KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The welterweight division isn’t the stacked, wall-to-wall assortment of talent it once was, but Nicklaus Flaz seems to be trying to rebuild it one fight at a time.
On Saturday at Silver Spurs Arena, Flaz authored a thorough beatdown of Alan Sanchez for a fourth-round stoppage victory and made it clear he’ll be a contender to reckon with at 147 in due time – a moment that may be coming sooner rather than later.
Puerto Rico’s Flaz wasted no time learning Sanchez’s limits in the first round, unloading combinations, mixing jabs, right hands and uppercuts while changing levels, sometimes countering and sometimes leading. Sanchez, of Fairfield, California, hardly had an opportunity to come up for air.
In the second, Flaz took full control, overwhelming Sanchez with cascades of leather before, curiously, backing off toward the end of the round. Maybe he wanted the rounds. Maybe he needed a short breather. But in the third, Flaz took his time, perhaps setting traps and definitely lulling Sanchez into believing the worst was over.
That’s when, about midway through the frame, Flaz connected with an uppercut-overhand right combination. Moments later, it was a left hook up top and then one downstairs. Then a three-punch combination before the bell. Suddenly, the ugliness was back on for Sanchez.
When Flaz socked him with a big right hand in the fourth, it seemed to be the signal he needed. No need to draw things out any further. From there, Flaz unspooled punches from seemingly every angle, relentlessly, hemming Sanchez in and offering no quarter, even briefly.
With Sanchez returning roughly one punch for every 10 thrown by Flaz, referee Frank Santore Jnr had seen more than enough, stepping in to wave off the fight at 2 minutes, 7 seconds of the fourth.
With the win, Flaz ran his record to 15-2 (10 KOs) and ensured he’ll be pressing for top-five status in the rankings of at least three different sanctioning bodies soon enough. Sanchez, meanwhile, dropped to 24-7-1 (10 KOs).
In a tactical, well-matched junior middleweight matchup earlier on the card, Darrelle Valsaint gradually figured out Rodolfo Orozco, earning a stoppage with a spent Orozco sitting on his stool after eight rounds.
Orlando’s Valsaint, 13-0 (11 KOs), dictated with a jab early, but Orozco, 33-5-3 (25 KOs), had his share of success as a counterpuncher and by targeting Valsaint’s body. As the rounds wore on, Valsaint’s power punches connected with more frequency and effectiveness. Mexico’s Orozco was never in danger of hitting the canvas, but he was taking increased punishment while putting up less resistance.
Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at and followed on and .