Rocha-Cobbs, McKinson-Martin DAZN Weigh-In Results From Los Angeles
BY JAKE DONOVAN
Published Fri Mar 18, 2022, 04:28 PM EDT
Golden Boy Promotions can finally move forward to fight night.
Several changes have come from this weekend’s DAZN show, with the main event and co-feature bouts trading places in the wake of welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18KOs) having to withdraw from the headliner after being hospitalized earlier in the week. Now commanding top bill are welterweights Alexis Rocha (18-1, 12KOs) and Blair ‘The Flair’ Cobbs (15-0-1, 10KOs), who collide in a ten-round grudge match Saturday evening at USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Santa Ana’s Rocha weighed 146.8 pounds for the makeshift main event, as he aims to extend his current two-fight win streak. Philadelphia’s Cobbs—who now lives in Las Vegas and trains at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood—weighed 145.6 pounds.
Both fighters took it up a notch during Thursday’s contentious pre-fight press conference, with plenty more to stay on stage Friday afternoon. Little more than words were exchanged, as the two were immediately separated.
The bout was advanced to the main event after Ortiz was pulled from his scheduled 12-round welterweight bout with England’s Michael McKinson. The fallout led to a frustrating fight week for McKinson, who is now on his third scheduled opponent but still able to proceed with his U.S. debut.
Alex Martin (17-3, 6KOs) was the latest to answer the call, accepting the fight late Thursday evening and arriving at Friday’s weigh-in right at the 147-pound welterweight limit. McKinson (21-0, 2KOs) was a full pound under at 146 pounds. What should have been a celebrated occasion was instead met with a brief skirmish, as the two had to be separated on stage.
Martin replaced Tijuana’s Jesus Antonio Perez Campos (24-3, 18KOs), who agreed to a late-notice assignment with McKinson on Wednesday only for event handlers to learn that he was nearly 30 pounds over the limit. The frantic search led to Martin, a Chicagoland gatekeeper who has won four straight after suffering three consecutive defeats in a forgettable 2017 campaign.
Below are the weights for the rest of the DAZN undercard, which begins at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. local time.
Bektemir Melikuziev (8-1, 6KOs), Indio, California via Shoimbek, Uzbekistan, 171.6 pounds vs. David Zegarra (34-7, 21KOs), Lima, Peru, 172 pounds—10 rounds, light heavyweight
Evan Anthony Sanchez (10-0, 6KOs), Parlier, California, 149.8 pounds vs. Alejandro Munera (6-4-4, 5KOs), Medellin, Colombia, 147.6 pounds—6 rounds, welterweight