PBC on FS1: Karim Guerfi Survives Knockdown to Edge Alejandro Gonzalez Jr.

Though he had won two fights in a row heading into his match on Premier Boxing Champions’ return to Fox Sports 1, France’s Karim Guerfi was expected to be cannon fodder for Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. However, Guerfi had other plans inside the Austin Music Hall in Austin, Texas in the main event of PBC’s Toe-To-Toe Tuesdays event.

On a rebound after dropping a disheartening unanimous decision to IBF super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton in June, Junior “Cobrita” looked like he was going to have an easy night. A debilitating left hook to the liver dropped Guerfi to his knees early in the first, but the gritty Frenchman battled back to his feet and survived the round.

Gonzalez was patient as he stalked his recovering foe, but the Mexican broke his right hand on his opponent’s head later in the frame. At that point in the contest, the tide had shifted, which paved the way for Guerfi’s tricky in-and-out style to dominate.

Fighting essentially with only one hand, Gonzalez (25-3-2, 15 KOs) couldn’t match his counterpart’s output and was beaten to the punch repeatedly. Guerfi peppered Alejandro with rights to the head and combos from all angles downstairs and up. Gonzalez couldn’t regain control of the action and was slowly picked apart for the remainder of the duel.

In the end, Guerfi (23-3, 6 KOs) was too accurate and too active, winning a unanimous decision via tallies of 97-92, 96-93 and 95-94 to score the minor upset.

Featherweight contender Miguel Flores made quick work of 1996 Olympian Alfred Tettah as he took the Ghanaian out in the second thanks to a crippling left hook to the body. Flores (18-0, 9 KOs) ripped a left to his foe’s gut early in the second, forcing Tettah to retreat. But after a right hook to the head sent Tettah to the ropes, the Mexican’s follow-up liver crusher ended the fight. Tettah (19-5-1, 15 KOs) never beat the count as he was officially stopped just 70 seconds into the second frame.

Wisconsin’s lanky junior lightweight Mario Barrios was just a tad sharper than Enrique Tinoco in their match, using his long reach and powerful counters to edge the California-based Mexico native over eight rounds. Barrios (13-0, 7 KOs) was able to remain unbeaten by out-slugging his foe in a thrilling affair, and he was awarded a unanimous nod thanks to scores of 78-74 on all three official judges’ scorecards. Tinoco (15-3-2, 11 KOs) had his moments, but they weren’t enough to offset the scoring.