Miguel Berchelt easily shook off ring rust and dominated in his return to the ring.
The current WBC super featherweight champion scored a knockdown at the end of the first round and later stopped Eleazar Valenzuela in the sixth round in the main event of the June 27 Top Rank on ESPN.
Berchelt opened things up with a barrage of punches in the first round, seemingly landing every single punch that he was throwing. After dropping Valenzuela in the first round, all Valenzuela could do was defend himself against a tremendous barrage of punches, with Berchelt landing an unprecedented 62.6 percent of his power punches. The fight was stopped in the sixth round as Berchelt threw a flurry of body punches and headshots.
With the win, everything is clear on Berchelt’s side for a potential fight against former WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez. Now Valdez is getting ready for a planned fight against Jayson Velez in July, a fight that has yet to be officially announced.
"Now what follows is the expected fight against Oscar Valdez. Every fan wants to see that fight, and we are ready for that war. I felt great, but the altitude in Mexico City hit me a little bit. It is not easy to fight in Mexico City, but thank God we got the victory. Eleazar is a tough fighter. He endured everything I threw at him. He gained my respect. My experience as world champion pushed me forward," Berchelt said.
The broadcast, which started nearly an hour after its intended start time as a result of a UFC card finishing up longer than anticipated, started with a slugfest between Alan David Picasso and Florentino Perez Hernandez. Picasso was the far busier fighter, landing several left hooks and attacking at mid-range throughout the fight. Hernandez scored some clean hits, but wasn’t able to overcome Picasso’s aggressive fighting.
Picasso ended up winning the fight by unanimous decision under a very unusual setup. Instead of the usual three-judge setup, a total of six judges were used to score the fight. Three of those judges were at the TV Azteca Studios, where the card took place, and the other three were watching the fight on a television monitor from a remote location. Picasso won with scores of 78-74, 79-73, 79-74, 80-72, 80-72 and 80-72.
Below are the results of the June 27 Top Rank on ESPN card:
- Miguel Berchelt defeated Eleazar Valenzuela by TKO, round 6
- Omar Aguilar defeated Dante Jardon by TKO, round 1
- Alan David Picasso defeated Florentino Perez Hernandez by unanimous decision (78-74, 79-73, 79-74, 80-72, 80-72, 80-72)
