Welterweight Niklaus Fraz defeated Alfredo Escarcega Jr. by technical knockout in the fourth round on Wednesday, scoring a four-fight significant win streak that includes two consecutive stoppage victories on Probox TV.
Fraz (13-2, 9 KOs), 28, of Puerto Rico, fought aggressively throughout the scheduled 10-round bout, taking control and counterpunching effectively against Escarcega (15-2, 1 Draw, 7 KOs), 26, of Buckeye, Arizona. Despite having a strong amateur record, Escarcega was cleanly hit multiple times by Fraz's punches, especially his right hand, which he landed consistently in the first round. The two fighters traded punches throughout the bout, with Fraz having the lead most of the time.
Fraz's punches were built up and landed smoothly on Escarcega, who's striking power visibly declined from the first to the second round. In the third round, Fraz took Escarcega down with a body shot and continued to attack the body relentlessly. Escarcega, who was in a hurry to get into the fight, grimaced with each punch until the end of the round.
Fraz applied constant pressure, what Probox TV commentator Paulie Malignaggi described as “mental pressure.” Fraz was relentless, not giving Escarcega a chance to rest. In the fourth round, Escarcega was down again with a right hook to the body. Fraz seamlessly switched from orthodox to southpaw and landed a series of right and left hooks to the body, taking his opponent down again.
This prompted referee Massimo Montanini to step in and stop the bout at 2 minutes and 48 seconds into the fourth round.
With recent wins over Luke Santamaria, Jahi Tucker and Brian Ceballo, Fraz is considered a title contender in a somewhat thin welterweight division with the advancements of Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. Prior to the fight, Fraz was ranked seventh by the IBF and 13th by the WBO, but this performance should see him move up in the rankings.
Lucas Ketel is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). He can be reached at X @LukieBoxing.
