SAN JACINTO, Calif. (February 16, 2024) – Former Ukrainian Olympian Tsotne Rogava (5-0, 5 KOs) cruised to his third first-round knockout victory last night on the “Punches and Punchlines” card at Soboba Casino Resort in San Jacinto, California.
“Punches and Punchlines,” presented by Toro Promotions, Inc., House of Pain, and Black House Boxing, was the first pro boxing event at Soboba Casino in nearly five years.
Georgia-native Rogava, who stands 6’5″ and weighs 270 pounds, unloaded a brutal body attack on John Shipman (5-6, 2 KOs), who was unable to keep Rogava at a distance. The referee halted the action when Shipman was getting used and abused by the potentially loaded heavyweight prospect Rogova.
Rogava successfully transitioned to boxing from his world class Muay Thai and kickboxing career and he has greatly benefited from being trained by Hall of Famer Joe Goossen, who has favorably compared him, style-wise, to Tyson Fury because of their enormous size and relatively nimble footwork.
A rising heavyweight monster, Rogova’s dominance to date is best illustrated by the numbers: in five professional fights, he is 5-0 with five knockouts, in only seven total rounds fought to date.
Undefeated Nicaraguan super featherweight prospect Nilo Guerrero (8-0, 7 KOs) continued to impress with a Knockout of the Year candidate performance over Dan Hernandez (3-5, 2 KOs). The 23-year-old Guerrero used his freakish height and reach advantages. The 2016 Nicaraguan Youth National Champion, now fighting out of Coachella, California, boxed from the outside, using his long jab to set up Hernandez. The end came in the opening round when Guerrero closed the show with a classic left-right-left combination to stop a game Hernandez.
California heavyweight Jack “The Outlaw” May (9-0, 8 KOs) used effective range-finding punches to rough up Byran Hall (1-3-1, 0 KOs) until the accumulative punches damaged Hall so severely the referee halted the fight in round two. The 6′ 8″ May is a punching machine.
“The Toro prospects looked the part and then some,” co-promoter Whit Haydon said. “The spectacular Nilo Guerrero knockout was of the KO of the year variety. Also, the local talent fought like lions and filled up the place making for an electric atmosphere.”
Phoenix welterweight Kenekuk De La Rosa (3-1, 1 KO) pulled off a mild upset over local favorite Jimmie “El Chingon” Nunez (5-3, 5 KOs), taking a one-sided six-round unanimous decision,
Other undercard results were pro-debuting light heavyweight Jason “El Crazy Horse” Lara (1-0, 1 KO) pitches a shutout against previously undefeated David Longoria (2-1, 2 KOs), winning all four rounds on the three judges’ scorecards, lightweight William King (5-1-2, 2 KOs) and David Reyes (2-2, 1 KO) fought to a four-round draw, and heavyweight Ian “Captain” Morgan (1-2, 1 KO) vs. Giovanny Meza (0-6), and Temecula heavyweight Ian “The Captain” Morgan (1-2, 0 KOs) stopped Terrance Brown (1-6, 0 KOs) in round one.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHTS
Tsotne Rogava (5-0, 5 KOs), Los Angeles, CA by way of Ukraine and Georgia WTKO1 John Shipman (5-6, 2 KOs), Dallas, TX
Jack May (9-0, 8 KOs), Chinco Hills, CA WTKO2 Bryan Hall (1-3-1, 0 KOs), Fresno, CA
Ian Morgan (2-2, 1 KO), Temecula, CA WTKO1 Terrance Brown (1-6, 0 KOs), Ethete, WY
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS
Jason Lara (1-0, 0 KOs), Boyle Heights, CA WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36) David Longoria (2-1, 2 KOs), Temecula, CA
WELTERWEIGHTS
Kenekuk De La Rosa (3-1, 1 KO), Phoenix, AZ WDEC6 (60-54, 60-54, 59-55) Jimmie Nunez (5-3, 5 KOs), Temecula, CA
LIGHTWEIGHTS
William King (5-1-2, 2 KOs), Perris, CA D4 (39-37, 38-38, 38-38) David Reyes (2-1,-1, 1 KO), Fresno, VA
SUPER FEATHERWEIGHTS
Nilo Guerrero (8-0, 7 KOs), Coachella, CA by way of Nicaragua WKO1 Dan Hernandez (3-5, 2 KOs), Riverside, CA by way of Mexico
