ELIJAH Garcia bounced back from the first loss of his career -to Kyrone Davis last June- by scoring a 10-round split win over veteran Terrell Gausha in Las Vegas last night. However, many felt Garcia was the recipient of some favourable judging.
Opening the televised portion of the PBC show, Garcia was awarded scores of 95-94 (Don Trella) and 96-93 (Zachary Young), countered by a 95-94 in Gausha’s favour from Chris Migliore. The latter was scant consolation for Gausha’s efforts.
The 37-year-old started strong, just as he did against Tim Tszyu in 2022, dropping Garcia with a beautifully timed right hand in the opener. Garcia tried to punch his way back into the bout, but the 21-year-old was being consistently bopped by Gausha’s patient power punching.
Elijah upped the pressure, trying to force the action in response to new trainer Bob Santos’ instructions. The rookie southpaw has learned on the job, accepting a string of tough fights early in his career. It appeared that former Olympian Gausha was too savvy, but two of the three wise men saw otherwise.
Elijah Garcia improved his record to 17-1 (13 KOs), while Terrell Gausha dropped to 24-5-1 (12 KOs). Robert Hoyle refereed.
