Ashton Sylve earns a decision over JoJo Diaz as Mercado continues knockout run

Sylve used his youth, speed and movement to control much of the fight. Diaz, who entered the bout having lost eight of his previous 10 bouts, pressed forward and had his moments, but Sylve consistently landed the cleaner punches and controlled the distance. Diaz remained competitive throughout, although Sylve finished strongly to secure the decision.

In the co-feature, undefeated lightweight Devin Cushing improved to 19-0 with a 10-round unanimous decision win over J’Hon Ingram.

Cushing outworked Ingram in the opening rounds and hurt him with a right hook late in the second. Ingram bounced back well in the third and fourth rounds, stunning Cushing with a lead right hand in the fourth. The fight remained competitive throughout, with both fighters finding success, but Cushing’s stronger work in the later rounds helped him secure the win by scores of 97-93 on all three scorecards.

WBO International super lightweight champion Ernesto “Tito” Mercado improved to 19-0 with 18 knockouts by stopping veteran Juan Carlos Burgos in the second round.

Mercado dominated from the opening bell, landing crisp combinations and repeatedly finding the target. Early in the second round, a combination dropped Burgos for an eight count. Less than a minute later, Mercado scored a second takedown with a right hand, ending the fight at 2:40 of the round. The stoppage was the first knockout loss of Burgos’ professional career.

Middleweight Amir “Cashman” Anderson remained undefeated and improved to 8-0 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Jonas Sylvain to capture the vacant WBC Silver middleweight title.

Sylvain had early success with body punches before Anderson switched to southpaw and began to take control of the fight. Anderson took Sylvain out for much of the middle rounds and finished strong after surviving a solid right hand in the ninth. All three judges scored the match 100-90 in Anderson’s favor.

Welterweight prospect David Lopez moved to 9-0 with a first-round stoppage of Joey Borrero.

Lopez dropped Borrero less than a minute into the contest with a left hand and body shot combination. After the takedown, Lopez unleashed a barrage of punches, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 1:41 of the opening round.

In women’s super flyweight action, Kayla “The Truth” Gomez won her professional debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Shayntain Creer.

Gomez controlled the fight from the start, displaying the skills that have made her a highly regarded amateur. Creer showed toughness and improved as the fight progressed, but Gomez landed the cleaner shots throughout and finished the bout strong. All three judges scored the match 40-36 in Gomez’s favor.

Ethan Smith, Daniel Mercado and Kevin Gudino also saw action on the card.