Giovani Santillan turned out to be the welterweight to watch.
The unbeaten San Diegan put fellow contender Alexis Rocha down three times and stopped him in the sixth round of a scheduled 12-rounder Saturday in Inglewood, California, not far from Rocha’s hometown of Irvine.
Rocha (23-2, 15 KOs) entered the fight as the WBO’s mandatory challenger to champion Terence Crawford.
However, it was Santillan (ranked No. 5 by the same sanctioning body) who performed like a fighter capable of challenging anyone in the division.
A SHOCKER in Inglewood 👀
Giovani Santillan batters Alexis Rocha 🔥#RochaSantillan pic.twitter.com/XW2FJ26Jj9
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) October 22, 2023
Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs) simply overpowered his opponent, putting him down twice in Round 5 and again the final round.
The final knockdown was the result of a series of brutal, unanswered blows which forced Rocha to his knees and prompted referee Ray Corona to stop the fight. The official time of the stoppage was 1:13.
Santillan was leadong on all three cards after five rounds, 50-43, 49-44 and 48-45.
The winner called out all the top 147-pounders during his post-fight interview.
“I feel good,” Santillan said. “It was the outcome we were looking for. You never know how these types of fights will go. Alexis is a great fighter, and he’s tough. He got up twice and he’s never been stopped before.
“It’s different with all these people here and when you’re the ‘B’ side. He brought all his fans and his supporters, which makes boxing a great sport. 2024 is going to be a great year for me now with this performance.”
There wasn’t much Rocha could say afterward.
“I am sorry to all my fans,” he said. “I will be back.”
