OXON HILL, Md. -- Subriel Matias introduced himself as a legitimate junior welterweight contender by wearing down and stopping the previously undefeated Maxim Dadashev in Round 11 at the MGM National Harbor Casino on Friday.
Matias (14-0, 14 KOs) a native of Puerto Rico, was simply too stout for Dadashev (13-1, 11 KOs), who spent much of this fight in retreat.
There's a fine line between boxing strategically and going into a full-blown retreat, and with Matias just steadily coming forward and throwing hard shots to the body and head with both hands, Dadashev spent much of the fight on his back foot, circling the ring. And while Matias was the constant aggressor and able to control the tempo and pace of the bout, Dadashev was never willing to stand and trade with him.
As the rounds mounted, Matias steadily piled them up in his favor, outworking Dadashev and pounding the body consistently. In the later rounds, either because of exhaustion or desperation, Dadashev began to sit inside the pocket and fight with Matias. But while he had some success, he was overwhelmed by Matias, who's punches had more effect.
After a rough 11th round where Dadashev was hurt a few times, he went back to his corner wearily. It was decided at that point, by his Hall of Fame trainer Buddy McGirt, to throw in the towel on behalf of his man. The scores at the time of the stoppage were 109-100, 108-101 and 107-102, all in favor of Matias.
After the fight, Dadashev needed help to get out of the ring as he stumbled on his way to the back but couldn't make it and was put on a stretcher where he vomited. He was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.
Hernandez Harrison dominates, stops De Angel
It was a triumphant homecoming for Washington D.C.'s Dusty Hernandez Harrison as he scored a seventh-round stoppage of Juan De Angel, of Barranquilla, Colombia, in a junior middleweight bout.
After a slow start, where not much in the way of action was taking place, Hernandez Harrison (33-0-1, 19 KOs) turned up the heat in Round 6, as he started coming forward and letting his hands go more liberally, attacking both the body and head of De Angel.
He continued his onslaught in the next round, and with a three-punch combination that was punctuated with a left hook, sent De Angel to the canvas. While he was able to rise to his feet, the fight was waved off at 2:30 of the round, to the delight of Hernandez Harrison's fans who showed up in mass to support him.
It was the third victory of the year for Hernandez Harrison, who didn't fight in 2017 and 2018 because of promotional issues.
Falcao stops Gutierrez in Round 8
Middleweight Esquiva Falcao remained undefeated by scoring an eighth-round TKO of the durable Jesus Gutierrez. Falcao (24-0, 16 KOs), a 2012 Olympic silver medalist for Brazil, fought at his usual steady, methodical pace and slowly wore down Gutierrez.
Gutierrez (25-4-2, 12 KOs) was floored in Round 8 and a series of follow-up punches had referee David Braslow waving off the fight.
There's nothing spectacular about what Falcao does from his southpaw stance, but he is a consistent fighter who has sound fundamentals. He's now at the stage of his career where he feels he's ready for bigger and better things.
"He was a very tough fighter. I was prepared because of that," Falcao said of his opponent. "I saw that I hurt him, and I went for the knockout. I told myself that if I want to be a world champion, I needed to knock out this guy. Bob Arum, I'm ready for my title shot! I'll go anywhere. Japan, Brazil, it doesn't matter."
More undercard results
Cassius Chaney hits Joel Caudle with a series of punches sending him falling through the ropes and onto the floor outside the ring.
Heavyweight Cassius Chaney stopped Joel Caudle in Round 1. But this bout won't be soon forgotten as Caudle was knocked out of the ring headfirst by a barrage of power punches from Chaney (16-0, 9 KOs).
Instead of staying down and out, Caudle (8-3-2, 5 KOs) got up and made the decision to beat the count and reenter the ring.
A short time later, after Caudle took a series of punches, the bout was waved off.
Middleweight hopeful Tyler Howard needed to go the distance to defeat veteran journeyman Jamaal Davis. Howard, who struggled mightily in his last bout against Cristian Olivas back in February, was much more solid in defeating Davis by the scores of 80-72 (twice) and 78-73.
Davis (18-15-1, 7 KOs), who has fought the likes of Yuri Foreman, Gabe Rosado, Joel Julio and Peter Quillin in his career, showed a good chin throughout, taking numerous hard left hooks from Howard. But Davis simply couldn't muster up enough offense to win rounds on the cards.
Lightweight Tyler McCreary remained undefeated by defeating a tough Jessie Cris Rosales by split decision. The scores after eight rounds were 77-75 and 78-74 for McCreary and 75-77 for Rosales.
While Rosales certainly didn't back down, it was McCreary (16-0-1 7 KOs), a native of Toledo, Ohio, who showed the superior skills and speed in consistently beating him to the punch throughout the night. For McCreary, this could be described as a bit of a step up bout as, coming into this contest, Rosales (22-3-1, 10 KOs) had lost only to the highly regarded Shakur Stevenson and former world titleholder Jhonny Gonzalez.
Rolando Vargas defeated the tall and lanky Nathaniel Davis in two quick rounds in a fast-paced slugfest. From the very beginning, Vargas (3-0, 3 KOs) was able to close the gap on the much taller southpaw, who simply couldn't keep this fight on the outside. Vargas hit Davis (1-1, 1 KO) numerous times with both hands and shook him up to a point in the second frame where David Braslow decided to call off the fight.