BUENOS AIRES.- In a throwback to the traditional Wednesday showcase cards of yesteryear in this most venerable of boxing venues, three hot Argentine prospects advanced their careers with solid victories at the fabled Luna Park on Nov. 29.

In the main event, Fabian “TNT” Maidana (younger brother of former world titlist Marcos “Chino” Maidana) scored a shutout over a resilient (if anything else) Israel Lopez over ten mildly exciting rounds in the welterweight division, in which the early promise of a stoppage win never arrived.

Neither fighter visited the canvas during this fight, but Maidana’s domination was complete from the very first punch thrown. Nicaragua’s Lopez was feisty and willing to trade leather throughout the bout, but absorbed a monumental amount of punishment to the body and head.

The scorecards read 100-88, 100-90 and 99-90 for Maidana, who improved to 22-2 (16 knockouts), while Lopez returns to Managua with a record of 11-5-1 (8 KO).

“He was a tough opponent, I threw everything at him and he held up well,“ said Maidana, 31. “It was very helpful to work through 10 rounds. It’s great to win by knockout but sometimes it is better to put in the work and show that we’re in great shape.”

Earlier, Alan Chaves (nephew of former world titlist Diego Chaves) brought out the fireworks as he scored a highlight-reel stoppage of Colombia’s Jhan Estiven Camacho with a demolishing one-two in the second round of a scheduled ten round lightweight clash.

Alan Chaves – Photo by Nelson Quispe/Boxeo de Primera

“Poison” Chaves, a skilled southpaw in a family of fighters that span four generations, dominated the fight from the get-go and wasted no time in putting Camacho’s chin to the test. He landed several solid combinations on his unbeaten but inexperienced 19-year-old foe until he crashed a right jab followed by a cracking straight left that sent Camacho down for the count. Referee Gustavo Tomas waved off the bout at the count of ten just as Camacho was jumping back on his feet.

“I work on my power punches every day and I knew it was a matter of time before I got to him,” said Chaves, 22. “I would love to fight abroad in 2024, but I would also want to face an unbeaten local fighter.”

Chaves improved to 15-0 (13 KO) while Camacho heads back home with a 7-1-1 (1 KO) ledger.

In the last bout of the undercard, heavy-hitting brawler Juan Carrasco disposed of Fletcher Silva in two foul-filled rounds in a scheduled ten-rounder in the lightweight division.

True to his style, Carrasco stormed out of his corner and quickly sent his Venezuelan foe to the canvas, only to hit him at least three times with clear blows to the head while Silva was down on one knee. No points were deducted, and the same action was repeated in the following round, with Carrasco striking Silva at least once after each of the two knockdowns that he scored. Silva failed to make it to his feet after the second visit to the canvas and the fight was declared a knockout win for Carrasco, who thus unfairly improves to 20-1 (14 KOs) in a fight in which he could have been easily disqualified. Silva heads back to his country with a resume of 15-3 (13 KO).

Juan Carrasco (right) lands a left hand on Fletcher Silva while Silva is on the canvas – Photo by Nelson Quispe/Boxeo de Primera

Earlier, Nestor Maidana earned a hard-fought split decision win over Cristian Gonzalez after six frantic rounds in the junior welterweight division. Maidana was the stalker throughout the bout, while an overconfident Gonzalez backpedaled and aimed for the occasional big bomb that failed to materialize. The back-and-forth nature of every round made for a difficult fight to score, but Maidana’s superior output was never in question, and that became the driving factor in his victory. Two scorecards of 58-56 for Maidana gave him the win, while Gonzalez was credited with the same scorecard in his favor. The Ring had it 59-55 for Maidana, who improves to 12-11-1 (7 KO). Gonzalez heads home with a record of 12-18-1 (6 KO).

In the second bout of the night, Matias Pogonza (now 2-0, 2 KO) stopped debutant Franco Madoery in the first round of a scheduled four-rounder in the junior middleweight division. Madoery got off to a solid start but quickly found himself on the receiving end of a barrage of punches that led to a standing eight-count. After bouncing back quickly, Madoery was soon back under Pogonza’s power punches that caused yet another standing count. The towel flew in from Madoery’s corner soon after that and the fight was over.

In the first bout of the night, debutant Santiago Aliberti had to settle for a draw Nestor Sosa (0-2-1) in a light heavyweight four rounder.

A swing bout staged right after the Carrasco-Silva debacle saw Agustin Marini improve to 8-0 (7 KO) with a win over Christian Luis (8-3, 4 KO) in a heated cruiserweight affair scheduled for eight rounds. Marini survived an awkward first-round knockdown after dominating the episode, ending on the seat of his trunks after a solid combination by Luis that caught him off-balance. Marini, a southpaw with solid switch-hitting skills, used his superior reach and boxing skills to coast to what appeared headed to a clear decision win when a crippling body shot towards the sixth round sent Luis to the canvas and then to his feet writhing in pain. Referee Alejandro Grispo decided to halt the action immediately after reaching the eight count.

Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.

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