Antonio Moran remained perfect in the venue that previously provided a ‘Last Chance’ to his career.
The battle-tested bubble contender outclassed the Philippines’ Romero Duno, who was down twice and put down for good in the sixth round of their ProBox TV-aired lightweight bout. Referee Gene Del Bianco reached the count of ten to end the fight at 1:25 of the sixth round Wednesday evening at Whitesands ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Moran hails from Mexico City but has found a home away from home in Central Florida, where he is now 7-0-1 after Wednesday’s win. The 30-year-old bruiser won his fourth straight fight in this very location, where he won the 2022 ProBox Last Chance tournament. He won three bouts to take top honors, only to fall short versus Jamaine Ortiz last September 15 in Corpus Christi.
Duno entered the fight armed with a modest two-fight win streak but was unable to overcome Moran’s height and reach advantage or push past his lengthy jab. Moran controlled the distance for much of the bout, sticking his jab in Duno’s face and also landed several right hands.
The best moment for Duno (26-4, 20KOs) came late in round two, when he surprised Moran with an overhand right. Moran resumed to his jab and lateral movement in round three before he began to target the body.
Duno was unable to take the attack downstairs. Both knockdowns were the result of body shots. Moran landed a left hook downstairs to set up a rally late in round five. A right hand down the middle followed by a left hook under Duno’s right elbow to send Duno to the canvas.
Moran closed the show moments later. Another body shot past the one-minute mark in round six was the last punch thrown in the fight. Duno hit the deck and never threatened to beat the count.
Moran advanced to 30-6-1 (21KOs) and is now 4-0 in ProBox bouts.
The bout was part of a streamed quadrupleheader, headlined by the Angelo Leo-Mike Plania featherweight bout.
Also on the show, Mykell Gamble (7-0, 4KOs) outpointed Damian Alcala (7-4, 1KOs) over six rounds. All three judges scored the bout 60-54 for Cincinnati’s Gamble
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox