By Ken Hissner: At the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Saturday over DAZN Matchroom Boxing – Eddie Hearn presented the unification bout between WBC & WBA World Super Middleweight champion and WBO World Super Middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders before a record-breaking 67,000 fans.
In the Main Event WBC & WBA World Super Middle champ Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, #167.4, 56-1-2 (38), of Guadalajara, MEX, stopped WBO World Super Middle champ southpaw Billy Joe Saunders, 30-1 (14), #167.8, of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK, after eight competitive rounds in a scheduled 12 rounds.
In the first round Saunders used an effective jab with little in return from Alvarez. In the fourth round Alvarez started getting to the body with right uppercuts. In the fifth round Saunders landed a good left to the body of Alvarez. In the sixth Alvarez evened the score with good body work while Saunders countered him well in return. In the seventh Saunders did well enough with his hand speed to take the round. In the eighth it was a big round for Alvarez hurting Saunders on several occasions with little return from Saunders. A right uppercut to the left eye from Alvarez all but ended it. In the corner with his right eye closed Saunders quit!
Alvarez felt the fight went the way they planned and wants to fight Caleb Plant for all four titles!
In the co-feature WBO World Light Fly champ Elwin “La Pulga” Soto, 19-1 (13), #107.8, of Mexicali, Baja CA, MEX, in a highly disputed ending was given the stoppage over the former four time Mini champ “The Lightning Kid” Katsunari Takayama, 32-9 (12), #107.6, of Neyagawa, Osaka, Japan, at 2:44 of the ninth of a scheduled 12 rounds.
In the first round halfway through a right from Soto on the chin of Takayama hurt him. Again in the final seconds a Soto left on the chin hurt Takayama and hit him after the bell. In the third and fourth rounds Takayama landed more but Soto more power punches. In the sixth the fans went wild with Takayama showboating and mixing it up with the stronger Soto who hurt him just before the bell.
In the seventh and eighth rounds Takayama continued outworking Soto in a two close rounds. In the ninth referee Laurence Cole once again proved to be one of the worst ref’s in boxing halting the match with Takayama ahead (6-2 in rounds) on this writer’s scorecard and not hurt. The fans let the ref know how displeased they were.
Super Welter WBA Inter-Continental champ Kieron “Too Class” Conway, 16-2-1 (3), #154, of Northampton, UK, lost to Olympian Souleymane “TKO” Cissokho, 13-0 (8), #153 ½, of Senegal and Paris, FR, over 10 rounds. Cissokho was down in the ninth.
In the first eight rounds it was all the quicker Cissokho using an effective jab mostly to the body of Conway who hardly landed a punch for the most part. After four rounds of standing in front of Conway he went on his bike and Conway just couldn’t land a big punch.
In the ninth Conway landed two to the body and a left uppercut on the chin spinning Cissokho around and down for an 8-count from referee Rosario Solis who failed to wipe the gloves of Cissokho upon rising. In the tenth and final round Cissokho stood his ground for the most part getting the best of Conway.
Scores 97-92 Conway, 96-93 and 95-94 Cissokho with this writer 98-91 Cissokho.
No.6 ranked WBO Heavyweight Frank “The Cuban Flash” Sanchez, 18-0-1nc (13), #237.6, of Cuba and Las Vegas, NV, defeated Nagy “Dominican Dynamite” Aguilera, 21-11 (14), #238.2, of DR and Houston, TX, after 6 rounds retaining his Continental-Americas title.
First five rounds were all Sanchez who has a bad habit of crossing his arms between punches. He landed many rights with little effect against Aguilera. Aguilera was rabbit punching without a warning the entire five rounds from referee Ruben Perez. In the sixth it looked like a Sanchez right hit Aguilera on the back not the head and he complained and went into an act giving up walked to ropes and fell down. Finally, ten minutes later they went to the scorecards and all had it 60-54.
Welter Christian “Ninote” Gomez Duran, 20-2-1 (18), #146.4, of Gudalajara, Jalisco, MEX, stopped Xavier Wilson, 11-3-1 (1), #147.8, of San Antonio, TEX, at 2:19 of the second round in a scheduled 8 rounds.
Lightweight southpaw Keyshawn Davis, 3-0 (2), #138, of Norfolk, VA, defeated Jose “Pepao” Antonio Meza, 6-5 (1), #138, of Gomez Palacio, Durango, MEX, over 6 rounds.
All scores 60-54.
Feather Marc Castro, 2-0 (2), #132.4, of Fresno, CA, defeated Irving Macias Castillo, 9-1 (6), #127.6, of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, MEX, at 2:04 of the fourth in a scheduled 6 rounds.
Super Light Kelvin Davis, 2-0 (1), #143.8, of Norfolk, VA, defeated Jan Marsalek, 8-3 (7), #140.4, of Pardubice, Czech Republic, 4 rounds.
Davis was down in 4th round. All scores were 38-37.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defeats Billy Joe Saunders and becomes the Unified WBC, WBA and WBO Super Middleweight Champion at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Michelle Farsi/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defeats Billy Joe Saunders and becomes the Unified WBC, WBA and WBO Super Middleweight Champion at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Michelle Farsi/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defeats Billy Joe Saunders and becomes the Unified WBC, WBA and WBO Super Middleweight Champion at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Michelle Farsi/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kieron Conway and Souleymane Cissokho during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kieron Conway and Souleymane Cissokho during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kieron Conway and Souleymane Cissokho during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kieron Conway and Souleymane Cissokho during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kieron Conway and Souleymane Cissokho during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kieron Conway and Souleymane Cissokho during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kieron Conway and Souleymane Cissokho during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Elwin Soto and Katsunari Takayama during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Elwin Soto and Katsunari Takayama during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Elwin Soto and Katsunari Takayama during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Elwin Soto and Katsunari Takayama during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kieron Conway and Souleymane Cissokho during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Marc Castro and Irving Macias Castillo during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Keyshawn Davis and Jose Antonio Meza during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Keyshawn Davis and Jose Antonio Meza during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Keyshawn Davis and Jose Antonio Meza during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Keyshawn Davis and Jose Antonio Meza during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Keyshawn Davis and Jose Antonio Meza during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Keyshawn Davis and Jose Antonio Meza during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Christian Alan Gomez Duran and Xavier Wilson during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Christian Alan Gomez Duran and Xavier Wilson during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Christian Alan Gomez Duran and Xavier Wilson during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Christian Alan Gomez Duran and Xavier Wilson during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Christian Alan Gomez Duran and Xavier Wilson during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kelvin Davis and Jan Marsalak during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kelvin Davis and Jan Marsalak during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kelvin Davis and Jan Marsalak during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kelvin Davis and Jan Marsalak during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kelvin Davis and Jan Marsalak during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kelvin Davis and Jan Marsalak during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
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- May 7, 2021; Arlington, TX; Kelvin Davis and Jan Marsalak during their May 8th Matchroom boxing bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
