At the top of a Golden Boy Promotions card in Chicago, Oscar Duarte took a close majority decision win against Kenneth Sims Jr to move closer to a world title shot on Saturday.
Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) was last out in February, taking a seventh-round knockout win against Miguel Madueno, while Sims Jr (22-3-1, 8 KOs) was on the same card as his opponent for his last outing, in which he was a wide points winner against Kendo Castaneda.
Sims worked off his jab in the first round, and walked his rival on to some eye-catching shots, but the Mexican got the better of the exchanges in round two, and ‘La Migrana’ connected with a left hook towards the end of the third that shook the home favourite to his boots.
Sims rallied well, trading leather with Duarte in the fifth, and he seemed to get the better of the argument.
It was back-and-forth stuff, and the two constantly opened up, round seven seeing Duarte hurt the 31-year-old again, this time with a right to the body.
Duarte’s shots were having the bigger impact, and a left hook in the ninth troubled Sims, but ‘Bossman’ again remained rock-solid, letting his hands go to end the 10th.
The pair threw heavy blows again in the penultimate frame, with Sims shading the argument, and with the fight looking up for grabs in the final frame, Duarte cranked up the pressure, and worked well on the inside as an absorbing contest came to a close.
Duarte had two scores of 116-112 and 115-113 in his favour, with a third judge scoring the fight a 114-114 draw, to ensure he emerged victorious.
Duarte edged closer to a meeting with WBA champion, Gary Antuanne Russell, with the bout serving as an eliminator for his title.
Prograis overcomes Diaz
On the undercard, Regis Prograis took his first win in three contests, as he took a competitive points win over ten at super lightweight against Jo Jo Diaz (34-8-1, 15 KOs).
Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs) took the victory by two scores of 96-94, and a third at 98-92.
Prograis snapped a two-fight losing streak to Devin Haney and Jack Catterall.
Remaining Undercard
The other ten-rounder came at cruiserweight, where Tristan Kalkreuth (16-1, 11 KOs) forced Devonte Williams (13-3, 6 KOs) to retire ahead of the third round of their meeting.
In eight round bouts, Yair Gallardo (10-0, 8 KOs) took a points win against Quinton Rankin (21-10-2, 16 KOs) at light heavyweight, and at super bantamweight, Gael Cabrera (9-0, 6 KOs) scored a first-round knockout against Richard Reyes DIaz (3-1-1, 2 KOs).
This angle of Joshua Edward’s 1st round KO!! 🤯#DuarteSims | LIVE on DAZN tonight pic.twitter.com/zTgUkneA2x
— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) August 3, 2025
In six-round action, 2024 Olympian, Joshua Edwards (4-0, 4 KOs) was a first-round winner against Cayman Audie (4-2, 2 KOs) at heavyweight, and lightweight prospect Mehki Phillips (7-0, 7 KOs) took a second-round win against Joseph Ricardo Cruz Brown (12-15, 7 KOs).
