Riyadh Season Boxing Delivers Action at Santa Monica Pier Including Marc Castro and Shakhram Giyasov

As we build up to the stacked August 3 Riyadh Season boxing card at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California, headlined by Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov, we were treated to live open workouts of all fighters on the card. These open workouts at Santa Monica Pier preceded an intriguing three-fight card that saw undefeated super featherweight prospect Marc Castro face the experienced George Acosta. The three-fight card was available on DAZN and via the Queensberry, DAZN and Matchroom YouTube channels.

Riyadh Season Boxing at Santa Monica Pier

Marc Castro vs. George Acosta Recap

Marc Castro (13-0, 8 KOs) got the job done in the main event, defeating George Acosta (17-3, 3 KOs) in their super featherweight bout.

The opening round began cagey, with Acosta the aggressor. Castro looked comfortably on the back foot, picking his punches well. The second round saw Acosta continue to come forward, with Castro picking his shots off the back foot. Both had their moments, but the Fresno native produced the cleaner work.

The third round saw Acosta continue to walk down his opponent, but Castro produced the more telling work, especially towards the end of the round. The following two rounds saw Castro continue to box well on the back foot before in round five, he backed Acosta against the ropes and let his hands go, which hurt Acosta.

Read More: Marc Castro Defeats Abraham Montoya

Castro seemed to be more aggressive as the fight progressed, and this continued in round six, where he let his hands go more, putting together combinations, with Acosta throwing single shots. As the seventh round began, the two fighters’ heads came together, not for the first time and after a short conversation with the ringside doctor, the fight was ended and sent to the scorecards, with all three reading 70-63 in favour of Castro.

In the post-fight interview, Castro reflected on the win and said: “I feel great.” He continued: “Thank god we took home the victory.”

When asked about the future, he said: “Climb the rankings and eventually get my world title shot.”

Shakhram Giyasov vs. Miguel Parra Recap

Shakhram Giyasov (16-0, 9 KOs) came through a terrible referring call in round seven to defeat Miguel Parra (22-5-1, 14 KOs) in their welterweight fight. It was a cagey opening round, with Giyasov looking to find his range. Parra threw his jab well, trying to control the distance, but the Uzbek fighter got in closer as the round progressed and landed a good body shot. The second round saw Parra look comfortable, throwing jabs to the body with Giyasov looking to load up.

The following two rounds saw Giyasov slowly have more joy with a nice double left hook landing in round four. The Uzbek fighter was still trying to load up too much, enabling Parra to be reasonably comfortable, but the fourth round was much better from Giyasov.

Read More: 5 Underrated Welterweights to Watch Out for in 2024

The next two rounds saw Giyasov throw his jab much more effectively to the body while following up well. Despite losing most rounds, Parra was still in this fight, landing some nice single shots. The Uzbek fighter landed several good shots in round six, including a huge left hand. The seventh saw dominance from Giyasov, who hurt Parra on multiple occasions – including a huge body shot hurting the Mexican. Inexplicably, the referee deemed it low and took a point away.

The following two rounds saw the Uzbek fighter in control as he moved well and punched from varying angles, with Parra showing his durability. The final round saw the Mexican throw more punches, and despite landing, Giyasov looked comfortable and saw out the fight. The judge’s scorecards read 95-94 for Parro, with the Uzbek fighter taking the other cards 95-94 and 96-93. The Mexican fighter had moments in the fight, but those cards were far too close.

After the fight, Giyasov spoke on the seventh-round body shot controversy: “It wasn’t a low blow.” He continued: “For me, it’s a shock. I felt I won a minimum of eight rounds.”

Nathan Lugo vs. Ray Corona Recap

Nathan Lugo (2-0, 2 KOs) continued his unbeaten start to his professional career, defeating Ray Corona (4-2, 0 KOs) in their super middleweight contest.

The opening round saw Nathan Lugo start brightly, throwing heavy combinations. Ray Corona tried to get his jab going, but Lugo kept walking down his opponent, landing heavy body shots and Corona did well to survive the first round.

The second round saw Corona come out swinging, but “Brickbuster” continued to pick his shots well and seemed to be landing at will before the referee Rudy Barragan stepped in to wave off the bout awarding Lugo the second-round TKO.

Reflecting on the win, the Orlando resident said: “I feel pretty good. He’s a lot tougher than I anticipated.”