Antonio Moran has breathed new life into his career.
The 29-year-old Mexico City native saved the best for last, outclassing Kendo Castaneda en route to a tenth-round stoppage win in their Last Chance Tournament final round clash Friday evening at Whitesands Event Center in Plant City, Florida. Moran outboxed Castaneda in nearly every round and flooring Castaneda en route to forcing a stoppage at 1:28 of round ten.
Moran put his height, reach and overall superior skills to good use in the opening round. The Mexico City-based lightweight worked behind his jab and drove San Antonio’s Castaneda to the ropes midway through the opening round. Moran spent the rest of the opening round sticking and moving against Castaneda who was slow to discover his offensive groove.
Castaneda went to his power game in round two. He positioned Moran to be in position for a triple left hook, but failed to follow up on the sequence. Moran quickly adapted, as he fought behind the jab and eventually reestablished his desired distance.
Moran moved around the ring, shooting his jab straight down the middleweight and following with long right hands. Castaneda struggled to adapt as his punch output dramatically decreased in rounds three and four. Moran was able to time the herky-jerky style, landing a check left hook to the chin.
Castaneda was successful when he countered with right hands but the sequences were few and far between Moran’s best work. Moran connected with a right uppercut and straight hand upstairs in round four.
A left hook by Castaneda caught the attention of Moran early in round five. As was the case in the preceding round, it was a singular moment and ended with Moran rebounding and regaining control. The pattern held up throughout the second half of the contest, as Moran boxed from the outside while forcing Castaneda to force him around the ring.
Two-way action drew the crowd to its feet in round nine. Castaneda let his hands go with regularity for the first time in the fight. Moran shook off the blows but was forced to stand and trade, mixing in a dedicated body attack as he drove Castaneda to the ropes.
Castaneda entered the tenth and final round needing a knockout to win. It was Moran who went on the attack, landing a combination upstairs to force a knockdown. Moran was fortunate to avoid a point deduction or worse, as he landed three punches while Castaneda was defenseless and on a knee. Castaneda beat the count, but took a knee on consecutive occasions to where it became clear that he was no longer able to continue.
Moran advances to 28-6-1 (20KOs), winning the tournament trophy and the $50,000 prize. The win was his third straight, all coming in the ProBox tournament after having suffered a lopsided loss to unbeaten Arnold Barboza Jr. last August 14 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The ProBox-exclusive tournament began with the May 20 show, with eight boxers uncertain of their next move. Castaneda and Moran have posted two wins each to advance to the final round, after having endured lengthy losing streaks heading into the year.
Castaneda lost four in a row dating back to February 2020 before scoring a first-round knockout of Sonny Fredrickson in the May 20 quarterfinal round of the tournament. Moran outpointed Jeffrey Torres over eight rounds on the same show. He made it out of the semifinals following an upset win over Michael Dutchover in their ten-round bout on August 5. The same card saw the 28-year-old Castaneda outpoint Joseph Fernandez by scores of 96-94 on all three scorecards.
Castaneda falls to 19-6 (9KOs), snapping a two-fight win streak. He heads home with a $25,000 second-place prize for his participation and progress in the tournament but has some hard choices to make in the year ahead.
Moran will aim to capitalize on the win, hopeful of making a significant—if not final—run for title contention. For now, he has restored confidence in his career and extra spending money heading into the holiday season.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox