LAS VEGAS – Grant Flores felt right at home in his first fight on the road.
The unbeaten 20-year-old junior middleweight prospect used a persistent body attack to pick apart Nebraska’s Brandon Campos-Diaz on the undercard of Bektemir Melikuziev and Darius Fulghum’s WBA 168lbs title eliminator. The one-way affair was ultimately halted at 2:58 of the fifth round in their non-televised bout, one of three on the Golden Boy Fight Night card, on Friday at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Flores exclusively fought in his home state of California, with all but one of his bouts taking place at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, minutes from his hometown, Thermal.
His Vegas debut was a sound boxing display, mixed in with his signature power shows. Flores consistently tagged Campos-Diaz with his left hook downstairs but also managed to redden his face in the opening round. Campos-Diaz did his best to force his way inside in the second, the only competitive round of the fight.
The tide drastically turned for good in the third, to where concern was expressed for Campos-Diaz’s health. Time was called at the start of the fourth for that very purpose before action was permitted to resume.
Flores worked his jab and constantly kept Campos-Diaz in his desired punching range. Enough unanswered shots landed without a favorable response from Campos-Diaz, 6-1 (6 KOs), to enable the stoppage and the end of his undefeated record.
The win marked the third straight stoppage for Flores, 10-0 (8 KOs), who made a point to entertain a new audience.
“It was so electrifying fighting here,” Flores told BoxingScene and other reporters. “It was a different experience, a different atmosphere. I hope I made some new fans.”
Santiago Dominguez (28-1, 20 KOs) made quick work of an overweight John Vincent Moralde, who had to renegotiate the contracted weight after arriving at fight week well above the original limit. A body shot to the fleshy midsection of the Philippines’ Moralde, 27-6 (16 KOs) was enough to end the fight at 2:52 of the opening round.
Daniel “Junebug” Garcia pitched a shutout on the cards in an otherwise entertaining eight-round, lightweight clash with Camilo Rodriguez 10-4 (8 KOs) in the show's curtain raiser. Scores were 80-72 across the board for Colorado’s Garcia, 12-0 (9 KOs), a promising 23-year-old prospect who fought in Las Vegas for the first time as a pro.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on and .
