Bracero (23-2, 4 KOs) was the first to climb onto the scale and he nailed the welterweight limit, coming in at 146.8 pounds.
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Junior featherweight Jonathan Guzman of the Dominican Republic dominated Danny Aquino of Mexico, dropping him twice in the second round and then again in the ninth with powerful left hooks to score a TKO victory. It was Aquino’s first loss since March 2013.
In April, O’Connor registered his ninth knockout of his career in a fight in Melrose. “I was down after my last fight, I was depressed and I didn’t want him to do that”. I worked on that punch in the gym. Two weeks before our first fight, my first son was born and I didn’t know how to separate sport from such life-changing events.
Bracero (24-2) has not won a fight in nearly 3 years, but was not lacking any confidence in the ring. “Being in front of my fans is one of the best feelings I get as an athlete and a performer”.
“I didn’t understand how to handle the pressure; I’m not even sure I was aware of the pressure”, he said.
In other results, middleweight Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan of Cork, Ireland, stopped Miami’s David Toribio early in the second round. It was Ormond’s first fight in the USA since 2009.
New York lightweight prospect Titus Williams (3-0, 2 KOs) remained unbeaten, stopping Arthur Parker (1-14-2, 1 KO) in the second round, while two-time world title challenger Fernando “El Vasco” Saucedo (57-6-3, 10 KOs) registered a second-round technical knockout over lightweight Carlos Fulgencio (19-7-1, 12 KOs) in the opening bout of the evening. He defeated Chris Gilbert when the fight was called in the fifth round.
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Unfortunately for Danny O’Connor, a 2008 U.S. Olympic team alternate, the result this time around was the same as the first time he fought Gabriel Bracero – only the end was far swifter and more emphatic.
