INDIO, Calif. -- Light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera got his chance to fight a big-name opponent in March and lost a lopsided decision to Andre Ward, one of boxings elite pound-for-pound fighters who went on to defeat Sergey Kovalev to claim three world title belts last month.It was a forgivable defeat for Barrera, whose goal was to get back into another major fight as soon as possible, and he may have punched his ticket with a tremendous three-knockdown performance in a seventh-round knockout of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy on Friday night at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.With this win, I proved all the people who bad-mouthed me wrong, Barrera said. This win is for all the boxing fans out there. I want to specifically thank my trainer, Derik Santos. He sat me down, we watched the tapes, and he said to me, Sullivan, this is what you have to do to get the win. This proves that my career in boxing is alive. I want a rematch with Andre Ward.Barrera said he also would love a shot at world titleholder Nathan Cleverly and that he would go to his home country of Wales to face him.Headlining an HBO Latino-televised tripleheader, Barrera and Shabranskyy put on an exciting, high-contact fight, but Barreras combination of power and speed carried the day.Barrera, in his first fight with Santos after parting ways with 2015 Boxing Writers Association of America trainer of the year Abel Sanchez, started fast, going at Shabranskyy immediately with right hands. He pounded him with rights and then landed a clean one to knock him down in the first round. Shabranskyy made it out of the round, but he was close to being stopped. Then Shabranskyy came storming back in the second round and knocked Barrera down with a right hand in a back-and-forth battle, although Barrera did not appear nearly as hurt as Shabranskyy had been.Shabranskyy (17-1, 14 KOs), 29, a Ukraine native living in Los Angeles, was down again in the fifth round after getting clobbered with another clean right hand late in the round, and he was taking punishment as the round came to a close.Barrera (18-1, 13 KOs), 34, a Miami-based Cuban defector who had a big amateur career, was in control when he landed another huge right hand in the seventh round and Shabranskyy went down hard, forcing referee Ray Corona to wave off the fight without a count at 2 minutes, 5 seconds.Of course, we would never expect this, said Shabranskyy, who had made his name as a fighter to watch thanks to a decision win against formidable Yunieski Gonzalez in December 2015. We will decide next steps after we get over this.Main Events CEO Kathy Duva, Barreras promoter, said she was impressed with the improvement he showed with Santos as his trainer.I thought it was tremendous, Duva said. I saw such an improvement. The jab, the composure. He and Derik have only been working together for a short time. You step up and take the tough fights and this is what you get.Ellis destroys Gomez in first roundWelterweight Rashidi Ellis scored a highlight-reel first-round knockout of Eddie Gomez in a stunning result.On paper the fight was as even a matchup as one could ask for between two up-and-comers. But Ellis (17-0, 12 KOs), 23, of Boston, steamrolled Gomez (19-2, 11 KOs), 24, of Bronx, New York, in devastating fashion.They felt each other out for the first half of the round, but then Ellis caught Gomez with a huge right hand that sent him to the mat.He beat the count but was a bit shaky when the fight resumed, and Ellis wasted no time launching another crushing right hand to the chin that sent him crashing to the mat again as referee Eddie Hernandez waved off the fight without a count at 1 minute, 19 seconds.I knew he was a good opponent, and we worked on the right hand the whole training camp, Ellis said.The win was the biggest of his career, one he hopes will launch him to bigger fights.It gives me a chance to show the world my talent and what level I am on, said Ellis, who said he was motivated to win by the birth of his first child, a boy, two weeks ago. Ill fight anybody.Rios just in there having funSanta Ana, California, featherweight contender Ronny Rios (27-1, 12 KOs), 26, used an unrelenting body attack to make Roy Pitbull Tapia (12-2-2, 6 KOs), 25, of East Los Angeles, quit on his stool after the sixth round.Rios went after Tapias body from the opening bell and pounded him with both hands. He shook him up with body blows in the third round and targeted his flanks throughout the fight.?When the sixth round ended, he was done and referee Corona waved off the fight. Rios won his fourth fight in a row since suffering his lone defeat, an upset fifth-round knockout loss to Robinson Castellanos in October 2014.I was just in there having fun, Rios said. Im more aware of my surroundings ... I could hear my coach, and relax my arms so much more. I was in the same position Roy is in now at one point in my career, and all I can say is that you learn so much more with a loss than you ever could with a win.Martin stops Suarez in fourth roundLightweight prospect Ryan Blue Chip Martin (18-0, 11 KOs), of Chattanooga, Tennessee, dropped and stopped Yardley Suarez (19-6, 10 KOs), of Sacramento, California, in the fourth round. Martin floored him with a left hook and moments later got the stoppage when referee Rudy Barragan jumped in at 48 seconds.The fight was Martins first with trainer Abel Sanchez, whose camp in Big Bear Lake, California, is where he prepared at. Its the same camp where fighters such as Gennady Golovkin, Murat Gassiev, Andy Ruiz and Denis Shafikov trained.Working in Big Bear has been a great experience, Martin said. Everybody up there is hungry. 2017 is time for me to make a move and thats what my goal is -- to be top a lightweight and be in contention for a belt by the end of next year.ElsewhereJunior featherweight Javier Padilla (2-0, 2 KO), of Indio, California, had the hometown fans cheering as he knocked out Mexicos Jose Mora (0-2) at 44 seconds of the second round. Padilla dropped him twice in the first round and once more in the second. ... Junior welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. (3-0, 3 KOs), of Dallas, drilled Mexicos Nestor Garcia (0-2) with a left hook, flooring him hard in the second round, and referee Eddie Hernandez counted him out at three minutes. ... Santa Ana, California, junior middleweight Alexis Rocha (6-0, 4 KOs), half-brother of featherweight contender Ronny Rios, scored knockdowns on left hooks to the body in the second and third round in a shutout decision against Los Angeles Abraham Calderon (1-4, 0 KOs). All three judges scored the fight 40-36. Carlos Beltran Jersey . 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In the two years that he has spent playing 55 international matches, Sabbir Rahman has rapidly progressed from being a lower-order hitter in T20s to a dependable ODI No 3. He now has the chance to bring his free-spirited approach to batting to Bangladeshs Test team.He is arguably Bangladeshs most exciting Test entrant since Habibul Bashar and Aftab Ahmed in the early days of their status. Both brought a sense of adventure to the line-up, though Aftab couldnt sustain playing in his own brash style for too long. Bashar was the batting mainstay from 2000 to 2007, combining his ability to play strongly off the front and back foot with the solidity of a run-maker.Sabbir doesnt necessarily have to fill Bashars shoes or suffer Aftabs fate but he will also be expected to bat his own way, which so far has made him a regular in Bangladeshs limited-overs teams.Everyone thought that I am a T20 player, that I would not be able to play one-dayers even, Sabbir said. I proved that I can play ODIs. I am now in the Test side, so Inshaallah I am hoping for my debut. I will try to make sure that I can play in all three formats in the same way.He is among four newcomers in the 14-man side selected for the first Test against England starting on Thursday, which also includes Mehedi Hasan, Nurul Hasan and Kamrul Islam Rabbi. The inclusion of these four talented cricketers is a welcome boost for the Bangladesh team management which is desperate to revive the Test line-up that had been shelved for more than a year.Sabbir stands out among the newcomers with his head-start at the top level, and an essential part of his approach will be the freedom he is given by the coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who has been arguing for his Test selection for more than a year.When announcing the squad, Hathurusingha said that he will try to find him a place in the playing XI. Though he didnt expand, it is likely that Sabbir may be given the No 7 slot. Ideally it would give him time to get set against a worn-out bowling attack, before taking on the second new ball.Bangladesh has long favoured choosing seven, and sometimes eight, full batsmen in Tests but they havent had a batsman of Sabbirs experience and ability to call upon for quite some time. Nasir Hossain faded away after 2014, having showing some promise, while others, such as Mushfiqur Rahim, were promoted up the order after spending time at No 7. Interestingly, Sabbirs mentor Khaled Mashud spent 32 Tests battingg at this position during his days as Bangladeshs wicketkeeper, but it was mostly to stop batting slides and collapses.dddddddddddd.Sabbirs game is based on sharp reflexes and a willingness to release his arms at most deliveries, and, in one-day cricket, a readiness to go over the top during fielding restrictions. While some of his shots on the on-side are a reminder of how Aftab used to smother fast bowling, Sabbirs overall game is more in the Bashar mould.Bashar was a breath of fresh air in Bangladeshs inaugural Test match in 2000. He wasnt originally in the squad but went on to make a fast fifty in the first innings against India. Until June 13 last year, he was Bangladeshs highest scorer in Tests. His method was quite simple, as he would regularly go after the fast bowlers. He would initially top-edge a lot of the shorter length deliveries but soon found his groove against top bowlers like Shoaib Akhtar, Lasith Malinga and Heath Streak. He would struggle to find gaps against spinners, but the method ultimately paid off for him, and gave Bangladesh important runs.Sabbir plays spin well, and is a good rotator of the strike. He has also shown a willingness to both use the fast bowlers pace to manipulate the field, and force himself on them too. He will have to choose between the two, and knows that success at this level will depend a lot on his judgment. It would be unwise to post him higher up the batting order at this early stage of his career but, with more Test experience, he could even emulate Bashars No 3 batting spot with the same free spirit.Sabbir says that he doesnt want to change his approach, but understands that patience will be key in the longer format.I dont think there will be a lot of change in my approach, Sabbir said. Runs are runs. Everyone will see the runs on the scoreboard. I will try to play to my strengths. There is also a matter of time in Tests: even if you play a lot of dot balls, there is no problem. There is mental satisfaction that there are no problems playing dot balls. In ODI or T20 cricket, you feel pressure if you play dot balls.In Test matches, I will think about how to sacrifice a ball, how to judge a ball. I have practised it off the field, have practised it when I am alone. I have thought about how to play well in Tests. It depends on my mentality, really. ' ' '