too much

39 - 37 Rocha. Hard right jab helping his case.

i think cobbs has more firepower, he should take it to rocha more instead of playing the back foot game

big 5th for rocha as he wobbles cobbs a couple times

Wow big shots there. exagerated by the hair.

cobbs isnt doing enough to get rocha's respect. rocha just walking forward and beating him up now

5-1 rocha, and hardly anything coming back from cobbs last 2 rounds, mostly just bouncing around and smirking

Cobs few great shots that round. close round. cobs needs at least 2 of the next 3... mabey all 3. mabey more.

closer 7th round as cobbs starts firing back more

cobbs down in the 8th! rocha beats him up but he survives the round

78-73 rocha

Cobs needs a haircut... those shots look 100x worse because of it.... you either need a dense afro or nothing, floppy afro gives away every shot as a absolute dinger. big shots but.