Zuffa Boxing 2 results: Ex-champ Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela overcomes worrying cut to beat Diego Torres

Torres (22-2, 19 KOs), who had won four fights in a row since being stopped by current IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla in late 2023, pressured Valenzuela in the first half of the fight. Despite Valenzuela only being awarded a single round in the contest, the first half of the bout was evenly contested, with both men getting off some of their punches.

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Even after suffering a cut, Valenzuela seemed to go up a level in the second half of the contest. Torres’ output slowed in the later rounds, which allowed Valenzuela to time Torres’ attacks and counter him effectively. The former champion was able to walk Torres into southpaw left hands. Torres’ lack of head movement meant that he took power shots from Valenzuela on his gloves, which had an accumulative effect over time, as Torres was taking some of the power out of the punches, but they were still having an impact.

Valenzuela’s experience at the world level was the difference. He wasn’t overwhelmed by Torres’ aggression, and instead was aware that if he weathered an early storm, his own speed and silky skills would take over after Torres’ initial surge — and that is exactly what happened.

“I never got handouts,” Valenzuela said after his win. “I’m just used to taking hard fights. Life’s been hard, and I don’t look for easy routes. My opponent — I want to [thank him]. I appreciate him for taking this fight. He’s a dog, he only had one loss, and he showed why he’s so tough today.”

In the night’s co-feature, Serhii Bohachuk (27-3, 24 KOs) returned to winning ways with a split decision victory over the former WBA (Regular) welterweight beltholder Radzhab Butaev (15-2, 12 KOs).

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Bohachuk and Butaev produced a thoroughly entertaining 10-round, close-range slugfest. Butaev, who hadn’t fought at the world level for four years and was stepping up two weight classes from his last significant fight, clearly felt the pace and non-stop pressure offered by Bohachuk, which caused him to slow down in the second half of the bout.

Although Butaev was landing the harder shots on the inside, Bohachuk set a frenetic pace and sustained it for the 10-round period. Butaev retreated to the back foot for much of the second half of the bout, choosing to counter Bohachuk coming in and picking his shots rather than trying to match Bohachuk’s volume and going punch for punch with him.

It was a tight contest, but the stronger finish from Bohachuk nudged him in front.