rising contender Elijah Garcia (17-1, 13 KOs) survived an early knockdown to get a split decision victory over veteran contender Terrell Gausha (24-5-1, 12 KOs) in their 10 round middleweight clash. The judges’ scores were 95-94 for Gausha, overruled by scores of 96-93 and 95-94 for Garcia.
The 2012 U.S. Olympian Gausha struck first early in round one, sending the 21-year-old Garcia to the canvas for the first time in his career with a blistering right hand.
“I figured after he dropped me that was the hardest I was going to get hit,” said Garcia. “I prepared for it 1000%.”
“We’ve been working on the right hand,” said Gausha. “He leaned forward a little bit and I caught him at the right time. I give him credit. He’s a warrior. He kept coming forward, kept trying to press it, but I was picking him off a little bit.”
