The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas – Freudis Rojas, a slick, 6-foot-2 power-puncher from Las Vegas, dominated the very game Diego Sanchez in the telecast opener, stopping Sanchez at 58 seconds of the seventh round of the welterweight bout and extending his record to 11-0 with 11 knockouts.
Referee Tony Weeks intervened to wave off the action at the request of Sanchez’s corner after their fighter absorbed 159 punches while only landing 51, according to CompuBox stats.
The photogenic Rojas, who won every round on the three judges’ scorecards, was giddy in the ring afterward as he discussed the excitement of fighting on national television for the first time. Sanchez dropped to 19-3 with 16 knockouts with all of his loss coming against undefeated fighters.
“You know this guy was a tough guy. We knew that he was gonna keep putting pressure on,” said Rojas, who was extended past the fourth round for the first time.
“I’m glad I got the rounds in because that’s what we need in the pros. The more rounds the better, and I know the fans like that. This was the biggest blessing. Like I said at the press conference, when I found the news [I would fight on the telecast] I was jumping around like a little girl like with some pom poms, man ‘cause it’s such a blessing. I think this is gonna open a lot more doors for me.”