Eric Priest came out victorious over Tyler Howard on January 23 at The Commerce Casino & Hotel in Commerce, CA. Battling it out in the headliner of the first Golden Boy Fight Night of 2025, the native of Wichita Falls, TX defeated his opponent from Crossville, TN by unanimous decision. After 10 rounds at super middleweight, all three judges scored the bout 100-90.
With the victory, unbeaten 26-year-old Priest improved to 15-0, 8 KOs, and landed the WBA Continental North America title. 31-year-old Howard dropped to 20-3, 11 KOs, and lost his second fight in a row.
“I felt great in there,” Eric Priest said post-fight. “Howard is a tough opponent, that’s why they call him ‘Hercules’. I rate my performance a B+ because there is always room for improvement. I felt like I was in my groove inside the ring, everything that I had practiced in the gym came through naturally.”
“I trust in Oscar [De La Hoya] and Eric [Gómez] for the next step in my career, and I’ll follow their direction.”
In the co-main event, also at super middleweight, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) of Poughkeepsie, NY earned a unanimous decision against DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs) of Orangeburg, SC. After 10 rounds, the scores were 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93.
Among other Priest vs Howard results, Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) of Thermal, CA dropped and stopped David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) of Costa Rica with a right uppercut at super welterweight. The official time was 2:59 into the second round.
As well, Cayden Griffiths (3-0, 3 KOs) of Harrisburg, PA knocked out Marc Misiura (3-5-1, 1 KOs) of Scranton, PA with a left body shot. The super welterweight matchup was halted at 1:43 into the second round.
Plus, Jordan Fuentes (3-0) of Selma, CA defeated Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) of Charlotte, NC by unanimous decision in a four-rounder at super bantamweight. All three scores were 40-35.
In the event opener, Leonardo Sanchez (8-0, 6 KOs) of Rancho Mirage, CA defeated Mexico’s Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12, 6 KOs) by unanimous decision at super featherweight. After six rounds, the scores were 60-54 across the board.