By Jake Donovan

Javier Mendoza enjoyed an easy night's work at home, dropping Mauricio Fuentes twice en route to a 2nd round technical knockout Saturday evening in Tijuana, Mexico.

Both fighters weighed 110 lb. for the non-title fight.

The bout was the first for Mendoza since winning the vacant junior flyweight over Ramon Garcia last fall. He has yet to make his first title defense, however, as Saturday's bout was not sanctioned by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), prompting the modified 110 lb. catchweight limit. 

Once the bell rang, it was clear why there was no need for a belt to be on the line. Fuentes was a poor contender even when marched to a showdown with John Riel Casimero last summer. Casimero wound up losing the belt on the scales after showing up more than a full division over the weight limit, before proceeding to knock out Fuentes inside of one round.

It remained to be seen whether Fuentes boasted any punch resistance, or if that night was simply due to Casimero gaining an unfair strength advantage by refusing to shrink down to the proper weight limit.

Mendoza quickly answered those questions. While his visiting challenger was game in the opening round, the fight went downhill quickly for the fringe contender from Colombia. 

A straight left, right hook combination prompted the first knockdown, with Fuentes dropping to a knee then bouncing back up in an effort to conceal the sequence only to get called for a mandatory eight count. Mendoza didn't stop there, unleashing a flurry that forced the second knockdown of the fight mere seconds later.

Fuentes received another count, but was cut short after one of his cornermen entered the right to request an immediate stoppage. 

The early night gives Mendoza (23-2-1, 19KOs) his 10th straight win, with all but one ending inside the distance over that stretch. The lone brave soul to extend Mendoza to the scorecards was Garcia in their aformentioned title fight last fall. 

Fuentes remains winless outside of Colombia, with life on the road lasting less than three total rounds. The 25-year old was stopped in one round by Casimero in Philippines last May, and now has his second knockout loss on his ledger as he falls to 17-4 (11KOs).

The bout aired live on beIn Sports Español. 

ORTEGA BATTERS ESQUIVEL

Local super bantamweight Edivaldo Ortega has always looked the part but lacked the notable win to confirm whether or not he's for real.

That's no longer a problem, as the unbeaten prospect was impressive in dismantling former bantamweight contender Christian Esquivel in round three of their televised co-feature. 

Ortega was feeling the love from the hometown crowd and certainly gave everyone their money's worth. Esquivel tried in vain to keep pace, but was quickly overwhelmed to the point of no return.

The fight ending sequence came towards the midway point of round three. Ortega went on the attack, cracking Esquivel on the chin with a combination upstairs to drive the veteran to the ropes. A volley of 10 unanswered punches produced the bout's lone knockdown, with Esquivel staying down for the full ten count.

The official time was 1:30 of round three. 

Ortega improves to 20-0-1 (12KOs) with the win, picking up a regional title in the process. Esquivel, once a bantamweight contender who now appears all used up at just age 28, falls to 27-6 (20KOs). All six career losses have come inside the distance, including each of his past two starts.

UNDERCARD

Mario Rodriguez picked up his first stoppage win since the one that made him a strawweight champ, this one coming in a 5th round stoppage of Armando Torres. 

The bout gained airtime since there was plenty of time to kill, but the former 105 lb. titlist didn't need very long to make his point. Sharing a ring with a career opponent, Rodriguez fought with the type of aggression that has been missing from his past several fights. 

Two knockdowns came on the night, both within seconds of each other late in round five. Torres (21-14, 15KOs) was forced to the canvas for the first time, courtesy of a right hand, left hook combination. The 34-year old beat the count, but gave in after getting caught with a perfectly placed left hook to the body, thus prompting the stoppage.

The official time was 2:50 of round five.

Rodriguez has now won three straight as he improves to 19-9-4 (12KOs). His stay at the top of the 105 lb. division was short-lived, as a 7th round upset knockout of Nkosinathi Joyi in Sept. '12 was followed by a points loss six months later to Katsunari Takayama, who has since lost and regained his title. 

The setback marked the first of five straight bouts to go to the scorecards, his record 2-3 over that stretch before resuming his knockout ways on Saturday evening. 

Sandra Robles overcame an opening round knockdown to outbox Linda Soto en route to a unanimous decision. Scores were 98-91, 96-93 and 97-94 in their 10-round junior flyweight bout. The 21-year old Robles (9-1, 3KOs) has now won seven straight.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of krikya360.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox