In the co-feature from Casino Pharaohs, Managua, Nicaragua, Eveling Junieth Ortega (7-5, 2 KOs) of Nicaragua won an eight-round unanimous decision over Yanissa Castrellon (4-2) of Panama City, Panama.

In an interesting bout – a rematch – Castrellon, 42, saw her years trumped by Ortega’s experience, which seemed to make the fight difficult for Castrellon.

In an evenly matched fight that delivered plenty of action, the judges scored it 78-74, 79-73 and 79-73 for Ortega.

Castrellon, who won the fighters’ previous bout, takes a straightforward approach, loading up on every shot. Ortega spent the first round looking to counterpunch the aggressor.

Castrellon continued planting her feet and punching in Round 2, and appeared to rock Ortega with one shot – but Castrellon failed to pounce on the moment. Ortega’s head movement seemed to make Castrellon tentative, and Ortega – behind her fluid boxing and quick counterpunching – got the better of the exchanges.

Although the action was back and forth through the middle rounds, Ortega, 26, appeared to be the fresher fighter. Her confidence seemed to swell in the later rounds. And even as the fighters’ punch output was dwindling, Ortega landed several good overhand-right, left-hook combinations at the close of Round 7.

In the eighth and final round, Castrellon, with a cut near her left eye, started fast and threw with reckless abandon. Neither fighter backed down, and Ortega – despite being rocked by one shot – showed the elusiveness to stay in the pocket and minimize damage until the final bell.

Welterweight Harvin Aguirre (10-0, 7 KOs) of Nicaragua stopped Josue Alvarado (4-2, 1 KO) of Panama in three rounds.

Aguirre pressed forward from the opening bell, but Alvarado, seeking to land a looping overhand right, was even more active. Neither seemed particularly interested in head movement or defensive measures. Alvarado pushed Aguirre, targeting the body and following with a hook to the head. Aguirre rallied in the last 30 seconds of the first, landing a series of left and right hooks.

In the second, Alvarado was relentlessly aggressive, but his enthusiasm changed when Aguirre landed a good left hook to the body. Alvarado became more careful, and landed a good jab-right hand combination at the end of the round.

In the third, Aguirre began to load up on power shots. Alvarado found himself hurt and on the ropes, but he wouldn’t stay on them as he continued to fight. After Alvarado got a breather when his mouthguard came out, Aguirre began landing thunderous left hooks to the body – the last of which was followed by a clean straight right hand that knocked back Alvarado’s head, prompting the referee to stop the fight.

Strawweight Edwin Cano (11-2-1, 3 KOs) of Mexico picked up a seventh-round technical knockout of Gerardo Sanchez (9-2, 5 KOs) of Honduras.

Cano came out moving well, showing good lateral movement, and landed a straight left from the southpaw position often. Sanchez labored forward in the first round, closing the distance with one minute left in the round, but Cano was able to land brilliant counterpunches.

In the second, the crowd seemed frustrated. Cano was outboxing Sanchez and beating him to the punch. Sanchez continued to press forward, forcing Cano to use every inch of the small ring. Sanchez’s lack of head movement was apparent early on, as Cano caught him with eye-catching shots. 

Cano’s jab was the story of the early fight. He controlled range in the third and targeted Sanchez’s body when the fighters got close. The absence of Sanchez’s jab was glaring.

But Sanchez had his best round in the fourth. Cano appeared to take the time off, and Sanchez outworked him, landing some brutal body shots. The damage sapped Cano, whose elusiveness was compromised by the end of the round.

Sanchez had shifted the fight. Cano was no longer moving effectively, and Sanchez landed brutal combinations to the body and head. His right uppercut was very effective. Heavy-handed hooks sucked the wind out of Cano, who turned to orthodox at times to get away from Sanchez. Cano didn’t have the power to keep Sanchez off of him, and Sanchez knew it.

Cano’s energy was gone by the seventh. He now fought with a sense of desperation, even appearing annoyed. Sanchez was closing distance and not respecting his power at all, but Cano found a well of resolve. He wobbled Sanchez with an overhand left, then knocked him across the ring. Sanchez sat dazed on the ropes as Cano fired punches until the referee stepped in to halt the fight.

The opening bout saw undefeated strawweight Michael Carmona (5-0, 3 KOs) of Nicaragua knock out Tomas Villar (4-2, 2 KOs) of Panama in the second round. 

Carmona made liberal use of his power and combination punching en route to victory. Listed as an orthodox fighter, Carmona fought Villar as a southpaw, dropping his opponent in the first round with a straight left.

Villar threw wild punches and stood right in front of Carmona, who floored him again with a left hand in the second. A big right hook from Carmona rocked Villar, who seemed hurt but unwilling to go down. The referee stopped the bout seconds later when the same punch landed cleanly again.