By Boxing Bob Newman at ringside

Hot Puerto Rican prospect Xander Zayas took on Albuquerque, NM native Jose Luis Sanchez in a scheduled six round jr. middleweight bout. The much taller Zayas used his slick left jab to dictate his offense and his deft footwork to maneuver his defense from the get-go. Zayas preferred to control the action from ring center and he did so very smoothly and effectively. A wicked left-right to the head of Sanchez drove the Mexican to a neutral corner, wobbly and hurt. Zayas went for broke, but Sanchez did just enough to keep himself in the fight. Zayas seemed gassed after the onslaught and Sanchez had a brief moment of his own. A hard left by Zayas and a miss by Sanchez caused the Mexican to seemingly be knocked down, but referee Rocky Burke ruled it a slip. In the fourth, Sanchez connected on some solid shots that had the Mexican-American crowd hollering for the upset. Zayas worked his way out of trouble with counters and a controlled, if slower, pace. As the sun began to dip below the AVA amphitheater roof, it became a potential impediment, blazing right into the eyes of the West-facing fighter, whoever it was at the time. Zayas poured what he had left into the sixth and final round- backing Sanchez into his own corner for another mini-barrage, but the tough Mexican held his ground, and survived the distance. In the end, Zayas took a harder-than-the-scores-reflected unanimous decision by scores of 60-54 and 60-53 x 2. He moves to 10-0, 7 KOs, while Sanchez dips to 11-2–1, 4 KOs. It was a fitting birthday gift for Zayas who turns 19 years old today.

Undefeated prospect and 2016 Olympian Lindolfo Delgado, of Linares, MX took on Gunsave, Sinaloa, MX native Miguel Zamudio in a scheduled eight round super lightweight tilt. Delgado methodically and relentlessly attacked Zamudio to the head and body, hurting him with almost everything that landed. An errant low left afforded Zamudio a break as the ref gave him time to recover. Miraculously, Zamudio made it to the end of the round. Unfortunately, he came out for the second and more punishment. After one legit trip to the canvas, courtesy of a Delgado combination, another left to the body forced ref Raymundo Velez to end matters despite Zamudio still standing. Time was 0:50 of the second. Delgado is now 13-0, 12 KOs, while Zamudio sags to 45-17-1, 28 KOs.

Queretaro, Mexico’s René “El Bravo” Telléz Girón and Mission, Texas’ Eduardo “Thunder” Garza locked horns in an over-the-limit super featherweight bout. Both men dug in with body work and more in-fighting than not. Despite the 104° temperature at ringside, both men delivered a solid work rate.

Telléz Girón backed Garza to the ropes with some solid shots to the head in round four, but Garza worked his way out of trouble to see the end of the round. Telléz Girón kept the pace and pressure high in the fifth, but had to take a step back himself, just for a breather, while Garza tried to take advantage with his own shots. The heat simply affected both men with equal ruthlessness. If nothing else, the power of Telléz Girón seemed more evident and telling over that of Garza. Suddenly, a wicked and perfectly placed left to the liver ended matters as Garza sank for referee Rocky Burke’s full count at 0:44 of round 7. Telléz Girón improves to 16-1, 10 KOs, while Garza slips to 15-5-1, 8 KOs.

Opening up the action at the AVA Amphitheater on the grounds of the Casino del Sol in Tucson, Arizona was undefeated Omar Aguilar, Ensenada, MX taking on Asuncion, Paraguay’s Carlos Manuel Portillo in super lightweight scrap. Midway through round one, Aguilar tagged Portillo with a crisp right, buckling his legs for a moment. A hard combo put Portillo down in his own corner with 3 seconds left in the round. Saved by the bell, Portillo came out trying in the second, but two more knockdowns, the second for the full count, ended matters at 0:55 of the second. Aguilar moves to 22-0, 21 KOs, while Portillo falls to 22-4, 17 KOs.