Khalil Coe got instant revenge at Domo Alcalde in Guadalajara, Mexico, as he forced Manuel Gallegos to retire before the start of the sixth round to take the WBC USA light heavyweight title.
Coe (10-1-1, KO8) was dominated by Gallegos (21-3-1, KO18) in their original meeting last November, dropped four times in all before being halted in nine rounds in one of the upsets of the year.
Coe made no mistake in the sequel though, as he took emphatic revenge.
Coe’s jab worked to superb effect in the very first round, as it split Gallegos’ nose to spell early danger for the home fighter.
The jab was quickly becoming the game-changer for Coe, and his accuracy with the shot was illustrated once more in the second, as Gallegos seemed to back away momentarily.
By the third, it was becoming a beatdown, with Coe not missing with powerful shots, and Gallegos simply didn’t have an answer.
A big right hand landed in the fourth, and with round five seeing more punishment for the home fighter, Gallegos’ corner saved their man for another day, and removed him from battle before the start of the sixth session.
Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs Luis Castillo
On the undercard, former IBF super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (14-1, KO11) kept on course for a 2025 showdown with undisputed champion Naoya Inoue by taking a one-sided eighth round win against home fighter Luis Castillo (31-7, KO20).
Akhmadaliev landed with a body shot in the fifth that dropped Castillo, and a left hand had him on the deck again a round later.
Akhmadaliev then closed the show in the eighth, cranking up the pressure and unloading until the towel came in from Castillo’s corner.
Remaining Undercard
Christian Medina Jiminez (25-4, KO18) was a winner, as he took a second-round stoppage win against Daniel Ramirez (16-10, KO9).
Jiminez looks set to challenge for the WBO Bantamweight Title against Yoshiki Takei in September in Japan next.
At super lightweight, Gabriel Valenzuela (31-4-1, KO17) took a unanimous decision win against Manuel Medina (7-4-3, KO5), but it was a close contest where Medina pushed his more illustrious opponent close.
Former world champion Adrian Curiel (26-6-1, KO5) was also a points winner, as he won unanimously over ten at super flyweight against Johan Rubio (8-3-2, KO4).
