Nelson Oliva’s first fight at 154 pounds was a success.

Oliva defeated Alfonso Olvera on Saturday night at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, Calif. The scores were 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74 for Oliva, who improved to 12-0 with 8 knockouts.

Olvera was in form and won the first round, but Oliva was the more effective and right fighter for the rest of the fight. The left-handed Oliva outboxed Olvera from range or from the interior, landing left hooks or counters to the head many times.

Every time the taller Olvera tried to launch an attack, Oliva reversed the momentum back toward him, putting him on the defensive with a two-punch combination. Oliva clearly won the fight, but trainer Henry Ramirez felt Oliva could have fought a more fluid and complete fight.

“(Nelson) was very torpid today, but (he gained) a lot of experience,” Ramirez said after the fight.

In his previous fight on March 30, Oliva, who grew up in Los Angeles, defeated Franyerson Puerta by unanimous decision. On November 4, Oliva scored a one-sided victory over Dario Guerrero-Meneses.

All three of Oliva’s fights over the past year have taken place at Thunder Studios. Oliva has fought under the Thompson Boxing Promotions and CBN Promotions banners since making his professional debut in February 2021.

The 28-year-old is trained by Henry Ramirez.

Olvera, who is from Nogales, Mexico, and currently resides in Tucson, Arizona, is coming off a 13-9-3, 5 KO loss. In his previous fight on May 13 of last year, Olvera knocked out Ousmane Sylla.

Prior to his win over Sylla, the 34-year-old had lost two consecutive fights in an 11-month span to Quinton Randall and Delonte Johnson.

In a clash of undefeated junior featherweights, Hector Lopez defeated Noah Contreras via majority decision. One judge scored the fight 57-57, while the other two judges scored it 60-54 and 58-56 for Lopez, who improved to 6-0, 4 KOs.

After two solid exchanges in the first two rounds, Lopez began to take control of the ring, outboxing Contreras in the middle rounds. Contreras switched to a left-handed style, which played to Lopez’s advantage, stunning Contreras on several occasions.

Even from a distance, Lopez landed the more effective combinations as Contreras landed the punches in the final two rounds.

Contreras, who lives in Fort Mohave, Arizona, is coming off a 9-1, 4 KO loss.

In the junior flyweight bout, amateur standout Terry Washington of San Bernardino made his pro debut by knocking out Ezequiel Robles (1-2) of Tepic, Mexico in the first round.

Halfway through the first round, Robles attempted a two-punch combination that missed. Washington responded with a left-right combination followed by a left hook that knocked Robles down. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. counted Robles out at 1:55.

Washington was recently named the “Most Outstanding Boxer” at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

In lightweight action, Eric Mondragon improved to 11-1, 4 KOs by defeating veteran Jose Valenzuela (3-16-1, 2 KOs) of Puebla, Mexico, by unanimous decision. The scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56 for Mondragon, who lives in nearby Maywood.

Middleweight contender Blazen Rocili won by second-round knockout after Selim Martinez (6-8, 2 KOs) of Matamoros, Mexico, opted not to continue. Rocili, who hails from Waipahu, Hawaii, and currently trains in Las Vegas, improved to 7-0, 6 KOs.

In the first fight of the CBN Promotions card, featherweight Kenario Davidson stopped Gurjant Singh (2-1, 1 KO) of India in the third round to earn a decision victory. The scores were 38-37, 38-37, and 39-36 for Davidson, who was making his pro debut.

Promoter Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua will want another “massive fight” after the former two-time heavyweight champion vowed to continue despite shocking defeat to Daniel Dubois on Saturday in London.

Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) repeatedly knocked Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) down at Wembley Stadium before finally landing a powerful right hook in the fifth round that sent his English rival to the mat, handing him the fourth loss of his career. Dubois defended his IBF belt.

Joshua appeared at the post-fight press conference and assured that he will continue fighting.

“You’re probably asking, ‘Do I still want to fight?’ Of course I want to keep fighting,” Joshua said.

“That’s what I said, that we tried to succeed and we failed. What does that mean now? Are we going to run away? [Or] Will we live to fight another day?

Dubois charged forward and caught his opponent off guard, landing a powerful left hook that dropped Joshua for the first time slow in Round 1, capping a near-perfect opening that stunned the Wembley crowd – and Joshua.

“We also have to give credit to our opponent, Daniel. Congratulations to him and his team, and thanks to my team for the way they prepared for me. There were a few mistakes there, but that’s the nature of the game,” Joshua said. “Tiny margins can cost you a lot at the highest level.”

Hearn stated in the ring that the rematch clause would likely be activated, but explained at the post-fight press conference that Joshua had signed a deal to fight next season in Riyadh and would likely want a rematch.

Hearn said Joshua is keen to take part in critical fights to finish his career and that another pre-fight fight is unlikely.

“We have another fight with Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh and Daniel Dubois are part of that plan, but it could easily be Tyson Fury or another heavyweight,” Hearn said. “I don’t think it’s a career-ending fight for him, but he’s in the final chapters of his career and it was a massive blow because we wanted to win tonight and fight the winner of Fury and [Oleksandr] Usyk.

“I know he’s going to want a massive fight, I don’t think he’s going to want to come back in February or March for a round, Helenius or Franklin or those types of fights. I feel like we’ve done that and the next decision is going to be very critical.”

Eddie Hearn believes the second fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will be another highlight of the season in Riyadh after they exercised their rematch clause.

There will be many fans interested in watching the Joshua-Dubois rematch because they will want to see if AJ can avenge his loss. Of course, some fans will want to see if Dubois can retire Joshua with a second knockout.

That’s what makes the rematch intriguing and likely to generate massive PPV numbers. Hearn hasn’t said anything about whether Joshua will exercise his rematch clause immediately or wait until he faces Tyson Fury. That’s the fight the public wants to see.

Joshua (28-4, 23 KOs) will be off until the end of the year following his fifth-round knockout loss to IBF heavyweight champion Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) before returning in 2025.

Hearn likes the effort Joshua put in after being hurt in the first round and getting back up in the fourth and fifth. However, by then Joshua was already “damaged goods” and his punch resistance evaporated after the first round.

“He never stopped trying to land those massive punches to knock Dubois out, even when he had no legs, and that’s unbelievable heart,” Eddie Hearn told Stomping Grounds about Anthony Joshua still trying to win, even though he has been in impoverished form since the first round.

Joshua didn’t land many rights in the fight because he looked cautious and had too much muscle in his arms. AJ should have been leaner and more aggressive in this fight. The passive fighting didn’t work for him and it allowed Dubois to gain confidence. If Joshua had hurt Dubois early, it would have discouraged him from throwing.

“You saw him saying, ‘Come on,’ and he was waiting for him and he was waving with his chin up,” Hearn continued of Joshua. “People have criticized AJ in the past for not letting go of his hands. He let go of his hands at the worst possible times.”

Joshua didn’t land many punches in either round; there were a few in the third and fourth, but not enough to hurt Dubois as he should have. He made a massive deal about sending Dubois back to his corner after the fourth, but he didn’t do much in that round.

“I said, ‘You must be proud of yourself because it couldn’t have gotten any worse, and you never stopped trying to get back up.’ Even when he finally couldn’t get back up. [fifth round]trying to get up. Every time he got knocked down, he looked straight at the referee, ‘I’m fine.’ He kept calling for Dubois,” Hearn said.

Joshua put on a brave face when he was knocked down, but you could see he was worried and knew the fight wasn’t going well for him.

“When he came back into the fight and started hurting Dubois, he was already banged up and had been castrated,” Hearn said.

Joshua should have used his jab to set Dubois up for a right hook after he staggered him in the fifth. He had already hurt him. and didn’t need to unload a risky right hook on him.

“We’ll be respectful because I don’t think it’s fair, Daniel, but we have another fight with Riyadh, a season that we can practice. I believe AJ will want it to be Daniel Dubois.

“He felt like he was coming back into the fight,” Hearn said of Joshua, who believed he was gathering strength in the fourth and fifth rounds. “I spoke to him at length last night and he was really prepared to go into the trenches. He told me, ‘I’m really prepared to do whatever it takes,’ and he never stopped trying.”

If Joshua was grave about going to the trenches, he should have thrown more punches because he didn’t throw enough punches to give himself a chance to win the fight. If he could have thrown 40 to 50 punches a round, he would have won easily. He didn’t and seemed to be worried about gas.

“It was strenuous to watch at times in the second and third rounds. He never stopped hanging on, he never stopped swinging, and we should be proud of him for that performance.

“No, I don’t think so,” Hearn said when asked if there was a chance Joshua would retire after the loss. “He was in great shape. He just got caught so early. He didn’t really have a chance to get in the fight, but even under the circumstances he almost found a way to come back.

“So he’ll be devastated, he’ll feel sorry for himself and he’ll miss the rest of the year and then we’ll see him back in 2025,” Hearn said.

Joshua could have had a much better fight and has some regrets. As he takes the rest of the year off, Joshua will have to dwell on his defeat.