By Miguel Maravilla
Photos: Sumio Yamada
Mexican veteran Ray”Sugar” Beltran (34-7-1 21 KOs) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico won a hard fought majority decision over two-time interim WBA super featherweight world champion Bryan Vasquez (36-3, 19 KOs), of San Jose, Costa Rica in the co-feature bout.
Beltran and Vasquez wasted no time as they exchanged in the opening round. In round two Beltran landed a solid left hook followed by some thudding punches as Vasquez stood and traded. Continuing to exchange in round three Vasquez did not take one step back as Beltran landed the left hook solidly. The fourth round saw Beltran back Vasquez to the ropes continuing to land big punches connecting with the left hook as the Costa Rican urged him to throw. In round five Vasquez fought well of the ropes as Beltran kept the pressure.
Halfway through in the sixth Beltran stayed on top of Vasquez continuing to pressure. The second half of the fight Beltran stalked with Vasquez circling the ring. Beltran suffered a cut in the ninth on his right eye from a clash of heads. The tenth and final round saw Vasquez sensing the urgency pressing as he hurt a bloodied Beltran in the final seconds of the fight.
Judges scored the fight 96-94, 96-94, and 95-95.
South El Monte’s Arnold Barboza (18-0, 6 KOs) and Jonathan Chicas (15-4, 7 KOs) of San Francisco battled it out going the distance in a scheduled eight round bout. A left hook from a three punch combination by Barboza dropped Chicas in round three. However, in round five Chicas returned the favor connecting with an overhand right has he sent Barboza to the canvas. Barboza and Chicas engaged throughout the fight. In the end, the judges scored the bout 78-72, 77-73, and 76-74 as Arnold Barboza pulls the unanimous decision.
Oxnard based Russian super lightweight Maxim Dadashev (8-0, 7 KOs) scored an eighth round stoppage over Jose Marrufo (9-7-2)of Phoenix, Arizona. Starting off at a slow pace, Dadashev and Marrufo had a wild exchange in closing the second round. Dadashev worked patiently off the jab catching the aggressive Marrufo with counters. The Russian closed the show in the seventh as he teed off Marrufo referee Zachary Young stepped in to stop the fight at 1:32.
Brazilian middleweight Esquiva Falcao (18-0, 12 KOs) won a lackluster unanimous decision against a tough Norberto Gonzalez (24-10, 14 KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico. 2008 Olympic silver medalist Falcao pressed and attacked the body in the early rounds as Gonzalez connected with some right hands. Working patiently halfway through the bout the southpaw Falcao kept his distance boxing away as Gonzalez came forward. The Brazilian, however, was much more skilled and finished strong in route to a decision win. All three judges scored the fight 80-72.
Making her professional debut 2016 U.S. Olympian Mikaela Mayer (1-0, 1 KO) made quick work of Widnelly Figueroa stopping her in one round in a scheduled four round bout. Mayer landed a right hand and followed up with a left hook to the body as Figueroa went down referee Lou Moret waived the bout at 1:15.
Detroit’s Erick De Leon (17-0, 10 KOs) who is trained by Robert Garcia won a unanimous decision over Adones Aguelo (27-16-2, 18 KOs) of the Philippines going the distance in a scheduled six round super featherweight bout. De Leon stayed busy attacking Aguelo throughout the fight in route to a dominant decision win. Scores were 60-54, 60-54, and 59-55.
In the opening bout from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, welterweight Artemio Reyes (25-2, 20 KOs) of San Bernadino, California scored a fourth round stoppage over Steve Marquez (16-19-2) of Colorado. A crunching left hook to the body did the job as the referee waved off the bout at 1:54.
Super featherweight Andy Vences (19-0, 11 KOs) of San Jose, California stopped Eliseo Cruz (11-4-1, 7 KOs) of Tuxtla, Gutierrez, Mexico in three rounds. Vences dropped Cruz in the second round and continued his attack in the third following up with a barrage as the referee stopped the bout at 2:21 of round three.
