Heavyweight Frank Sanchez TKOs Alexander On Canelo Card Prelims
LAS VEGAS — Miami-based Cuban heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez stopped Scott Alexander, at the end of the fourth of their scheduled 10-rounder that was the final fight before the start of the pay-per-view portion of the Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo card on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Both fighters were rocked in the first round when they landed simultaneous right hands, but Sanchez, who shares trainer Eddy Reynoso with Alvarez, quickly recovered and took over.
In the opening seconds of the second round, Sanchez (23-0, 16 KOs), 31, dropped Alexander (17-6-2, 9 KOs), 34, of Los Angeles, with a right hand but it also appeared he had stepped on his foot.
In the fourth round, Sanchez unloaded several hard uppercuts and right hands with Alexander along the ropes and when the round ended, Alexander’s corner signaled for referee Robert Hoyle to stop the fight.
Gausha outpoints Leatherwood
Middleweight Terrell Gausha (24-3-1, 12 KOs), 36, of Encino, California, a former junior middleweight title challenger, boxed to a majority decision win over KeAndre Leatherwood (23-9-1, 13 KOs), 34, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Two judges had it 78-74 for Gausha and one scored the slow-paced bout 76-76.
Gausha won his second fight in a row since dropping Tim Tszyu in the first round but losing a unanimous decision in March 2022.
Make sure to check out this preview of Canelo-Charlo that Dan Rafael and T.J. Rives did for BetUS TV by clicking play below,
Gvozdyk stops Rodrigues
Former lineal/WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk knocked out Isaac Rodrigues in the second round of their scheduled eight, notching his third win in a row since exiting a nearly 3½-year retirement in February.
After a quiet first round, Gvozdyk (20-1, 16 KOs), 36, a Ukraine native based in Oxnard, California, who part of Alvarez’s camp, dropped Rodrigues (28-5, 22 KOs), 38, of Brazil, to his knees with an overhand right early in the second round.
Rodrigues rose at the count of eight, but referee Tony Weeks decided he should not continue and waved it off at 54 seconds.
Since 2000, award-winning reporter Dan Rafael has covered boxing full time and been ringside for thousands of fights, first for five years at USA Today and then for 15 years at ESPN, where he wrote and appeared on various television, radio and streaming programs. In 2013, Dan was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America with the Nat Fleischer award for career excellence in boxing journalism. Dan brings his great insight to the Big Fight Weekend site, podcast and more!