brian-mendoza-celebrate.jpg
Showtime

There was no shortage of action for a boxing fan to take in on Saturday night, with a trio of major fight broadcasts on the air. Despite there being some heavy favorites in the main events, surprises were numerous across the cards.

There was a strong focus on young, exciting talent in the three main events. While one of those young stars cruised to an impressive win, another suffered a broken jaw and the third found himself knocked down and out in a huge upset that took him right out of the world title picture.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know coming out of Saturday night.

A massive upset crushes Sebastian Fundora's title hopes

Fundora was expected to coast against heavy underdog Brian Mendoza in his Showtime main event. The fight was the sort of stay-busy affair top contenders are often forced to participate in while waiting for their shot at a world title. In Fundora's case, that title opportunity was likely to be for the undisputed super welterweight championship against the winner of the upcoming bout between four-belt titleholder Jermell Charlo and Tim Tszyu.

Fundora seemed to be in control of the bout over the first few rounds, often taking the fight inside as is his standard approach despite his 6-foot-6 frame.

Things all came crashing down for Fundora in the sixth round. As Fundora tried to step inside and throw a left uppercut, Mendoza uncorked a left hook that buckled Fundora's legs and a follow-up right hand put Fundora down. Despite being dropped hard, Fundora appeared to be alert as he rested on his elbows and looked up as the referee made his count before nodding at the referee to finish the count.

That's three straight knockout victories for Mendoza, who took the WBC interim title with the win and also grabbed a spot as mandatory challenger to the winner of Charlo vs. Tszyu. For Fundora, this fight will either be a wake-up call that forces a re-evaluation of his style, or it could be the end of the road for him as a potential world title contender.

Shakur Stevenson dominates Shuichiro Yoshino

Stevenson was making his lightweight debut on Saturday against a tough, durable fighter in Yoshino. It wasn't the level of fight fans want to see Stevenson in eventually at 135 pounds, but it was a fair testing of the waters for the rising star.

For all of Yoshino's toughness and his forward-charging style, he simply had nothing to offer Stevenson. The New Jersey native was confident and comfortable at every turn, choosing to rely less on his defensive skills and more on letting his hands go. That approach resulted in a very entertaining outing for Stevenson, who has faced some criticism for fighting overly safe at times in his career.

In total, Stevenson landed 123 of 245 total punches and 104 of 174 power punches, dropping Yoshino in rounds two and four before getting the stoppage in the sixth. Stevenson's offensive style did not mean he lost his slickness, holding Yoshino to just 36 of 332 punches landed.

Stevenson is now the WBC mandatory challenger for undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney, who will defend his titles against Vasiliy Lomachenko on May 20.

Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez suffers broken jaw, wins WBO flyweight title

After a 2022 campaign saw Rodriguez take a late-notice chance on himself, winning the WBC super flyweight title and defending it twice to finish runner-up in CBS Sports' voting for fighter of the year, he returned to his natural weight to take on Cristian Gonzalez for the WBO flyweight belt. Despite being a -2200 favorite, Rodriguez did not have an easy time with Gonzalez on Saturday night.

Gonzalez used his footwork to keep Rodriguez from trapping him along the ropes, forcing Rodriguez to earn every bit of his success. In the sixth round, Gonzalez tagged Rodriguez with a pinpoint shot that Rodriguez said broke his jaw and forced him to fight the second half of the fight in tremendous pain.

In the end, Rodriguez did get a deserved win on the scorecards, taking scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. At just 23 years old, Rodriguez has now captured world titles in two weight classes and has firmly established himself as one of boxing's brightest young stars.

A unified world title upset

There was another world title fight on the undercard of Rodriguez vs. Gonzalez, with Murodjon Akhmadaliev defending the WBA and IBF world titles at 122 pounds against Marlon Tapales. Tapales had been waiting for his crack at Akhmadaliev as the IBF mandatory after Akhmadaliev had suffered a broken hand in his previous outing.

Akhmadaliev was very passive in the first half of the fight, allowing Tapales to pick up an early lead on the scorecards. That proved to be Akhmadaliev's undoing as he did get going late and nearly knocked Tapales down in the final round. It was too little, too late, however, as Tapales managed to edge out a majority decision, taking two cards 115-113, while one judge turned in an inexplicable 118-110 card for Akhmadaliev.

It was a huge win for Tapales and one that earned him the status of a unified world champion.