By Francisco Salazar

(INDIO, California) - Alfonso Gomez said he was going to use his experience to defeat Yoshihiro Kamegai.

While that was the case, Gomez could not help but flash some of the grit and aggressiveness he is has been known for in previous fights.

Gomez boxed, brawled, and outhustled Kamegai through 10 rounds, winning a unanimous decision inside the Special Events Center at the Fantasy Springs Casino.

It was Gomez's first bout since winning a 10 round unanimous decision over Ed Paredes on July 9. It had been the first time Gomez was in the ring in almost two years, as he recovered from injuries outside of the ring.

Kamegai is best known for giving Robert Guerrero all he could handle for 12 rounds before losing a decision.

It was all Gomez during the first three rounds. Gomez kept his distance with a jab, but was able to counter effectively with right hands or left hooks to the body. Whenever Gomez was in the pocket, he would use angles to outland the Japanese fighter.

Undaunted, Kamegai increased his punch output in the fourth round, landing more at will. In that same round, referee Raul Caiz, Sr. deducted a point from Gomez for butting Kamegai with his head.

Gomez seemed to win the middle rounds, but Kamegai came on in the seventh round, unleashing some vicious hooks to the body and head, especially in the eighth round when both fighters traded at will.

Gomez seemed to abandon the game plan of outboxing Kamegai, staying inside the pocket and throwing at will, something he has been known for in his fights against Arturo Gatti, Jesus Soto-Karass, and 'Canelo' Alvarez. While it looked as though Gomez had slowed down in these rounds, he seemed to find a second wind in the final two rounds, matching Kamegai's offense on the inside or countering with right hands to the head.

All three judges scored the bout 98-91 in favor of Gomez, who improves to 25-6-2, 12 KOs. Kamegai drops to 25-3-1, 22 KOs.

Featherweight Ronny Rios (24-1, 10 KOs) won a hard-fought 10 round unanimous decision over Sergio Frias.

It was Rios' first fight since being stopped at the hands of Robinson Castellanos on October 10. Frias had lost one bout in his last five bouts.

It was a competitive chess match between the two fighters. Frias (16-5-2, 8 KOs) seemed to stun Rios with a counter left hook to the head, but Rios was able to fight on.

Rios took the initiative from the second round on. He peppered Frias with repeated jabs to the head, following them up with straight rights or crosses to the head. As the bout progressed, Rios began walking Frias down more, even attacking more of the body of Frias.

There were times Frias would land an occasional hook or cross, especially in the seven round. Rios swung momentum back in his direction in the eighth round, landing repeatedly with counter left hooks to the head of Frias.

Both fighters had their moments in the final round. Frias pressing the action, but Rios countered well to the head and body while maintaining his distance until the final bell sounded.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Rios, 99-91, 99-91, and 98-92.

Lightweight Jamie Kavanagh (18-1-1, 9 KOs) survived a knockdown to stop Miguel Zamudio after the fifth round.

Both fighters had their moments during a competitive first round. Both fighters pressed the action during the second round, but a Zamudio (29-7-1, 17 KOs) left-combination to the body dropped Kavanagh to the canvas. Kavanagh was not hurt and seemed to be off-balanced at the time he was dropped.

The knockdown seemed to spurt Kavanagh as he began to increase his punch output and take the fight to Zamudio. As the bout progressed, Zamudio's punch output seemed to drop, fighting only in spurts while Kavanagh landed more punches at will.

After the fifth round, the ringside physician checked on Zamudio. The physician recommended to referee Raul Caiz, Sr. to stop the bout due to the accumulation of punches Zamudio was taking, which Caiz did.

Junior lightweight Rafael Gramajo (2-1-1, 1 KO) dropped Salvador Perez (2-7-2, 1 KO) in second round on his way to a four round unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 40-35 in favor of Gramajo. 

Junior lightweights Abraham Lopez and Juan Carlos Martinez (20-15-2, 7 KOs) fought to an eight round majority decision draw. One judge scored the bout 77-75 for Lopez (17-0-1, 12 KOs), while the other two judges scored the bout 76-76.

In the opening bout of the Golden Boy Promotions card, welterweight Jose Marrufo (5-2-2) won a six round unanimous decision over Alberto Herrera. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Marrufo, 60-54, 60-54, and 59-55.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for krikya360.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing