By: William Holmes

The Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York was the host site of tonight’s Top Rank Promotions card televised live on ESPN. 

The co-main event of the night was a lightweight contest between Felix Verdejo (25-1) and Manuel Rey Rojas (18-3).

Verdejo took the center of the ring early on and was active with his jab.  Rojas attacked to the body of Verdejo, but neither boxer was taking many risks in the opening rounds.

Rojas looked unafraid of Verdejo’s power in the second round, but was getting outworked.  Verdejo had backed Rojas into the corner in the third round and was landing his lead left hook.

Rojas had moderate success in the middle rounds, especially when he kept the fight in close.  Verdejo remained the more active fighter, but appeared to fade as the rounds progressed.

Verdejo’s face was a little marked up by the eight round, and Rojas looked to have more energy than Verdejo by the ninth, but Verdejo was active enough to win the later rounds, as his jab remained accurate and he covered up well during Rojas’ combinations.

It wasn’t an impressive victory for Verdejo, but he did enough to win the bout.

Felix Verdejo won with scores of 99-91, 97-93, and 98-92.

Top Rank’s promotional arm was in full force after the Verdejo fight, as their analysts hyped up that upcoming pay per view.

The main event of the evening was between Eleider Alvarez (24-1) and Michael Seals (24-2) in the light heavyweight division. 

Both boxers are slightly past their athletic prime, but both are still known for their power, especially Seals.

Both boxers came out in an orthodox stance and Alvarez was on the attack early.  Seals complained about being punched behind the head in the first and Alvarez was warned by the referee.

Alvarez continued to press the pace on Seals in the second round and was able to land some hard overhand rights.  Seals looked frustrated by the third round and Alvarez’s technical prowess over Seals was evident.

Seals did some good body work in the fourth round, but most of his punches were blocked by Alvarez.  Alvarez kept his distance in the fifth round and landed a vicious straight right at the end of the round.

Alvarez was effective with his jab in the sixth and seventh rounds and was able to keep Seals at a safe distance while landing the cleaner combinations. 

Alvarez was able to end it in the seventh round with a bomb of an overhand right that sent Seals crashing to the mat.  Seals was unable to get up before the count of ten.

Eleider Alvares wins by knockout in the seventh round.

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