Jose Antonio Rivera (37-3-1, 24 KOs) dethroned two-time WBA super welterweight champion Alex "Terra" Garcia (25-2, 24 KOs) with a very exciting twelve round unanimous decision Saturday night at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Rivera, a former WBA welterweight champ, dropped Garcia twice in the first round, first with a jab, then with a right hand. Both fighters landed big shots in round two. Garcia dropped Rivera in the fourth with a violent combination of body punches followed by some head shots. Rivera, however, came back to outwork Garcia over the next few rounds. Rivera dropped Garcia hard in the ninth and put him down again in the tenth and twelfth. Scorecards read 114-107, 116-106, 116-106. Note: The WBA never submitted a list of officials for the bout, so the local favorite Rivera had the advantage of fighting in his hometown with a Massachusetts referee (Dick Flaherty) and three Massachusetts judges (Roland Milton, Leo Gerstel, Don O’Neil), although it didn't figure into the result.

IBF junior bantamweight champion Luis "El Demoledor" Perez (24-1, 15 KOs) won a controversial twelve round split decision over mandatory challenger Dimitri Kirilov (28-3, 10 KOs). Kirilov did very well for the first seven rounds, but the champion dropped him in the eighth. Kirilov recovered well, and both fighters had their moments down the stretch. Kirilov was wobbled early in the twelfth, but both fighters traded until the final bell. Scores were 115-113, 114-113 for Perez, 117-110 for Kirilov.