New York, NY (March 18, 2022)–Undefeated junior welterweight John Baiza will continue to climb up the competition as he takes on tough veteran Tony Luis as part of an ESPN televised card at 10 PM ET on Saturday night at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Bauza of North Bergen, New Jersey via Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, has a record of 16-0 with seven knockouts. The 23 year-old Bauza, who is managed by Split-T Management Bauza turned professional on April 23, 2016 with a 1st round stoppage over LeRoy Padilla in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Bauza is coming off an explosive performance as he took apart previously undefeated Michael Williams in four-rounds at Madison Square Garden on December 11th.

In that bout, Bauza clocked Williams with an overhand left that sent him to the deck in the 2nd round. Williams kept kneeling on the canvas in an effort to slow down Bauza’s attack. In round four, Bauza dropped Williams three times. The first came from a combination on the ropes. The 2nd came from a perfect left. Bauza finished the fight with a perfect straight left to the face and the fight was stopped at 2:18.

Luis of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada is 29-4 with 10 knockouts. The 34 year-old Luis is a former WBC Continental Americas champion who also fought for the WBA Interim Lightweight title. Luis has wins over Adrian Verdugo (13-1-1), Wanzell Ellison (11-0-1), Karl Dargan (17-0), Christian Uruzquieta (14-2-1), Jose Nunez Rodriguez (17-4-1), Cam O’Connell (15-0-1), Jovanni Straffon (14-2-1). Luis dropped his last bout to undefeated Arnold Barboza on August 29, 2020 in Las Vegas.

At Friday’s weigh-in, Bauza was 140.2 lbs. Luis was 140.8 lbs.

Bauza is promoted by Top Rank.

New York, NY (March 15, 2022)–Four members of the Split-T Management stable posted victories on Friday night.

Three of those victories came in Deadwood, South Dakota as Ardreal Holmes Jr. remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Vernon Brown in a junior middleweight bout that headlined a SHOBOX: The New Generation card that was live on SHOWTIME.

Holmes used his 6’2″ frame to box very well and land some hard straight left hands on the gritty Brown. Holmes was able to win by scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 to raise his mark to 12-0.

“I was reborn tonight,” Holmes said. “This performance showed that I still have it in me. I hurt my left hand in the second round. I couldn’t punch how I wanted to. I was in a bunch of pain but I pulled through. Thinking about my family pushed me through the pain.”

Holmes said no matter how much Brown hurt him, he was going to push through the pain. “I was rusty. I believe I need another fight to get the rust off. My timing wasn’t there. I’ve been off for like 800 days, but this fight showed that I have a lot of heart. I want Paul Kroll next. He was talking a lot of junk against me. We have a history in the amateurs. He’s who I want.”

Holmes is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Holden Productions.

In the opening bout, Giovanni Marquez made a successful pro debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Nelson Morales in a welterweight bout.

Marquez displayed the boxing skills that propelled him to a National Golden Gloves title, as he boxed well and mixed some crisp power shots. Despite injuring his hand, Marquez looked like a seasoned veteran as was very composed in the ring.

Marquez of Houston, won by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice.

“I felt great,” said Marquez. “I hurt my left hand in the second round on a jab. I think I would have been able to stop him if I hadn’t hurt my hand.”

Added Giovanni: “It was a great experience. He was a tough, durable guy, but I feel like I handled everything, the cameras, all the attention pretty well. I started a little slow but after the first round I settled down and fought my fight. I felt fine without the headgear. We kept bumping heads, but he never hurt me. There was a lot of pressure on me, and I was a little nervous in the leadup to the fight, but once I got into the fight I relaxed and I felt comfortable. Overall, it was a great experience.”

In non-televised action, David Navarro won a six-round unanimous decision over Gavino Guaman in a featherweight bout.

Navarro is settling into the pro game as he dominated the action and took every round convincingly and won by scores of 60-54 on all cards.

With the win, the 22 year-old native of Los Angeles upped his record to 4-1.

In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, LeAnna Cruz remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Anyela Lopez in a bantamweight fight.

Cruz featured solid right hands that landed flush on Lopez, which was a delight to the large hometown fan base that Cruz performed in front of.

Cruz, 113.7 lbs of Allentown, PA won by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice to go to 2-0. Lopez, 115.3 lbs of Tucson, AZ is 2-2.

Cruz is promoted by King’s Promotions.
LeAnna Cruz talks about her unanimous decision over Anyela Lopez

New York, NY (March 11, 2022)–Tonight, five athletes under the Split-T Management banner will be in action with three being featured on SHOBOX: The New Generation, Live on SHOWTIME at 9:35 PM ET.

In the headline of the SHOBOX card from Deadwood, South Dakota will be undefeated junior middleweight Ardreal Holmes.

Holmes will take on Vernon Brown in a scheduled 10-round bout.

Holmes of Flint, Michigan, has a record of 11-0 with five knockouts. The 27 year-old Holmes is a six-year professional, has wins over Bryan Goldsby (4-1) and his last bout when he stopped Jose Antonio Abreu on November 15, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Brown of Chicago.is 13-1-1 with nine knockouts. The 32 year-old Brown is a seven-year veteran who has defeated Jose Pena (1-0), David Castro (2-0) and is coming off a 2nd round stoppage over Fabian Lyimo on February 20, 2021 in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

Holmes weighed 156 lbs. Brown was 157 1/4 lbs.

Holmes is co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Holden Productions.

In the co-feature, Luis Acosta will take on Edwin De Los Santos in a eight-round lightweight bout.

Acosta, 25 years-old of Houston, Texas has a professional record of 12-0 with 11 knockouts. Acosta began boxing at the age of 16, following in the footsteps of his father, Jose, and uncle, Mario, who were both professional boxers. His father, who now trains Luis, was 2-2 as a professional, while his uncle was 1-0. This passion led to an amateur career that saw Luis go 57-8 and winning both the Title and Ringside Tournaments. In addition, Acosta is a graduate of the University of Houston with a degree in exercise science and Kinesiology and has an entrepreneurial spirit honed by working many hours in his family’s restaurant, which is a local landmark in Humble, Texas.

De Los Santos of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is 13-1-1 with 12 knockouts. The 22 year-old is a four year professional who has wins over Manuel Bottis (23-2-1), Juan Alberto Garcia Perez (8-2). He is coming off an eight-round split decision loss to undefeated William Foster III on January 7th in Orlando, Florida in a bout that was televised on SHOBOX The New Generation.

Acosta weighed in at 133 1/2 lbs. De Los Santos was 133 3/4 lbs.

The televised portion will kick off with the much anticipated pro debut of former National Golden Gloves champion Giovanni Marquez taking on Nelson Morales in a four-round welterweight affair.

Marquez, 21 years-old of Houston, Texas began boxing at the age of 12 as he is the son of former U.S. Olympian, world junior middleweight world champion and current broadcaster Raul Marquez. Marquez had an amateur record of 75-12, which culminated in winning the National Golden Glove tournament this past August in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was named the Most Outstanding boxer in the tournament.

Marquez, who won the 152-pound National Golden Gloves, will begin his pro career around 145-pounds, with the goal to campaign as a junior welterweight.

Morales of Scranton, Pennsylvania is 2-0 and is coming off a four-round unanimous decision over Ronny Arana on August 20, 2021.

Marquez weighed 143 lbs while Morales was 144 1/4 lbs.

In non-televised action from Deadwood, featherweight prospect David Navarro takes on Gavino Guaman in a six-round bout.

Navarro, 22, is 3-1 with two knockouts and is coming off a win over Jayron Santiago Lopez on July 23rd, 2021 in Grand Island, Nebraska. Navarro began training in the sport at the age of five, and left behind his childhood long endeavor of becoming an Olympian to enter the professional ranks. During his time in the amateurs, David compiled 15 National titles and competed in over 170 amateur bouts.

Navarro was one of only eight boxers in his weight division to compete for a spot on Team USA’s Olympic squad. During the 10-day event, he made it all the way to the finals by upsetting top seed Duke Ragan and in January was named as an Olympic Alternate for the 2020 Olympics, now rescheduled to take place in 2021.

In addition to David’s deep amateur accolades, he comes from one of the great Mexican American boxing families. David is the younger brother of Golden Boy Promotions undefeated junior welterweight prospect Johnathan Navarro, and his cousins, Steven and Chantel, are widely regarded as two of the top young prospects in the USA amateur system.

David is also the nephew of former Olympian Jose Navarro, who competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games, and Carlos Navarro, one of America’s greatest amateurs in the 90’s, who is well-known for being the the last American to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. by winning a box-off at the 1995 Pan-American Games.

Guaman of River Falls, Wisconsin is 6-4-1 with two knockouts. The 30 year-old Guaman has a 1st round stoppage over Joshuah Hernandez (5-0) is the opening round.

in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, super flyweight LeAnna Cruz looks to stay undefeated when she battles Anyela Lopez in a four-round bout at The Wind Creek Event Center.

Cruz of Allentown is 1-0 as the 24 year-old won a four-round unanimous decision over Delaney Bailey on September 10, 2021 in Philadelphia.

Lopez, 30 years-old of Tucson, Arizona is 2-1-1 with one knockout, and has a win over Nicole Reinhart (1-0), She is coming off a unanimous decision over Jaica Pavilus on June 9, 2021 in Long Beach, California.

Cruz was 113.7 lbs. Lopez was 115.3 lbs.

Cruz is promoted by King’s Promotions.

DEADWOOD, S.D. – March 10, 2022 – Undefeated middleweight prospect Ardreal Holmes (11-0, 5 KOs) and once-beaten Vernon Brown (13-1-1, 9 KOs) both made weight Thursday, a day ahead of their 10-round main event on ShoBox: The New Generation tomorrow night, Friday, March 11 live on SHOWTIME at 9:35 p.m. ET/PT from Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel in Deadwood, S.D.

The co-feature pits undefeated prospect Luis Acosta (12-0, 11 KOs) and the power-punching Edwin De Los Santos (13-1, 12 KOs) in an eight-round lightweight bout. Plus, 2021 National Golden Gloves Champion Giovanni Márquez, the son of former world champion and ShoBox commentator Raul Márquez, makes his professional debut against Dominican Nelson Morales (2-0) in a four-round welterweight bout that opens the three-fight telecast.

Raul Márquez will occupy dual roles during the broadcast, first as his son’s trainer and cornerman and then later as an expert analyst alongside his colleagues ringside. He will be joined by Hall of Famer Barry Tompkins calling the action with veteran combat sports reporter Brian Campbell also serving as an expert analyst, and Hall of Famer Steve Farhood remotely performing unofficial scoring duties. The executive producer of ShoBox: The New Generation is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

The tripleheader is promoted by Holden Productions.

FINAL WEIGHTS

Middleweight 10-Round Bout
Ardreal Holmes – 156 pounds
Vernon Brown – 157 ¼ pounds
Referee: Mark Nelson (Minnesota); Judges: Norm Hamling, Jr. (South Dakota), John Mariano (Minnesota), Ludy Webster (Minnesota)

Lightweight Eight-Round Bout
Luis Acosta – 133 ½ pounds
Edwin De Los Santos – 133 ¾ pounds
Referee: Mark Nelson (Minnesota); Judges: Norm Hamling, Jr. (South Dakota), John Mariano (Minnesota), Ludy Webster (Minnesota)

Welterweight Four-Round Bout
Giovanni Márquez – 143 pounds
Nelson Morales – 144 ¼ pounds
Referee: Mark Nelson (Minnesota); Judges: Norm Hamling, Jr. (South Dakota), John Mariano (Minnesota), Ludy Webster (Minnesota)

FINAL QUOTES:

Ardreal Holmes

“The long layoff is due to the pandemic and just waiting for the right opportunity to come along. I was dealing with a lot of things at the time, deaths in the family, so part of it was getting myself mentally ready to take advantage of the opportunity when it came along.

“Flint Michigan is just a special place. Whenever you go out of town, people would say, ‘What is it about Flint?’ We’d say, ‘There’s something in the water.’ We’ve been saying that for years. And then all that stuff happened (with the water being contaminated). It’s just a beautiful, tough place, but it’s still beautiful.

“I feel good for this fight. There’s nothing that I’m not expecting. I’m tall so everyone’s plan is to come forward and put pressure on me, but I’m expecting him to come forward and I plan on catching him on the way in.

“After being off for this long, I’m super excited for this opportunity. I just kept my head on straight and stayed positive and here we are. My son was a big motivation for me for this fight. And a guy I fought (and lost to) in the U.S. Olympic Trials, Paul Kroll, who I heard was talking about fighting me. He also motivated me.

“Every fight there’s pressure, but I believe in myself, and I believe in my training, and I’m going to go out and do my best.”

Vernon Brown

“Accepting the fight late wasn’t a big deal. I’d already been training. I’m excited for this opportunity and I feel good.

“I’ve gone up and down in weight, my last fight was at 140, but I’m used to fighting big guys, so this is not a problem. I’ve fought a couple guys who were 6’2”, so I’m ready. It’s been a year since February since my last fight and I’m ready to get my feet back wet again. I feel strong.

“My best weight is 147. I can do a lot at 147. I can do 154. Fighting bigger guys isn’t a problem, but 147 is my weight class. The contracted weight for this fight is 156 plus two, and that’s fine with me, so I don’t have to kill myself making weight.

“I’m just an aggressive fighter. My trainers want me to be aggressive and more technical and more defensive, but it’s like the bell rings and I turn into a real different animal. I don’t care how big you are, but I’m going to be smart for this fight. I don’t want to get caught by anything stupid.

“I consider myself a Hagler type. I love to brawl. I can really punch. Everyone in Chicago knows about my power. They brag on me, ‘Oh, you punch so hard.’ But I’m also learning it’s about conditioning and moving my head, and I know there’s more than just being able to punch.

“Everyone knows my right-hook is dangerous. But I knocked out a couple southpaws taller than me with overhand lefts because they were focused on my right. I can switch but I’m not like a Terence Crawford, but I will do it just to throw a guy off.”

Luis Acosta

“We are excited and ready to do the work. I’m not surprised at the success we’ve had. When you put in the hard work it shows in the end. I think our record shows that. We train hard all the time.

“I haven’t had a lot of rounds, but that doesn’t bother me. When we are sparring we go lots of rounds and bring in new, fresher guys while I’m staying in there the whole time. Eight rounds, 12 rounds. The conditioning is there, and the stamina. Whenever we end up going those rounds, the conditioning will show.

“I’m never worried about how hard I’m hitting a guy or trying to impress myself. I don’t deal with that pressure where I gotta knock this guy out. It just comes. You know, in the [Darel] Harris fight it didn’t come but I got my knockdowns and we did our work still.

“I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. What we’ve been doing has been working for us. If I feel like I have to pace myself then I didn’t train hard enough to be able to put in the same amount of work for each round. If I’m fighting a 12-round fight I’m going to throw the same amount of punches as I would throw if I was fighting less rounds. I’m ready.

“[De Los Santos] has the best record so in my mind he is the best I’ve ever faced so far. Just like all my other fights it doesn’t matter who is in there across the ring from me I’m going to go in there and do my thing.”

Edwin De Los Santos

“I know Luis Acosta is a tough opponent, just like all the other Mexicans that I have fought. I know he works hard in the ring, just like I do. I know he’s also a very intelligent and skilled fighter.

“Physically I wasn’t ready for my last fight [a loss on ShoBox]. The running on the treadmill instead of out in the streets and in nature affected me. The weather conditions were very cold at that time. The weight cut also affected me. I feel like now that I’m working out harder and smarter and not having to cut as much weight has helped me.

“I don’t know which way this fight goes. It could be a knockout, or it could go the distance. It was a very bitter defeat I tasted in my last fight and so it’s very important for my career that I can come back and get a win this time to take me to the next level.”

Giovanni Márquez

“I ended up winning the National Golden Gloves which opened a lot of doors and opportunities. And here we are now. I never imagined I would make my debut on ShoBox. I’m looking forward to it and I’m just ready to go out there and perform.

“Some say there’s a lot of pressure on me. Of course, there’s pressure. Being my dad’s son, there’s always going to be pressure but I just use that pressure as motivation and it just gives me a feeling that I have to prove something. That’s when I perform best.

“I always felt I had more of a pro-like style. In the amateurs, it’s only three three-minute rounds. There’s not too much time. There’s a lot of guys that move, hold, throw little pitty-pat punches. Whereas I like to sit on my punches and look for openings. I think I’ll be able to show my style more in the pros than I was in the amateurs because there’s a little bit more time.

“I know that Morales will be hungry. This is a good opportunity for him. I’m definitely not taking him lightly. I’m looking to go out there and have a great first impression on the boxing world. This is a great opportunity to do that. I definitely want to win in spectacular fashion.”

Nelson Morales

“Every boxer’s dream is to fight on TV and get these kinds of opportunities. I come from a town where there’s always been a lot of guys doing big things, and I’ve been working quietly. Now I have this big opportunity and I really want to take full advantage of it. I’m super excited especially to be on a platform like SHOWTIME. I never thought this would come.

“Márquez has a lot of amateur experience. His father was a world champion. I know he’s been around these types of platforms. I don’t expect him to be completely nervous where he won’t be on his game. So I’m just expecting the best of Giovanni Marquez and I just have to do my thing. I expect him to be very confident. He’s been around SHOWTIME and this is my first time on SHOWTIME. I have to do something big too.

“Right now, I manage myself. I’m self-managed and I do my own thing. I look for my own fights. I just want to do my thing and look good to the point where somebody is going to reach out to me and say, ‘I want to work with you.’

“I just turned 30. I have to do something and if I’m going to do it, I have to do it now. I don’t have the opportunity that he does. This might be my one shot. He’s only (21). He has a lot of years to bounce back. I don’t.”

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About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. Some of the growing list of the 86 fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Errol Spence Jr., Andre Ward, Deontay Wilder, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Nonito Donaire, Devon Alexander, Carl Froch, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Chad Dawson, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and more.

NEW YORK (March 7, 2022) – Split-T Management fighters were impressive with four big victories over the weekend.

On Friday night, junior welterweight Rolando Vargas scored an explosive stoppage over Jerrell Hodge in Columbus, Ohio.

Vargas buckled Hodge with a big left hook. Vargas followed up with a booming right that put Hodge down and out and the fight was stopped.

With the win, Vargas, a Milwaukee native improves to 7-1 with seven knockouts.

WATCH VARGAS KNOCKOUT
Rolando Vargas 1st round stoppage over Jerrell Hodge

Javier Martinez remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Donte Stubbs in a middleweight bout.

In round two, Stubbs began to bleed from his nose. In round three, Stubbs dropped Martinez with a straight right. But that was the only blemish for the 26 year-old Martinez as he used his superior boxing skills to repeatedly land solid punches throughout the contest.

Martinez, 161.8 lbs of Milwaukee, WI won by scores of 59-56 and 58-55 twice and is now 6-0. Stubbs, 163 lbs of Riverside, CA is 6-4.

Martinez is a former United States National Ama

6’9″ Antonio Mireles remained perfect as he stopped previously undefeated Brandon Hughes in round two of their scheduled four-round heavyweight bout.

In round one, Mireles landed a perfect jab-straight left that sent Hughes down on his face. Moments later it was another straight left that put Hughes down just before the end of the round. In round two, Mireles landed a big left hand that hurt Hughes and the fight was stopped just as Hughes hit the canvas at 1:04.

Mireles, 259.4 lbs of Des Moines, IA is 3-0 with three knockouts. Hughes, 282.4 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 2-1
Diego Pacheco remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Genc Pllana in a scheduled eight-round super middleweight bout.

Pacheco, 170 lbs of Los Angeles is 14-0 with 11 knockouts. Pllana, 171 lbs of Hagerstown, MD is 9-4-1.

Photos from Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images