The trio of favorites all handled their business on the undercard of Mikaela Mayer vs. Sandy Mayer 2.
Brian Norman Jr., Bruce Carrington and Emiliano Fernando Vargas all got stoppage victories inside three rounds at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Saturday night. For Norman Jr., his win was the first defense of his WBO welterweight title.
Norman Jr. rocked Derrieck Cuevas numerous times before stopping him in the third round. Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) first rocked Cuevas in the second round and then he hurt him again near the end of the third round before dropping him with a left hand.
Cuevas got back to his feet but walked to his corner and after he didn’t respond to referee Thomas Taylor asking him if he wanted to continue, he stopped the fight.
Carrington delivered one of the most impressive victories of his career, defeating Enrique Vivas by third-round stoppage. Vivas hadn’t been stopped in his career before facing Carrington.
The tide turned in the second round when Carrington landed a huge right hand that dropped Vivas. The undefeated featherweight contender continued to batter Vivas, but he managed to survive the rest of the round. Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) landed another big combination early in the third round, which prompted referee Raul Caiz Jr. to stop the fight.
With the win, Carrington moved one step closer to earning a world title shot. He’s ranked No. 1 by the WBC and WBO, No. 2 by the WBA and No. 4 by the IBF.
Vargas also impressed with a devastating second-round knockout of Giovannie Gonzalez. Vargas, who is the son of former two-time champion Fernando Vargas, is now 13-0 with 11 knockouts and has won his last four fights inside the distance.
