Kevin “The Second Coming” Newman II walked into the MGM Grand Garden Arena as a +275 underdog against a heavily-favoured Elijah Garcia — and walked out with the biggest win of his career. The Roy Jones Jr.-trained super lightweight produced a complete, composed 10-round performance that left the judges scoring 98-92, 96-94, and 95-95 in his favour, continuing Garcia’s painful losing run at super lightweight and signalling Newman as a legitimate force in the division at 35 years old.
Read our pre-fight preview and prediction for full fighter profiles and pre-fight analysis.
| Kevin Newman II | Elijah Garcia | |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 35 | 21 |
| Record (after) | 19-3-1 (11 KOs) | 17-2 (13 KOs) |
| Height | 6’1” | 6’0” |
| Reach | 74” | 72” |
| Stance | Orthodox | Southpaw |
| Nickname | The Second Coming | — |
Garcia entered this fight as a -370 favourite — the kind of odds that imply a roughly 79% probability of victory. He was younger (21 vs 35), had a superior knockout ratio (13 KOs in 18 fights), and was looking to reestablish himself after a split-decision setback to Kyrone Davis in mid-2024.
Newman, for his part, arrived on a seven-fight winning streak that included a seventh-round TKO of Malcolm Jones last July, but the betting markets treated him as an afterthought. What the market missed was the margin for Newman to exploit: Garcia, for all his power and upside, had shown tactical vulnerabilities against fighters willing to be disciplined and patient. Newman and his trainer Roy Jones Jr. clearly identified and prepared for exactly that.
No round-by-round CompuBox statistics were available for this bout, but the narrative of the fight and the clarity of two of the three scorecards (98-92 and 96-94) paint a consistent picture: Newman controlled the distance, moved intelligently, and denied Garcia the sustained exchanges that would have allowed the southpaw’s power to dictate terms.
Newman’s approach was built on several key principles:
At 21 years old, Garcia was the youngest fighter on the card and remains a fighter with genuine long-term potential. But this was the second setback of his young career, and the second time he has come up short against a veteran opponent willing to be patient, mobile and technical. The pattern is worth noting: Garcia’s losses have come against fighters who refused to engage on his terms. Until he develops the tools to force those exchanges or improve his work when fighting the jab, the same blueprint will remain available to opponents.
The majority decision (with one judge scoring it a draw at 95-95) confirms this was not a clean, unambiguous contest. One judge saw it level. The other two gave it to Newman by 2 and 4 points respectively. In a fight without CompuBox data, the range of scores suggests the rounds were genuinely competitive — not a Newman runaway, but a performance that was, across the totality of 10 rounds, more efficient and more controlled than Garcia’s.
Mendoza seemed shocked by the wider scores in the co-feature; Elijah Garcia’s team may feel similarly. But the margins on two of three cards are wide enough that the result is not seriously in dispute.
For Newman, the win is transformational. At 19-3-1 on a seven-fight unbeaten run, the 35-year-old is now a credible contender in a super lightweight division that features genuine stars in Gervonta Davis, Rolando Romero, and others. His ability to upset a heavily-favoured, younger opponent on a PPV platform will not go unnoticed by promoters.
For Garcia, the road back begins again. The 21-year-old is still more than young enough to rebuild, but two losses at super lightweight — both on decisions, both against opponents who boxed him — suggest a tactical development priority that his camp needs to address before he faces elite-level opposition. His power remains a significant asset; translating it consistently against smart, mobile opposition is the challenge ahead.
The Fundora–Thurman PPV produced results across all five main bouts. Read our reviews of the full card:
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