PBC on FS1: Williams Starches Cuello; Flores and Cusolito Wage Outrageous War

.@Jrockboxing takes out @PrincipeCuello with 1st RD TKO; says "I'll fight anyone in the 154-lb division." #PBConFS1 https://t.co/DbHs8PCGxb

— PBC (@premierboxing) September 23, 2015

Luciano Cuello came all the way to the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, Penn., only to land a total of two punches. Cuello was so overwhelmed by Julian Williams’ offense that the Spain-dwelling Argentinean was only able to get off five total punches before he was blown away.

Williams tore into Cuello from the start, tearing him apart with a machine gun jab and a ruthless attack to the head and body. Cuello could only cover up as he tried to figure out the Philadelphian’s attacks. But before he could even react to what was being launched at him, a double right cross wrecked his equilibrium.

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Cuello (35-4, 17 KOs) stumbled face first into the ropes and by the time he spun around, Williams was already unleashing a blitzkrieg of punches. Cuello covered up as best he could, but after Williams pounded away with multiple overhand rights, referee Gary Rosato was left no choice but to jump in and halt the mugging. The slaughter lasted only 1:33, which prompted Williams to embark on a post-fight tirade where he called everybody out.

“I’m here to make a statement in the junior middleweight division,” Williams (21-0-1, 13 KOs) shouted afterward. “I’ll fight anyone in the division. Anybody. I got no picks. I’m the best junior middleweight in the world. I can walk through all of these guys.”

Once the interview concluded, Williams leaned over the ropes and called out Austin Trout, who is the ringside analyst for PBC on Fox Sport 1’s Toe-To-Toe Tuesdays. They traded verbal barbs and Austin said, “I’ll fight you next,” before shaking on it.

The opening bout of the PBC on FS1 telecast was one for the ages as junior featherweights Moises Flores and Luis Cusolito waged what will easily be a candidate for the fight of the year. They stood forehead-to-forehead almost exclusively from the start as the two warriors unleashed absolute hell into each other’s body and head.

Both men were bloodied in the contest and it seemed as though whenever one of them would get hurt, he’d storm right back and return the favor. Flores, who hails from Mexico, was busier with the jab and right to the body, but Cusolito threw the harder punches throughout.

Flores eventually wore his Argentinean foe down and began rocking him late in the fight. Though Cusolito was always game and stood his ground, his punch output lessened while Flores continued to stalk him and destroy his guts.

Finally, in the 12th, the two traded left hooks, but Flores’ landed first and it badly rocked Cusolito. His knees buckled as he backed away and it opened the door for Flores to dish out a series of lefts and rights. Cusolito tried to recover, but as he stumbled into the ropes near the corner, Flores pelted him with a volley of punches.

When he had seen enough, veteran third man Benji Esteves halted the action. Some observes griped at the decision to stop it because Cusolito (21-2, 19 KOs) had come back from similar storms throughout the fight, but his legs were gone and his senses shattered. The official time of the stoppage came 57 seconds into the final round of a fight so scintillating that a rematch wouldn’t be out of the question.

After the fight, Flores (24-0, 17 KOs) told Daniel Jacobs that he wants to fight the best and called out one of today’s best young stars.

“I really want that fight with Leo Santa Cruz. It will be a great fight.”

In the swing bout, Caleb Plant was too much for Jamar Freeman to handle as he won a lopsided unanimous decision. Freeman was dropped in the third from a flurry of punches but he hung on until the end. Plant (10-0, 8 KOs), from Tennessee, won via tallies of 79-72 and 80-71 (twice). Freeman, who hails from North Carolina, dipped to 13-5-2 with 7 KOs.