Boxing

Zuffa Boxing 02 Results: Jose Valenzuela Avoids Early Scare to Shut Down Diego Torres

Zuffa Boxing's second event delivered with two classic wars and a highlight-reel comeback knockout
Jaren Kawada|
Dana White
Dana White | IMAGO / Inpho Photography

Zuffa Boxing's second event was a lot better than its first.

After fans criticized Zuffa Boxing 01 for its lack of excitement, the promotion's second installment featured several blood-and-guts wars and thrilling highlights. All three main card bouts delivered and featured three different results.

Zuffa Boxing 02 got drowned out by Ring VI during fight week, but it delivered for fans who stuck around to catch some Sunday night boxing.

Jose Valenzuela overcomes early scare to outclass Diego Torres

Former WBA super lightweight champion Jose Valenzuela became the second consecutive betting favorite to prevail in a Zuffa Boxing main event, outclassing Diego Torres to improve to 15-3. Valenzuela had to survive an early scare, but he ultimately won nine of the 10 rounds on all three scorecards to prove himself in a new division.

Valenzuela got touched up by an aggressive Torres early and found himself down in the punch count through three rounds. He found himself in even worse trouble in the fourth round when a left hook opened up a gash above his left eye, but the cut only served as a power-up for Valenzuela, who kicked into second gear after a brief doctor inspection.

The fight was Valenzuela's to lose from the fifth round on, with an exhausted Torres fighting to remain upright. Valenzuela's jab, straight punches and footwork shut the wild Torres down in the second half of the fight to pull away in an action-packed main event.

Serhii Bohachuk wins another dogfight

Serhi Bohachuk
Serhi Bohachuk | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Everybody knows what to expect in a Serhii Bohachuk fight, which was exactly what went down in the Zuffa Boxing 02 main event. Bohachuk also dealt with adversity early and dropped most of the early rounds to Radzhab Butaev, who was on point from the gun.

Butaev, who had not fought since November 2023, was beating Bohachuk at his own game early, landing timely hooks and body shots from the phone booth to frequently send the Ukrainian off balance. Butaev confused Bohachuk even further by switching to southpaw in the third round.

However, Bohachuk's jab got him back into the fight in the fourth frame, which kept him within striking distance. In typical Bohachuk fashion, his pace only increased as Butaev began to fatigue in the later rounds. Butaev never stopped throwing, but Bohachuk's pace and pressure were enough to claim two of the three judges' scorecards.

Hot Rod stuns the Meta Apex with late comeback

The main event and co-main event featured the two best fights of the weekend, but Radivoje "Hot Rod" Kalajdzic stole the show in the main card opener.

It looked like a classic Oleksandr Gvozdyk fight for the majority of the bout, with the 38-year-old former champion turning back the clock to put on a masterclass through the first five rounds. Gvozdyk immediately banked a 10-8 round by knocking Kalajdzic down in the first round before flooring him again a few minutes later.

Kalajdzic kept pressing forward, but Gvozdyk remained one step ahead of him and was cruising midway through the fight. That is, until a right hand from 'Hot Rod' late in the sixth round got his attention and buckled his knees before heading back to his corner.

Gvozdyk got back on track to begin the seventh round before Kalajdzic stunned everyone and landed a slick right hook as 'The Nail' exited. A follow-up hook sent Gvozdyk to the canvas, moments before another right hand put him down for good.

Gvozdyk entered the fight as the No. 9 light heavyweight in the Ring Magazine rankings, which is the only poll Zuffa Boxing acknowledges. Kalajdzic, who just fought for a world title in August 2024, could have just stolen his top-10 ranking by the next update.

Full Zuffa Boxing 02 results

Main card

  • Jose Valenzuela def. Diego Torres by unanimous decision (99-91, 99-91, 99-91), lightweight
  • Serhii Bohachuk def. Radzhab Butaev by split decision (96-94, 96-94, 94-96), middleweight
  • Radivoje Kalajdzic def. Oleksandr Gvozdyk by KO in Round 7 (2:47), light heavyweight

Prelims

  • Jalil Hackett def. Roberto Cruz by majority decision (97-93 ,96-94, 95-95), middleweight
  • Justin Viloria def. Oscar Perez by unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 77-75), lightweight
  • Damoni Cato-Cain def. Christian Morales by unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 77-75), catchweight (150 lbs)
  • Da'Mazion Vanhouter def. Julian Gomez via TKO in Round 3 (1:27), heavyweight
  • Jamar Talley def. Devonte Williams by KO in Round 2 (2:59), cruiserweight

Zuffa Boxing 02 Performance Bonuses

  • Performance of the Night: Jose Valenzuela, Radivoje Kalajdzic
  • Fight of the Night: Serhii Bohachuk vs. Radzhab Butaev

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Jaren Kawada
JAREN KAWADA

Jaren Kawada is a combat sports writer who specializes in betting, with over five years of experience in boxing and MMA. When he is not covering the sport, Kawada is an avid MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and boxing practitioner. Kawada has previous bylines with ClutchPoints, Sportskeeda MMA, BetSided and FanSided MMA. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Kawada has a B.A. in Sports Media from Butler University and now resides in Denver, Colorado.

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