Marc Castro remembers grandmother and escapes scary crash to give Fresno boxing fans a show
Marc Castro put on a powerful performance in his pro boxing debut in Fresno on Saturday evening.
Castro landed many combinations that rocked Angel Luna, dropping him twice in the first round before referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight when Luna was sent to the canvas for a third time in a super featherweight bout at Chukchansi Park.
The time of the stoppage was 2:41.
It is Castro’s fourth stoppage since he turned pro in February 2020.
Nerves never rattled Castro as fans chanted ‘Castro, Castro.’ He said he just tried to take it all in.
“I just stayed calm,” he said. “More importantly, landing my shots, defense first and foremost and took care of business. I wanted to make sure he had no chance. Make him know he had no chance.”
It was Castro’s plan to take care of business early and often. Not just for his friends and family, but for his grandmother, who died in June.
Castro walked to the ring with a shirt paying tribute to his grandmother.
“My grandmother is the main reason why we’re in Fresno today,” Castro said. “Born and raised in Fresno, it all made sense, and she recently passed, and it means the world to me to fight here in her honor. This one was for my grandmother, and I dedicated this fight for her.”
The Sunnyside High grad was recently in a three-vehicle crash at Clovis and Tulare avenues when Castro’s Jeep flipped.
Castro walked away uninjured but said he worried his fight would be postponed because of the crash.
“The main thing when I got in the crash, can I fight?” he said. “I was so in shock that maybe I was injured, and I wasn’t feeling it. I got checked out and got cleared, and I was good to go.”
Castro is hoping to land another fight before the end of the year, but for now, he’s going to relish his latest win.
“There is so much work that went into this,” he said. “Sacrifices for me and my family and thank God for everything.”
Shocking win in main event
Former world champion Mikey Garcia lost by majority decision in his first fight since Feb. 2020.
Sandor Martin of Spain picked up the win after judges Zachary Young scored it (95-95), while Fernando Villareal and Carla Caiz scored it 97-93 in favor of Martin.
Garcia, an Oxnard native, hadn’t fought since his unanimous decision win over Jessie Vargas in Frisco, Texas. His record drops to 40-2 and Martin is now 39-2.
Fight results
Super lightweight: Oscar Alan Perez d. Raymundo Rios by unanimous decision
Lightweight: Charlie Sheehy d. Luciano Ramos by technical knockout in round 4 (1:48)
Middleweight: Nikita Ababiy d. Sanny Duversonne by unanimous decision
Super-Middleweight: Diego Pacheco d. Lucas De Abreu by technical knockout in round 8 (2:32)
IBF Intercontinental Lightweight: Brock Jarvis d. Alejandro Frias Rodriguez by technical knockout in round 5 (2:04)
Light-Flyweight: Jesse Rodriguez d. Jose Alejandro Burgos by technical knockout in round 4 (1:23)
WBO World Light-Flyweight title: Jonathan Gonzalez d. Elwin Soto by split decision
Super-Featherweight: Marc Castro d. Angel Luna by technical knockout in round 1 (2:32)
Welterweight: Sandor Martin d. Mikey Garcia by majority decision
This story was originally published October 17, 2021 at 6:52 AM.
