by Francisco Salazar

Indio,Calif. - In a battle of fringe welterweights, Rashidi Ellis scored an emphatic first round knockout win over Eddie Gomez. Ellis (17-0, 12 KOs) dropped Gomez with a right hand to the head. Gomez (19-2, 11 KOs) stood up on wobbly legs, beating the count of referee Eddie Hernandez. Ellis followed up, landing a right cross that sent Gomez to the canvas, prompting referee Eddie Hernandez to stop the bout at 1:19. 

Featherweight contender Ronny Rios stopped Roy Tapia after the sixth round. After an even opening round, Rios (27-1, 12 KOs) began to assert himself over Tapia.

Rios was the aggressor, landing repeatedly with lead or counter right hands to the head. Tapia (12-2-2, 6 KOs) attempted to fight back, but his punches had little impact as Rios continued to walk the fighter from East Los Angeles down. Rios hurt Tapia midway through round six with a left hook to the body. After the sixth round, Tapia told referee Ray Corona he was not able to continue. 

Junior featherweight Javier Padilla stopped Jose Mora (0-2) in the second round. Padilla (2-0, 2 KOs) dropped Mora twice in the opening round before ending matters at 44 seconds of the second round. 

Junior welterweight Vergil Ortiz, Jr. (3-0, 3 KOs) scored a one-punch knockout win over Nestor Garcia (0-2). A lead right hand dropped Garcia to the canvas. Garcia remained on the canvas and was counted out at 3:00.

Unbeaten welterweight Alexis Rocha won a one-sided four round decision over Abraham Calderon (1-4). Rocha dropped Calderon once in the second round and once in the third in route to victory. All three judges scored the bout 40-34 in favor of Rocha, who improves to 6-0, 4 KOs.

Highly-regarded lightweight prospect Ryan Martin stopped Yardley Suarez in the fourth round. Martin (18-0, 11 KOs) was in control from the beginning of the fight, utilizing his strength and pinpoint accuracy to put Suarez (19-6, 10 KOs) on the defensive.

Moments into the fourth round, Martin dropped Suarez with a barrage of punches. Suarez beat the count, but was met with a barrage of punches prompting the fight to be stopped at 48 seconds.

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