Two of Matchroom Boxing’s top American players were upset Saturday night on the Liam Paro-Richardson Hitchins undercard in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Marc Castro, a lightweight from Fresno, Calif., and Jalil Hackett, a welterweight from Washington, D.C., both lost 10-round split decisions to unheralded opponents they were heavily favored to beat. Both matches were competitive, but Castro and Hackett each dropped two points and were defeated for the first time as professionals.
Argentina’s Agustin Quintana was a more active, accurate puncher than Castro, who entered the ring as a 13-1 favorite, according to bookmaker FanDuel. Castro occasionally matched the aggressive Quintana, but more often than not he kept him on the back foot, couldn’t stop Quintana from coming forward and didn’t defend well enough to win.
Judges Carlos Colon (97-93) and Gerardo Martinez (96-94) scored seven and six rounds respectively for Quintana from Buenos Aires. Referee Luis Ruiz scored six rounds for Castro, who won 96-94 on his card.
The 25-year-old Castro (13-1, 8 KOs), a decorated amateur, has not progressed as expected since Eddie Hearn’s company signed him to much fanfare in 2020. Noted for his three-time victory over new U.S. lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis in amateurs, Castro has been plagued by injuries, inconsistency and defensive deficiencies as a pro.
The 28-year-old Quintana (21-2-1, 13 KOs) won his third straight fight since countryman Juan Javier Carrasco (then 15-1) knocked him out in the fifth round of their fight in Buenos Aires in December 2022.
Hackett, 21, struggled in his second consecutive match since signing with Matchroom in late spring. Martinez and Ruiz scored Jose Roman of Puerto Rico a 96-94 winner over Hackett (9-1, 7 KOs), who won 96-94 according to Colon.
Once one of the prized contenders on Floyd Mayweather’s promotional roster, Hackett has regressed since he stopped fighting on Gervonta Davis’ undercard during the second half of 2023. Hackett struggled defensively and seemingly with his conditioning in his matchroom debut – 10 rounds, unanimous decision – defeat by decision New York veteran Peter Dobson (16-2, 9 KOs) on July 13 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Hackett still got the better of Dobson by scores of 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94. He wasn’t so lucky on Saturday night.
The assertive Hackett started well, but Roman seemed to get the better of the fading fighter later in a fight that was contested mostly on the inside. Roman rallied during the second half of their fight, when he countered Hackett with body and head as Hackett pressed the action.
Like Castro, Hackett’s defensive ineffectiveness cost him Saturday night. The taller, slightly tougher Roman (14-1, 6 KOs) has won three straight since suffering his lone loss, an eight-round unanimous decision against Cesar Francis (then 11-0) in October 2021 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. .