Oscar Duarte walked away with the win on August 2 when he faced Kenneth Sims Jr. at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago. The two fighters went head-to-head for 12 rounds at super lightweight. The Mexican contender defeated Sims by majority decision, with scores of 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113.
With the victory, Duarte improved to 30-2-1, 23 KOs, marking his fourth win since suffering a knockout defeat to Ryan Garcia in late 2023. The 29-year-old also won the WBA title eliminator at 140 lbs.
Gary Antuanne Russell (18-1, 17 KOs) of Capitol Heights, MD, is the current WBA champion in the division.
“I am very happy, it was a great fight, a war,” said Duarte. “I am very happy about this victory and I am very happy to be closer to be fighting for a world title.”
“Sims Jr. brought much experience and had great conditioning. He came very prepared. However, I felt that I was very prepared and that I was in control of the rounds. It was a fight where I learned a lot.”
“I am ok with doing a rematch with him, wherever he wants to do it. If he wants to run it back in Chicago, we can do it here again too, but I would come ready to knock him out.
31-year-old Chicago native, Sims Jr., dropped to 22-3-1, 8 KOs, snapping his nine-fight winning streak.
“I thought I won. It was a good fight, tough fight, but I thought I won.” said Sims Jr. “He brought pressure like I expected. Relentless pressure. It was nothing that I didn’t expect. I mean, I could’ve sharpened my defense. It was a good fight. He’s a tough fighter.”
It was amazing [the fans]. I love my hometown, I love my city. It’s good to see they love me too.”
“Absolutely [run it back]. I want it right back because I won that fight. It was a close fight, but I won it. We can go right back to it.”
Regis Prograis defeats Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz in co-feature
In the co-main event, Regis Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs) of New Orleans, LA, defeated fellow former champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz (34-8-1, 15 KOs) of South El Monte, CA, by unanimous decision at welterweight. After 10 rounds, the judges scored the fight 98-92, 96-94, and 96-94.
With the victory, Prograis bounced back from two straight defeats against Jack Catterall and Devin Haney.
“It was like when you have the jitters coming into a fight, then after that you get hit with the first one – and then it’s a fight,” said Prograis. “I knew it was gonna be a fight with him. I went to my corner and they said, ‘Listen, just keep your jab out.’ And that’s what I did. That’s how I got the job done.”
“People are gonna say what they wanna say, but I felt like I needed this. JoJo’s a veteran. He’s real tough, and he came to fight. We went 10 rounds – 10 hard rounds – and that’s something I definitely needed in my bag.”
“For me, I want to get back to being a champion. I want the big money. Big money or a world championship – that’s what I want next.”
On Duarte vs Sims Jr undercard
Among other Duarte vs Sims Jr results, Tristan Kalkreuth (16-1, 11 KOs) of Carrollton, TX, defeated Devonte Williams (13-3, 6 KOs) of Houston, TX, via RTD at cruiserweight. Williams didn’t come out for the third round. Kalkreuth dropped Williams in the second round with a left body shot.
Joshua Edwards (4-0, 4 KOs) of Houston, TX, dropped and stopped Cayman Audie (4-2, 2 KOs) of Mora, MN, in the first round at heavyweight. The official time was 1:29 into the round.
Yair Benjamin Gallardo-Lozano (10-0, 8 KOs) of Mexico defeated Quinton Rankin (21-10-2, 16 KOs) of Charlotte, NC, by unanimous decision after eight rounds at light heavyweight. The judges scored it 80-71, 79-72, and 79-72. On his way to victory, Gallardo dropped Rankin with a left body shot in the sixth round.
On the prelims, Gael Cabrera (9-0, 6 KOs) of Mexico TKO’d Richard Reyes Diaz (3-1-1, 2 KOs) of Cuba in the first round at featherweight. Plus, Mehki Phillips (7-0, 7 KOs) of Capitol Heights, MD, stopped Mexico’s Joseph Ricardo Cruz Brown (12-15, 7 KOs) in the second round at lightweight.