By Michael Campbell & Ryan Burton
MORE LIVE RESULTS TO COME....................
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX - In a battle of undefeated lightweight contenders, Omar Figueroa (21-0-1, 17KOs) destroyed Abner Cotto (16-1, 7KOs), the cousin of Puerto Rican great Miguel Cotto, with a first round knockout to capture the WBC silver title. In the final minute of the first round, a series of punches put Cotto down. In the final ten seconds, a hard hook to the body sent Cotto down for the full count.
Jermall “Hitman” Charlo 154 ¼ (12-0, 8 KOs) from Houston, TX vs Orlando “Látigo” Lora 154 ¼ lbs (29-3-2, 19 KOs) from Baja California, Mexico. Jermall is twin brother of Jermell Charlo, 20-0 WBC Continental Americas light middleweight champion. Lora coming off a 6th round TKO loss to undefeated prospect Keith Thurman. Charlo demonstrates his jab and superior reach as Lora struggles to get within range to land. Charlo is trained by Ronnie Shields at the Plex high performance training facility in Stafford, TX. With his jab established, Charlo works in his arsenal of punches, landing left hooks and straight rights as Lora keeps up the pressure enough to not quite allow Charlo to get into a comfortable rhythm and landing his share of body shot and punches underneath. The jabs and left hooks are accumulating in the 4th with Lora’s right cheek and side of face showing the punishment and a cut is flowing blood from his right eyebrow. Lora declares “No Mas” in between rounds and the fight is a TKO win for Charlo at 0:10 of the 5th round.
2012 United States Olympian Terrell Gausha (4-0) made things interesting in defeating William Waters (2-4) via unanimous decision. Gausha was floored very hard in the first round and appeared tired and lethargic throughout most of the fight. He was able to do more than the inexperienced Waters to stay unbeaten. The scores were 38-37 on all three scorecards.
Junior middleweight prospect Julian Williams (12-0-1) kept his undefeated record intact by defeating Dashon Johnson (14-11) via knockout. The fight was fought on relatively even terms throughout the first two rounds. Williams stunned Johnson in the third and unloaded a flurry of punches that sent his opponent into the ropes. The referee wisely stopped the fight as Johnson wasn't punching back and appeared badly hurt. The time of the stoppage was 1:4 . Johnson's record is a bit deceptive in that in his previous fight he knocked out the then undefeated prospect Adam Trupish (then 11-0).
Ivan Morales 115 ¼ lbs (21-0, 13 KOs) from Tijuana, Mexico over Raul Hidalgo 115 ¼ lbs (17-8, 13 KOs) from Chihuahhua, Mexico. Undefeated brother of boxing legend Erik “El Terrible” Morales is looking to take the reins of the family legacy. Hidalgo proves to be more than a worthy adversary, controlling the pace of the match and landing the more effective punches. Hidalgo is docked a point in the 6th for a low blow. Morales turns more aggressive, attacking the body, and finding his range to utilize his longer reach from the southpaw stance. All three judges score it 78-73 for a Unanimous Decision.
Salvador “Chapa” Sanchez 121 ¼ lbs (30-6-3, 18 KOs) from Tianguistenco, Mexico loses to Andres “Jaguarcito” Gutierrez 122 ½ lbs (26-0-1, 22 KOs) Querataro, Mexico. Gutierrez comes out with a sense of something to prove, taking the fight to Sanchez landing heavy blows and snapping his opponents head back. In typical Sanchez fashion versus aggressive strong punchers, he tends to cover and stand stationary, which eventually makes matters much much worse for himself. The pounding continued, highlighted near the end of the 4th with Sanchez pinned in a corner taking punches only to be saved by the bell. The slaughter resumed in the 5th with Sanchez having no answers to the annihilation. Finally, with Sanchez butt planed on the corner turnbuckle, referee Lupe Garcia steps in for a merciful stoppage at 1:25 of the 5th round.
Raul “La Cobrita” Martinez, 122 ¼ lbs (29-3, 17 KOs) from San Antonio, TX loses to Omar “Bad Boy” Gonzales 120 ¾ lbs (6-8, 1 KO) from San Antonio, TX. Martinez is also a veteran of big fights in the Alamodome and finds himself unusually early on the boutsheet in front of considerably less fans than he’s seen before at fights in his hometown. Now trained by former World Champion Jesse James Leija, he’s displaying a somewhat different pace and style of fighting. Martinez cautiously looks to create openings and sends Gonzales backwards with a short straight right hand in the 2nd.
Late in the 3rd round, Martinez sustains a cut on inside left eyebrow from a head clash. After a slip to the canvas from Martinez, the two exchanged fouls before referee Mark Cal-oy returns the peace. In the 4th round the Bad Boy emerged and sensing a weakened opponent, presses the action and drops Martinez cold with a left, from which he rises on wobbly legs and trying to shake off any effects. Gonzales quickly pounces for the kill staggering Martinez again just as the fight comes to a close. Split Decision with the judges scores of 38-37 Martinez, 38-37 Gonzales, & 39-36 for Gonzales.
Miguel “El Michoacan” Flores, 127 lbs (11-0, 6 KOs) Houston, TX over Guadalupe De Leon, 127 lbs (8-14, 4 KOs) Mission, TX. Flores is the younger brother of the late Benjamin Flores, who fought Bernabe Concepcion in this venue in a memorable bout in 2007. Flores is more active and accurate, landing upstairs and downstairs. De Leon who has tested many Texas and National prospects, looked to make it a fight on the inside, and did some nice work late in the fight with a few uppercuts and hooks underneath. Unanimous Decision for Flores by judges scores of 39-37x2, & 40-36
ADD COMMENT VIEW COMMENTS (13)