By David Robinett at ringside

In the main event of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, super featherweight Andrew Cancio (19-4-2, 14 KOs) withstood a tough challenge from Albanian-born brawler Dardan Zenunaj (14-5, 11 KOs), to earn a hard-fought ten round unanimous decision. One judge scored it 96-94, with the other two judges scoring it a little wide at 99-91.

Cancio, who trains in Ventura but originally hails from the nearby desert outpost of Blythe, started on fire, wobbling Zenunaj early with a left hook and repeatedly rocking him with combinations to the head throughout round one.

Zenunaj, an Army veteran for his adopted country of Belgium, tried to return the favor in round two, opening the action with a flurry of body punches, but Cancio battled back and quickly regained momentum. As the action continued it became apparent Cancio was faster, able to land his punches on Zenunaj and move away before the Albanian could effectively counter. However, Zenunaj continued to come forward and pressure Cancio. The fight began to take place in progressively closer quarters with each round, which allowed Zenunaj to claw his way back into the fight.

However each time it seemed like Zenunaj had drawn even, Cancio would fire off straight hand combinations to the head and then move out of range to regain control of the round. In round nine, Cancio stopped moving and went toe to toe with Zenunaj, prompting the best exchanges of the fight as Cancio continued to outwork Zenunaj whenever it seemed like the Albanian could be turning the tide. Finally, in round ten, it appeared Zenunaj’s pressure had worn Cancio down, as Zenunaj clearly outlanded a visibly tired Cancio for first time, but it was too little too late as Cancio had already earned a well-deserved decision.

In the evening’s co-main event, Greg Vendetti (20-2-1, 12 KOs) scored the biggest win of his career, earning a unanimous decision over Yoshihiro Kamegai (27-5-2, 24 KOs) in a ten-round super welterweight contest by scores of 97-93, 98-92, 98-92. Vendetti, taking a big step up in class after a career mostly on the New England club circuit, was the more aggressive fighter to start, getting off first and outlanding the easy-to-hit Kamegai.

Kamegai, last seen giving Miguel Cotto a stiff challenge in their thrilling fight last August, seemed like he needed a few rounds to shake off the rust, countering Vendetti to the body but fighting at a little slower pace than his opponent and taking a lot of clean shots to the head. As with nearly every Kamegai fight, once the Japanese warrior heated up the fight evolved into an evenly contested, briskly-paced fight but despite both fighters landing solid punches in every round, Vendetti was just a little more active and a little more accurate with his punches, deservedly shading most of the rounds. At 35 years of age, 13 of those fighting as a professional, it appears Kamegai’s time as a contender is over while Vendetti will likely get a chance to prove himself in higher profile fights moving forward.

The walkout bout featured Rommel Caballero (2-0-1, 1 KO), younger brother of former world champion Randy Caballero, earning his first knockout, stopping Jahaziel Vasquez (2-8, 1 KO) in the first round of a scheduled six round super featherweight bout. A vicious left hook to the body dropped Vasquez like a soccer player trying to draw a penalty kick in the World Cup. Vasquez crumpled in a heap on the canvas and would not have beat a count of thirty, let alone ten. Official time of the knockout was 1:14.

Undefeated welterweight Luis Feliciano (8-0, 5 KOs) overcame a slow start to knock out Jonathan Fortuna (8-2, 5 KOs) at 2:38 of round five in a scheduled eight round bout. Despite Fortuna’s impressive record coming in, seven of his eight wins came against opponents with an amazing combined record of 2-134-2. Despite his obscenely padded record, Fortuna was not overmatched, frustrating Feliciano early and often with his movement and quick hands. At one point in round three, Feliciano picked Fortuna up off the canvas during a clinch, unable to do anything else to bother his fleet-footed opponent. Feliciano started to slowly turn the tide in round four though, closing the distance between them and landing with more frequency. In round five, Feliciano focused on Fortuna’s body, knocking him down with a left hook to the body in the middle of the round. A short while later a left hook, right hook combination to the body dropped Fortuna again. Although Fortuna beat the count, he turned his back on referee Jerry Cantu walking to his corner, prompting Cantu to wave the fight over.

19-year old local prospect Anthony Reyes (3-0, 2 KOs) went the distance for the first time, earning a unanimous decision over winless but game Luis Montellano (0-3-1) in a four round super bantamweight contest. Scores were 40-36 across the board. Reyes nearly knocked down Montellano with the first punch of the fight, a right to the head that wobbled Montellano. To his credit, Montellano recovered quickly but Reyes kept on him, skillyfully mixing body punches with clean punches to the head. In round three Reyes started loading up on his punches, punishing Montellano with the right hand to the body and left to the head, but couldn’t put his tough opponent down. Montellano countered bravely while under fire, firing back and landing a few clean punches, but to no avail. Reyes continued to attack in round four and had Montellano nearly out on his feet, but fell just short of the stoppage and saw his knockout streak end.

In the opening bout from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California, 2016 Olympic silver medalist Shakhram Giyasov (4-0, 3 KOs) easily dispatched journeyman Albert Mensah (31-7-1, 15 KOs), by third round knockout in a scheduled eight round welterweight bout. Giyasov settled in comfortably fighting behind his left jab, routinely following up with a quick right hand that repeatedly troubled Mensah. By the second round Giyasov had dropped his hands and started to showboat, leaping in with his punches more for show than impact, although a lead right to the body near the end of round two visibly hurt Mensah. Giyasov was having fun in round three continuing to jump in with his punches, one time missing and landing partially below the bottom rope, drawing some good natured laughter from the still-arriving crowd. Giyasov showed his class a few moments later though, landing a left hook to the head after a flurry of punches that forced Mensah to take a knee in the corner. The Ghanian wisely decided to call it a night, staying down on a knee through the full count, with the official time of 1:56 in round three.