Rising undefeated welterweight prospect Janelson Figueroa Bocachica earned a closely-contested majority decision victory over Mark Reyes Jr. in the entertaining main event of Wednesday night’s ShoBox: The New Generation telecast from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., as ShoBox continues its 20th anniversary year as the premier boxing series aimed at developing prospects into contenders and world champions.
The judges scored the fight 95-95, 96-94 and 97-93 with the three only agreeing on four rounds.
It was an all-action affair between two undefeated power-punching prospects as Detroit’s Bocachica (17-0, 11 KOs) and Tampa’s Reyes (14-1, 12 KOs) exchanged devastating shots throughout the 10 rounds. The stats reflected how closely the fight was contested, as both fighters threw exactly 579 punches, with Bocachica connecting on 156 and Reyes connecting on 158.
“I felt like I had a unanimous decision but I just need to go back and watch the tape,” said the 22-year-old Bocachica. “I felt like it was an easy victory and I took him to school.”
It was a chippy contest, as both Bocachica and Reyes exchanged words and moments of showboating throughout.
“He had a short temper and he came out talking trash so you know I had to talk my trash back,” continued Bocachica. “But it was all part of the game plan to get him emotional in the ring and it worked in my advantage.”
On the other hand, a gracious Reyes promised to come back stronger than ever.
“I don’t disagree with the scorecards tonight,” said Reyes, who became the 196th fighter to lose their undefeated record on ShoBox. “I obviously could have done more to win but it was a close fight nonetheless. I just have to go back to drawing board and train harder. I need to execute things a little bit better during the preparation for my fight. I can’t take anything away from the judges.”