Juan Carlos Payano Dominates Alexis Santiago in PBC on FS1 Main Event

Premier Boxing Champions returned to Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas on Tuesday with another edition of its popular “Toe-To-Toe Tuesdays” show. Though there weren’t any knockouts on the main card, the event was solid from start to finish.

Juan Carlos Payano was impressive in what was arguably the finest performance of his career thus far. The former world champion took control against Alexis Santiago (21-5-1, 8 KOs) in the opening round and never looked back. The bantamweight tore into Alexis Santiago’s body and head and though he never had his foe in serious peril, he dominated him. Payano (19-1, 9 KOs) won a lopsided unanimous decision after the allotted 10 rounds via tallies of 100-90 and 99-91 (twice).

“I want my titles back,” said Payano immediately following his victory. “I don’t care who is holding which titles at 118 and 122 pounds. I’ll fight anyone and show I’m still a champion.”

In the co-feature, Ladarius Miller (14-1, 4 KOs) was surprisingly dominant against 2012 U.S. Olympian Jamel Herring in winning a unanimous verdict as well. The lightweights started off slowly as the two southpaws sized each other up but as the fight wore on, they became a bit more reckless. The final three rounds of the scheduled 10 were action-packed, but it was Miller who landed the cleaner, more telling blows. In the end, the three ringside judges favored Miller 992 and 97-93 (twice). Herring fell to 16-2 (9).

Welterweight contender Shoki Sakai (22-7-1, 12 KOs) scored a minor upset by edging former world title challenger Ashley Theophane (40-8-1, 11 KOs) via unanimous nod over eight rounds.