IFL 4 - Recap
IFL4 has officially come to an end, and what an event it was. The IFL4: Holiday edition event went well beyond expectation. We had four fights, eight fighters, and incredibly diverse match ups. As Famecast Studio filled to capacity, we began our event with the beautiful, light as air vocals of Swedish pop singer, Manda Malina.
(Photo by iCaptureviolence)
She filled the room with holiday spirit as she sang her new single, Bow On Top. Then opening our card, we had the “frenemies”, KC Fantastic LA and Julio Lopez. Following was the “Fighter’s Fight”, Danny “Dansteezy” Astorga and Raul “RCG53” Garcia, which had the crowd on their feet. Next, our “Super Heavyweight Challenge”, where Ruben Zapata, standing 5’6 at 218lbs, took on Slap For Cash, standing 6’2 at 400lbs, in a seemingly David and Goliath match up. Lastly, our main event, the highly anticipated “Influencer Throwdown” where social media star BDave went up against social rival, Zack Bernardez. All of these incredible displays of athleticism, guts, and entertainment; that isn’t even the best part though. We practically filled our stage with unwrapped toys for the Boys and Girls Club and are currently calculating the donations raised.
Our first fight, the “Frenemies Rematch”, was an explosive display between fighters "Fantastic LA" and Lopez.
(Left- Fantastic LA , Right- Lopez)
Photos by: iCaptureviolence
The friendship and camaraderie of the two fighters did not translate into the ring, as neither held back from delivering devastating blows and truly giving it their all.
Having sparred countless times at their mutually attended training gym, their friendly rivalry is one of skill and precision.
Ultimately though, Fantastic LA walked away victorious in a split decision.
(Left- Astorga, Right- Garcia)
Photos by: iCaptureviolence
Our second fight was definitely a crowd pleaser as Astorga and Garcia came in fast and came in hard, sending a back and forth flurry of blows as soon as the bell rang.
Both fighters are trained in a background of MMA, with Astorga being a grappler and Garcia being a striker. When asked how they felt being limited to just fists, both were clear that it was “for the other man’s safety” that they were sticking to boxing.
In a close fight that came down to counting blows, both proved to be dangerous opponents in the ring. Garcia ended up walking away the winner in a unanimous decision.
