By David Finger at ringside

Undefeated New Mexican Abraham “Hammer” Perez made a statement in Albuquerque on Saturday night when he dominated the normally durable journeyman Gilberto Mendoza en route to an eight round TKO victory. Mendoza was a last minute replacement but was still seen as a gritty and tough foe who had gone the distance with some of the hardest punchers in the flyweight division. Perez, for all of his talent, was not regarded as a puncher per se, but against Mendoza he proved once again that speed kills.

Perez, 111.8, opened the fight peppering Mendoza, 110.8, with lightning-fast combinations to the face and sent Mendoza to the canvas with a left uppercut midway through round two. Perez continued his dominance in round three and by round five it was clear that Mendoza was going to need a knockout to win. Any hope that Perez might fade down the stretch was put to rest by round seven, which appears to have prompted the Mendoza corner to advise referee Rocky Burke that their fighter would not come out for round eight.

With the win, Perez, 8-0, 4 KOs, claims the IBA Intercontinental flyweight title while clearly establishing himself as the hottest prospect in the state of New Mexico. Mendoza falls to 19-14-4, 10 KOs.

In the co-main event popular local middleweight Cristian Cabral, 158.8, shook off some ring rust as he dominated the game journeyman Daniel Flores Garcia, 167, over six rounds. It was Cabral’s first fight in five years and although he did show signs of ring rust and got tagged periodically with a few shots from Garcia, by in large he was in total control. Cabral did end up with a small cut under his right eye, but clearly won the decision with two judges scoring the fight 60-54 while one judge gave a single round to Garcia Flores. Cabral improves to 9-2-1, 4 KOs while Flores Garcia now sees his record stand at 3-8, 2 KOs.

Rounding off the undercard, undefeated El Paso light heavyweight Cesar Alvarado, 177.8, won in impressive fashion over fellow undefeated prospect Sterling Peak, 172.6. It was a crowd-pleasing affair with both men aggressive, but Alvarado had a little more on his shots over four rounds. Two judges scored the fight 39-37 while one had it a shutout at 40-36. Fightnews.com® also had the fight 40-36 for Alvarado, who improves to 3-0, 1 KO. Peak falls to 2-1, 1 KO. The referee was Rocky Burke. In a welterweight fight Daniel Gonzalez, 150, came away with the win in a very tough fight against Shadi Shawareb, 151.2. Gonzalez was badly cut, but was nonetheless able to capture a unanimous decision as his record improved to 4-1, 2 KOs. Shawareb now sees his record stand at 9-4-2, 5 KOs.

In a minor upset in women’s boxing, local prospect Jordanne Garcia, 164.4, was upset by Mexicali’s Citalli Ortiz, 164.2, over six rounds. Ortiz simply maintained her distance and was able to frustrate Garcia over the course of the six round contest. Two judges had the fight a shutout while one judge gave Garcia a single round. With the win, Ortiz should see herself sneak into the world ratings as her record now improves to 4-1, 1 KO. Garcia now sees her record stand at 4-3-3.

In the only knockout of the night local female flyweight prospect Kathreine Lindenmuth, 106.4, dominated rookie Teresa Day, 105.8, dropping her in a minute and stopping her at 1:12 of the opening round. With the win, Lindenmuth improves to 5-1, 2 KOs. Martin Armijo, 128, won a four round decision over Lubbock, Texas’s Josh Garcia, 127.8. Although Garcia looked solid in the opening two rounds he faded badly down the stretch. Armijo now stands at 3-0, 1 KO while Reyes sees his record now stand at 3-2, 1 KO. In the opening fight of the night undefeated Elija Martinez, 158.2, looked impressive as he dominated the tough Garret Lopez, 158.8. Martinez easily won the shutout decision as he boxed well and used his speed and talent to dominate his gritty foe. Martinez now sees his record improve to 2-0 while Lopez falls to 2-4, 2 KOs.

For boxing fans ringside, the Expo Explosion card was a knockout with several exceptional fights. Early reports indicate that Abraham Perez and Legacy Boxing should be back in November. Needless to say, it will be something that local boxing fans will be very excited to come out for.