Oscar Duarte (30-3-1, 23 KOs) put himself in place for a title shot by defeating Kenneth Sims (22-3-1, 8 KOs) by a 12-round majority decision in a competitive WBA light welterweight eliminator on Saturday night at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

(Credit: Golden Boy/Cris Esqueda)

Oscar Duarte Dominates WBA Eliminator

Duarte, 29, used his power and youth advantage to apply withering pressure on the 31-year-old Chicago native, Sims. In round two, Duarte appeared to hurt Sims with a long left hook to the head. The punch caught Sims by surprise, as he thought he was out of range, but Oscar launched the shot from way outside to catch him.

Sims still fought well with his Mayweather-esque boxing, using movement, jabs, and precise punches to try and hold Duarte off. It wasn’t effective to halt his pressure. Sims’s lack of power kept him from making the Mexican native wary about attacking.

“I feel very happy for this fight, and I’m ready for the next episode,” said Duarte to Golden Boy Boxing following his win over Sims.

Duarte Now Mandatory for Russell

The scores were 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113. With the win, Duarte is now the mandatory challenger to WBA light welterweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell.

Prograis vs. Diaz Jr. Close Fight

Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs) had to walk through fire to defeat Joseph “JoJo” Diaz (34-8-1, 15 KOs) by a questionable 10-round unanimous decision in the chief support bout at welterweight. The fight was close enough to be a draw, as Diaz hurt Prograis repeatedly from round 1. In total, Regis was staggered in six of the rounds, and he should have lost those. However, the judges scored it 98-92, 96-94, and 96-94.

Prograis’s jab and power shots were effective, but his chin betrayed him. He would fight well, and then get staggered by Diaz. We saw this happen all night.

“This was a fight that the will won it and the conditioning won me the fight,” said Prograis to AB Boxing News.