Marc Castro Shines With Victory Over George Acosta In Santa Monica

Exciting night of boxing at Santa Monica Pier as Castro defeats Acosta in Junior Lightweight bout

Marc Castro delivered a powerful match at Santa Monica Pier /

By Mohamed Bahaa

In an exciting precursor to the Riyadh Season, Southern California fight fans were treated to an exhilarating three-fight event on Wednesday night at the bustling Santa Monica Pier. This open-for-public event was promoted by Matchroom Boxing and produced by Bash Boxing, drawing considerable attention from the crowd.

The night’s main event featured junior lightweight prospect Marc Castro (13-0, 8 KOs) squaring off against George Acosta (17-3, 3 KOs). Before the match, spectators were thrilled by public workouts from Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov, who are set to headline a major event at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles this Saturday.

Castro seized the opportunity to showcase his skills, though the match ended in an anticlimactic manner. A clash of heads in the seventh round resulted in significant swelling above Acosta’s right eye, leading referee Rudy Barragan to halt the fight at 1:10 of the round. The ringside physician declared Acosta unfit to continue, giving Castro the victory. All three judges scored the bout 70-63 in favor of Castro.

The fight initially saw both Castro and Acosta warming up during the first two rounds of the cool 65-degree evening. By the third round, the pace had picked up, with Castro utilizing his quick footwork to land effective strikes, while Acosta countered where he could. Castro notably ended the third round with a sharp left-right combination.

In the fourth round, Castro increased his intensity, landing numerous right hands, though none significantly harmed Acosta. Acosta, who had recently lost to Rene Tellez Giron, responded in the fifth round by focusing on body shots, as urged by his trainer Manny Robles. Castro countered effectively, delivering a series of unanswered blows that visibly hurt Acosta.

The sixth round saw Castro targeting Acosta's body more aggressively, effectively slowing him down. The head clash in the seventh round, however, brought an abrupt end to the match, denying Acosta a chance to finish.

The co-main event featured Shakhram Giyasov, a teammate of Madrimov, securing a split decision victory over Miguel Parra. Giyasov (16-0, 9 KOs), a silver medalist from the 2016 Olympics, overcame a point deduction to win against Parra (22-5-1, 14 KOs). Judges scored the bout 95-94 and 96-93 for Giyasov, while one judge favored Parra 95-94.

Parra’s aggressive approach earned him points, but Giyasov’s performance, particularly in the later rounds, solidified his victory. The seventh round saw controversy when Giyasov was penalized for a body shot deemed a low blow by referee David Solivan. Nonetheless, Giyasov dominated the remainder of the match, targeting Parra’s body and opening a cut near his left eye.

The event kicked off with super middleweights Nathan Lugo (2-0, 2 KOs) and Ray Corona (4-2, 0 KOs). Lugo dominated, delivering powerful combinations that led referee Rudy Barragan to stop the bout in the second round, awarding Lugo a technical knockout.

This vibrant night at Santa Monica Pier provided a thrilling appetizer for the upcoming Riyadh Season, leaving fans eagerly anticipating more high-caliber boxing action.