MARKSMAN SCORES CLOSE DECISION ON MATCHROOM PROSPECTS CARD
It was a workmanlike performance for Corey Marksman.
Marksman outboxed his way to a unanimous decision over Christian Barreto on Friday at Caribe Royale. Their 10-round lightweight bout headlined Matchroom Boxing’s inaugural “Project Series,” which featured prospects looking to take the next step.
Judges David De Jonge and Michael Ross scored the fight 96-94, while Braddan Jackson had it 98-92.
“I knew it was close because I was getting touched up,” Marksman said. “I felt like I had to dig deep in my bag and stick to the game plan. Listen to my pops yell at me and just get the job done.”
Marksman (14-0-1, 9 KOs) landed the first significant blow with a minute left in the opening stanza. A right hook out of the southpaw stance led to a delayed reaction from Barreto as his legs went unsteady.
The Sanford, Florida, native sought the finish as he threw a flurry of punches as Barreto (15-1, 9 KOs) tried to move and buy time. The Puerto Rican recovered with 30 seconds left.
Marksman, 25, went from sticking and moving to walking down Barreto in the next couple of rounds. He got the better of the exchanges and continued to find a home for his right hand out of his natural orthodox stance.
Barreto, 29, began to work his way back into the fight early in the second half. He pressed forward and was finding a home for his overhand right.
The sixth round had the best action as they slugged it out and landed clean power shots. Barreto pressed the action and was walking him down.
“Barreto was very, very tough,” Marksman said. “Like I said leading up to this fight, 15-0 is not easy to get. He had to have some toughness to get here. Props to him for stepping in here.”
Marksman took back control in the ninth when he landed a hard right hand that led to Barreto’s head going under the top rope. Barreto and Marksman spent much of the 10th trading punches and slugged it out in the final seconds before the bell rang to end the fight.
“He didn’t hurt me, but a punch is a punch,” Marksman said. “If I’m punching at the same time, it’s going to look like I’m off balance, but he didn’t hurt me. I got a tough chin, and I’m a warrior.”
BRAY STOPS INGRAM IN BRUTAL CLASH
In a battle of unbeaten junior middleweights, Alex Bray’s clean and effective power punching led him to an eighth-round stoppage of Antraveous Ingram (13-1-1, 7 KOs) in a grueling matchup.
Ingram began at a frantic and unsustainable pace to set the tone early. Bray, 20, showed poise beyond his years and managed to weather the storm. The Melbourne, Florida, native began to assert himself in the second round by landing clean counters and power shots between Ingram’s punches as his volume began to lower.
Ingram, of nearby Kissimmee, slowed down early but still managed to fight in spurts and still had his moments. That made for a high-pitch clash where both fighters found themselves getting the better of exchanges.
Bray (12-0, 9 KOs) ultimately landed the cleaner and more telling shots and late in the eighth round, he seized full control of the fight.
Bray landed a series of blistering hooks and uppercuts late in the eighth round and rocked Ingram, 27, with a right hook. Bray capped the round with a series of clean hooks and uppercuts that left Ingram stunned on his feet.
The damage Ingram took to close the eighth led to his corner stopping the fight before the ninth. Ingram was dry-heaving in his corner as the fight was called by referee Christopher Young.
GALLEGOS STOPS LYONS IN FINAL ROUND
Kaipo Gallegos (13-0-1, 10 KOs) systematically broke down Desmond Lyons (11-4, 2 KOs) before dropping him twice and stopping him with 40 seconds remaining in the eighth round of their lightweight bout.
With 1:18 left, Gallegos knocked down Lyons with a right hook. The southpaw from Las Vegas stayed on the offensive and connected with a flurry of punches before Lyons went to the canvas for a second time and referee Michael DeJesus stopped the fight without a count.
Gallegos, 20, is the second fighter to stop Lyons, joining WBO lightweight champion Abdullah Mason. Lyons, 27, had won three straight fights since his sixth-round stoppage loss to Mason in May 2023.
Lyons, of North Augusta, South Carolina, got off to a good start in the opening round and landed the cleaner shots in the first round. Gallegos settled into a groove in the second, managing range much more effectively and began to find a home for his right hook and straight left hand to the head and body.
Gallegos is the WBA’s No. 11 fighter at 130 pounds.
DE LEON STOPS MONTES AFTER SIX ROUNDS
It was largely target practice for Carlos De Leon (9-0, 7 KOs), as he stopped Maxel Montes (13-6-1, 7 KOs) after six rounds of their eight-round junior lightweight bout.
De Leon, of Cupey Alto, Puerto Rico, landed blistering power shots from both stances. The sixth round felt like the beginning of the end, as De Leon sent Montes reeling to the ropes with many of the blistering right hands . The Managua, Nicaragua, native struggled to fight back like he did in the earlier rounds.
Montes’ corner stopped the fight between the sixth and seventh rounds. De Leon, 21, was the first to stop Montes.
BRADY STOPS JIMENEZ IN SECOND
Haven Brady (18-0, 8 KOs) made quick work of Bryan Jimenez (18-5, 10 KOs), stopping him with three seconds left in the second round.
Brady, 24, landed clean right hands to the head and body from the opening bell. With under a minute left in the second, the Albany, Georgia, native dropped the Nicaraguan with a left hook to the body.
Brady stayed on the attack, and with Jimenez under siege with his back to a corner, referee Christopher Young stopped the fight.
Brady’s victory was his first under the Matchroom Boxing banner and his first in 2026.
Other results
Diego Nieves (4-0, 4 KOs) def. Contrail Hicks (0-2) KO 1 (0:30) — featherweight
Brandon Ortiz (1-0, 1 KO) def. Wade Haverchuk (1-3) TKO 2 (0:40) — junior featherweight
Virgilio De Los Santos (1-0, 1 KO) def. Dmitri Fontana (1-5) TKO 2 (0:34) — middleweight
