Zuffa Boxing returned to the Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Easter Sunday with a seven-fight card headlined by undefeated lightweight Andres Cortes, who outpointed Eridson Garcia over ten rounds to extend his perfect record and stake his claim as a contender under the promotion’s banner. The card streamed live on Paramount+ in the United States and aired on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom, the first event broadcast under Zuffa Boxing’s recently announced multi-year British broadcast deal.

Main Event: Cortes Outboxes Garcia

Cortes (25-0, 13 KOs), a 28-year-old from Henderson, Nevada, made his Zuffa Boxing debut and his lightweight debut simultaneously, moving up from super featherweight in a promotion that does not recognize the 130-pound division. Garcia (23-2, 14 KOs), a 31-year-old southpaw from the Dominican Republic based in Houston, entered on a six-fight winning streak that included a split decision upset of previously unbeaten Taiga Imanaga in Riyadh last December.

The scores were 97-92, 96-93, and 95-94, all for Cortes, who controlled distance and picked Garcia apart with combinations and inside work throughout. Referee Thomas Taylor deducted Garcia a point for excessive holding in the fourth round, and the Dominican never found a consistent rhythm. CompuBox data told the story in stark terms: Cortes landed 95 of 366 punches while Garcia connected on just 67 of 387.

“They told me they was going to take me to school,” Cortes said afterward. “I signed this contract to be a Zuffa champion. I don’t care who it is. I’d love to fight Magsayo or anybody.” The performance was not spectacular, but it was thoroughly professional. Cortes is ranked ninth at junior lightweight by Ring Magazine, and a clear, decisive win over a live opponent in a new weight class is exactly the kind of result that positions him for something bigger in the second half of the year.

Co-Feature: Magsayo Makes a Statement

Former WBC featherweight champion Mark Magsayo delivered the most emphatic performance of the evening, stopping Ireland’s Feargal McCrory by fifth-round TKO in their lightweight co-feature. Magsayo (29-2, 19 KOs) set the tone early, rocking McCrory with right hands in the opening round and steadily breaking him down with pressure and body work. McCrory’s corner stopped the fight at 0:21 of the fifth to save their man from further punishment.

The Filipino, who won his world title with a majority decision over Gary Russell Jr. in January 2022, has fought at multiple weights since then but appeared rejuvenated competing at 135 pounds without the punishing weight cuts that had sapped his legs at featherweight and super featherweight. McCrory (17-2, 9 KOs), a Brooklyn-based Irishman from Tyrone who signed a three-year deal with Zuffa Boxing, saw his only previous loss come by stoppage to former WBA 130-pound champion Lamont Roach Jr.

Magsayo’s performance, combined with Cortes’s post-fight callout, immediately sets up an intriguing potential lightweight matchup within the Zuffa roster.

Main Card Opener: Hovhannisyan Guts One Out

Armenian veteran Azat Hovhannisyan (23-6, 17 KOs) defeated Mexico’s Eduardo Baez (25-8-2, 10 KOs) by majority decision in their ten-round featherweight bout. The scores were 95-95, 96-94, and 97-93. Hovhannisyan reportedly dealt with an early arm injury but rallied with effective counter punching to take the competitive rounds down the stretch.

Undercard Results

Mexico’s Alexis De La Cerda (9-0, 5 KOs) produced the knockout of the night, dropping Ervin Fuller III (12-1, 6 KOs) face down to the canvas with a right hand at 2:33 of the third round in a featherweight bout. It was De La Cerda’s Zuffa debut and the kind of highlight-reel finish that tends to earn quick promotional investment.

In the biggest upset of the card, Tony Hirsch Jr. (7-0-2) handed Robert Meriwether III (10-1) his first career defeat via majority decision (76-76, 76-75, 78-74) in an eight-round lightweight bout. Meriwether had earned Performance of the Night honors on a previous Zuffa card. Welterweight prospect Jorge Maravillo (12-0-1, 9 KOs) rallied from a slow start to stop Elias Diaz (15-4, 8 KOs) in the fifth round. And featherweight Troy Nash (7-0-1) won a majority decision (76-76, 79-73, 80-72) over Bryan Rodriguez (8-2) in the card’s opener. A scheduled bantamweight bout between Emiliano Cardenas and Alexis Alvarado was postponed.

Five Events In, a Roster Takes Shape

Zuffa Boxing 05 was not built around a marquee fight or a title. It was built around the kind of competitive matchmaking that sustains a promotion between its headline events. As previewed earlier this week, the card paired recognizable names against legitimate opposition, with meaningful stakes attached to every main card bout.

Five events into its existence, the TKO-backed promotion is quietly building something the sport has lacked since HBO walked away: a developmental pipeline where young fighters get rounds, veterans get opportunities, and results carry consequences. De La Cerda’s knockout will get him a step up. Hirsch’s upset will force the promotion to recalibrate Meriwether’s trajectory. Magsayo’s stoppage puts him in the lightweight conversation immediately.

Zuffa Boxing 06 is already announced for May 10 at the Meta APEX, headlined by Shane Mosley Jr. versus Serhii Bohachuk at middleweight, with Julian Rodriguez facing James Perella at welterweight and Misael Uziel Rodriguez meeting Andreas Katzourakis at middleweight on the main card. The promotion’s more ambitious international plans, including the April 11 card at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London featuring Tyson Fury and Conor Benn, continue to move forward on a separate track.