Andreas Katzourakis’ debut at 154 pounds was a successful one.

Katzourakis defeated Kudratillo Abdukakhorov by majority decision late Friday night at Red Owl Boxing Arena in his hometown of Houston, Texas. One judge scored the bout 95-95, while the other two judges scored the bout 98-92 and 96-94 for Katzourakis, who improved to 13-0, 10 knockouts.

Both fighters chose to stay in the pocket early on, exchanging punches and combinations. Midway through the second round, an overhand right almost sent Abdukakhorov down to the canvas. Moments later, a counter left hook to the head almost dropped Katzourakis.

In round three, Abdukakhorov again was able to land, connecting with a right hand that snapped back the head of Katzourakis. Throughout much of the fight, Abdukakhorov would switch and forth between conventional and southpaw stances. The tactic allowed Abdukakhorov to connect and land to the body of Katzourakis, particularly during the middle rounds. 

Abdukakhorov may have been the more-effective fighter early on, but Katzourakis mostly dominated the second half of the fight. Abdukakhorov may have been busier, but Katzourakis landed the more effective punches during several exchanges. 

During the final two rounds, Katzourakis walked Abdukakhorov down, backing him against the ropes. Abdukakhorov was able to counter during spots, but Katzourakis continued to land the more-telling blows until the final bell sounded.

The 26-year-old Katzourakis, who was born in Greece and is managed by David McWater, last fought on January 20, stopping journeyman Corey Caad after the third round. His best win to date was an eighth round knockout win over Raphael Igbokwe on August 25, his first under the OTX Boxing banner.

Abdukakhorov, who resides in Andijan, Uzbekistan, falls to 20-3, 12 KOs. The 30-year-old had won his last two fights and was the longtime mandatory challenger to then-IBF world welterweight contender Errol Spence. Abdukakhorov suffered his first defeat of his career in December 2021, losing by decision to contender Cody Crowley. 

Katzourakis moves to the semi-final of the OTX Boxing junior middleweight tournament. He will face Robert Terry, who defeated Estevan Villalobos by unanimous decision in the co-main event. Scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 98-92 for Terry, who improved to 12-0-1, 4 KOs. 

Villalobos was the aggressor from the opening round, attempting to back Terry against the ropes. Terry side-stepped and effectively countered to the head, following up with more punches and combinations to the head. 

As the fight progressed, Villalobos’ punch output dropped, but he was still game. Terry would initiate exchanges, connecting with two-punch combinations to the head. Terry was the aggressor towards the end of the fight, looking to score a knockdown or knockout, but Villalobos was able to clench or fight out of danger.

The 30-year-old Terry, who resides in Jersey City, New Jersey, has won his last three fights since a split-decision draw against Raul Garcia on April 7 of last year. 

Villalobos, who now resides in Mount Vernon, Washington and trains alongside unbeaten David Benavidez, falls to 16-3-1, 12 KOs. The 32-year-old has now lost his last two fights.

In junior welterweight action, Giovanni Marquez of Houston won by split decision against San Antonio’s Jason Limon (8-2-1, 2 KOs). The fight was originally announced as a split-decision draw (77-75 Limon, 77-76, Marquez, and 76-76), but OTX Boxing rules mandate an additional round to decide a winner.

After the bonus round was fought, the fight was again announced as a split-decision draw (86-85 Marquez, 86-85 Limon, and 86-86). Afterwards, the Texas Combative Sports Program announced there was a calculation error on the scorecards, with the correct scorecards having Marquez winning 86-85 on two of the judges’ scorecards. 

Marquez improved to 10-0, 5 KOs. The 23-year-old is the son of former world junior middleweight titleholder and 1992 U.S. Olympian Raul Marquez.  

Junior welterweight Breyon Gorham of nearby Baytown improved to 17-0, 14 KOs, stopping Mexico’s Luis Baltazar after round three.

Gorham dominated a game Baltazar (12-2-1, 5 KOs) from the opening bell, landing at will with hooks and crosses. Towards the end of round three, a right hand-left hook combination dropped Baltazar to the canvas. Baltazar beat the count, and made it out of the round, but Baltazar’s corner told referee John Schorle to stop the fight.

In junior lightweight action, Alexander Espinoza of Managua, Nicaragua dropped Mexico City’s Gustavo Rivera (9-1, 7 KOs) once en route to a split-decision victory. One judge scored the bout 76-74 for Rivera, while the other two judges scored the bout 76-74 for Espinoza, who improved to 22-6-2, 8 KOs. 

Espinoza was deducted a point during the fight for repeated low blows.

In featherweight action, LeAnna Cruz of Allentown, Pennsylvania defeated late-sub and former strawweight world titleholder Nancy Franco (19-21-2, 5 KOs) by decision. All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Cruz, who goes to 9-0.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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