Curiel settled in after a competitive opening round and started landing the cleaner shots by the center frames. A right uppercut late within the fourth round shifted momentum, and he continued to search out Panthen with sharper work inside because the fight progressed. Panthen remained game and lively, but Curiel’s accuracy and composure separated him over time.
The clearest moment got here late within the ninth round, when a right hand buckled Panthen’s legs and nearly put him down. Curiel followed that with one other strong tenth, opening a cut inside Panthen’s right eyebrow and shutting the fight on top of things. Judges scored it 97-93 twice and 98-92.
Within the co-feature, Jorge Chavez earned a unanimous decision over Manny Flores of their rematch, avenging a draw from last summer and claiming the vacant California State and WBA Continental USA super bantamweight titles.
Flores began quickly and pressed the motion early, but Chavez progressively took over by standing his ground and landing heavier right hands. A sustained surge within the eighth round, highlighted by a flurry of uppercuts, appeared to swing the fight decisively in Chavez’s favour. All three judges scored it for Chavez by margins starting from 96-94 to 98-92.
Elsewhere on the cardboard, Ruslan Abdullaev continued his fast start as knowledgeable, stopping Eduardo Abreu late within the fifth round of their scheduled eight-round super lightweight bout. Abdullaev dropped Abreu with a right hand within the third and again with an uppercut within the fifth before the referee waved it off with seconds remaining.
John Ramirez picked up a majority decision over Bryon Rojas in a ten-round super flyweight contest, while Cayden Griffiths remained unbeaten with a six-round decision against Lesther Espino. Griffiths scored an early knockdown and pressed throughout, but Espino showed durability to listen to the ultimate bell.
Middleweight Fabian Guzman closed the night with a sixth-round stoppage of Jose Gabriel Rodriguez, continuing his strong run inside the space.
It was an extended card with uneven moments, but Curiel’s composed main-event showing gave the night a transparent centre, and Golden Boy at the very least left Palm Desert with a result that made sense.