Yoenis Téllez makes a point, stopping Johan González on Murtazaliev-Tszyu undercard

Yoenis Téllez is fun to watch. He is in constant motion, constantly attacking. He has had only nine fights and the Cuban expatriate feels he is ready for the elite at 154 pounds.

On Saturday night, he made a strong statement by stopping veteran Johan Gonzalez at 1:57 of the seventh round on Saturday night in the co-feature of the Bakhram Murtazaliev-Tim Tszyu IBF junior middleweight title fight in PBC event on Prime Video at the Caribe Royale Resort, in Orlando, Florida.

The 24-year-old Téllez (9-0, 7 knockouts) knocked down González (35-4, 34 KOs) a total of three times.

“We were facing a very experienced fighter with a great trainer in Ismael Salas, so I knew it would not be easy,” Tellez said. “I was just following the instructions of my corner so that I could get the win.

“The most important weapon I have is the will to become world champion and the motivation to make my country proud. Ever since I left my country, I’ve wanted to win for them.

“I’m here to fight and let my team take care of getting me big opportunities and great opponents. I’m willing to fight anybody.”

After four, it was easy to see the fight at 2 rounds each. Tellez was engaging with looping right hands, and double left hooks to the body, while Gonzalez kept coming forward.

But the pounding was having a telling effect on Gonzalez.

Gonzalez started the sixth very well. But Tellez quickly turned the flow. His speed began making a difference, and then it showed, when he unfurled a right that dropped Gonzalez near the end of the round with a right.

Tellez worked different angles, working at close range in the seventh. A left hook dropped Gonzalez a second time in the fight and third time in his career. Tellez finally finished it with a right at 1:57 of the seventh, sending down Gonzalez a third time.

“I wasn’t properly following what my corner told me to do and that’s what cost me the fight,” Gonzalez said. “Tellez is a good fighter and a good prospect. I think I could have made the fight better for myself if I had been more disciplined.”

César Tapia and Endry Saavedra fight to majority draw

Endry Saavedra knocked down César Tapia three times, twice in the third and once in the ninth, and somehow the judges the 10-round middleweight battle and potential fight of the year saw it a majority draw, with Harold Hunt scoring it 94-92 for Tapia while Michael Ross and Efrain Lebron scoring it 93-93.

Saavedra was left in disbelief.

“Everyone saw the fight and I know the fans here believed that I won,” he said. I can only do my job. The judges had to do theirs. I thought I could have gotten him out of there because I’m a Mexican warrior. I did everything I could and left everything in the ring.

“I was surprised he kept getting up, especially after the second knockdown. But he’s a Mexican and he wasn’t going to go out easily.”

Saavedra wanted to make it an inside fight, and in the opening round, he did. Saavedra (16-1-1, 13 KOs) seemed to get better of Tapia early, but Tapia rocked Saavedra back with a whirling left hook. It was an even round. In the second, Saavedra started well again. Tapia (17-0-1, 10 KOs) lined Saavedra with an overhand right.

With 1:34 left in the third, Saavedra landed a short on Tapia. With 1:06 left in the third, Saavedra landed a left that had Tapi backing up and in trouble. Tapia collapsed under a short left hook. He rose at the count of eight. It was the first time in his career Tapia was down and first time in his career he was down. With 20 seconds left in the round, Tapia was down again. He returned back to his corner with a swollen right eye.

“He was getting me with some short shots on the inside and taking my legs and I just had to keep working him and stay in the fight,” Tapia said about Saavedra. “I was prepared for 10 hard rounds. I feel like it could have gone either way. It was a tough fight.

“I knew he was going to bring the fight and I just tried to take advantage when I had openings. I’m glad we could give the fans a great fight.”

Tapia came back in the fourth, but he could not keep Saavedra off of him. Saavedra kept pounding Tapia to the body, making it more difficult to recover from the knockdowns in the third.

Between the fourth and fifth, Tapia’s corner asked him if he had his composure back.

Seemingly down, seemingly out, Tapia delivered a pulverizing right that dropped Saavedra in the final seconds of the fifth.

Revitalized, Tapia went after Saavedra again in the sixth. Tapia had Saavedra in trouble again in the final seconds of the sixth, landing body shots.

In the seventh, Tapia’s right eye was swollen almost shut.

In the ninth, Saavedra dropped Tapia a third time with a right uppercut. Tapia did not go easily. He landed heavy shots in the 10th, including a big right uppercut. Tapia needed a knockout to win, trying to reconnect with the right.

As the final seconds ticked away, the crowd justifiably stood and applauded.

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito

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