Pechanga Kronk Boxing Fight Results for January 13, 2012
Friday the 13th marked the first fight card of the year at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California. The house was packed and for those in attendance the fights on the card that they saw were real barnburners fought fast and furious but for promoters Roy Englebrecht and Emmanuel Stewart it was the fights that weren't on the card that made Friday the 13th their unluckiest date of the year. First, main event fighter Dominic Salcido was injured 3 days before fight night so his fight with Leon Bobo was scrapped and it was announced that Kaliesha West one of Inland Empire's top female fighters was also off the card. Then the new main event featuring Stewart's prized pupil Kronk boxer Tony Harrison was cancelled 30 minutes before it was supposed to go on when the commission's doctor found Cleven Ishe, Harrison's opponent with the side of his face swelled up looking like a grapefruit from an abscessed tooth. There was no way the doctor could let Ishe fight because one punch to the jaw could rupture the abscess sending pus and infection into Ishe's brain. Apologizing to the crowd Stewart said that this had never happened to him in 50 years. But despite all the bad luck Stewart was bolstered by the large crowd and expressed his desire to put on monthly fights at Pechanga.
Walter Sarnoi (10-2-0, 5 KOs) vs Jose Miguel Cota (8-6-0, 6 KOs)
Featherweight
Walter Sarnoi UD6 Jose Miguel Cota
In the featured fight of the night Thai-American Walter Sarnoi (10-2-0, 5 KOs) coined school boy because he has earned an Associates Degree, Bachelor's of Science in Finance and a Masters Degree in Business Administration stepped into the ring with Jose Miguel Cota (8-6-0, 6 KOs) of Mexicali, Mexico for a 6-round featherweight bout. From the opening round Sarnoi demonstrated that he has a good left hook to body which he landed thuddingly and frequently on Cota's body. Cota was down in round one but the referee ruled it a slip. Round two saw Sarnoi landing multiple jabs and straight rights from his long reach. Cota came on stronger in round four backing Sarnoi up with his punches. In round five Sarnoi strayed low with his body shots but that didn't stop Cota from pressuring Sarnoi and forcing him to retreat. In round six Sarnoi went to the body again landing thudding body shots to Cota's liver and ribs along with numerous low blows to Cota's nether region but it didn't Cota from moving forward. Sarnoi was also down in six but it was slipped a slip. The two fighters continued to brawl until the final bell. The fight went to the scorecards. Scores were 59-56, 58-56 and 58-56. Walter Sarnoi wins by 6-round unanimous decision.
Elizabeth Cervantes (3-9-0, 1 KO) vs Susanna Mellone (0-1-0, 0 KOs)
Bantamweight
Elizabeth Cervantes SD4 Susanna Mellone
There's nothing like a good girl fight and that's what Elizabeth Cervantes (3-9-0, 1 KO) of Lakeside, California and pro-debuter Susanna Mellone (0-1-0, 0 KOs) of New York and put on. Mellone came to fight and was definitely not a flailer. She had good boxing skills and it looked like she was going to knockout Cervantes in the first round. But Cervantes who had Lee Espinoza of Coachella Valley Boxing Club in her corner came on strong in round two overcoming any ring rust she may have had since not fighting since July 2008 when she was KOed by Kaliesha West. It was back and forth trading with Cervantes getting the best of Mellone who she had pinned up against the ropes peppering her with combinations of punches. There was no let up as the fight went on. The two went toe-to-toe until the final bell not afraid to take a punch to land a punch. Scores were 39-37, 39-37 Cervantes and 39-37 Mellone. It was a very close fight that could have easily ended up a draw. Elizabeth Cervantes wins by 4-round split decision.
Ulises Soriano (2-0-0, 0 KOs) vs Alonso Loeza (1-3-1, 1 KO)
Junior Welterweight
Ulises Soriano MD4 Alonso Loeza
In what turned out to be an all out war Ulises Soriano (2-0-0, 0 KOs) stepped into the ring with Alonso Loeza (1-3-1, 1 KO) for a 4-round junior welterweight fight. There was no feeling out process. From the opening bell it was back and forth trading. Just went you thought that Soriano who got hit with a left and a right was going to get KOed he came back and caught Loeza with an overhand right. The first round ended with Loeza bleeding from the nose. Round two was fought at a fast pace with both guys throwing everything they had at each other. Both fighters wanted to win badly. Soriano tagged Loeza with an uppercut as the bell for the end of the second round rang. In round three Soriano was bleeding and appeared tired having punched himself out in the previous round. Loeza caught him multiple times with right hooks and straight rights but Soriano was still standing and fighting back but clearly hurt. In final round Soriano caught Loeza with multiple uppercuts which turned out to be Soriano's punch of the night. What a brawl! Soriano has a great chin and both guys had heart. Scores were 40-36, 39-37 Soriano and 38-38. Ulises Soriano wins by 4-round majority decision.
Kevin Hoskins (5-0-0, 4 KOs) vs Angel Torres (2-8-2, 1 KO)
Junior Lightweight
Kevin Hoskins TKO1 Angel Torres
Fighting for the second time at Pechanga, Kevin Hoskins (5-0-0, 4 KOs) of Moreno Valley made a short night of it fighting Angel Torres (2-8-2, 1 KO) in a scheduled 4-round junior lightweight fight. Within seconds Hoskins had Torres up against the ropes hitting him with combos and uppercuts. Torres visited the canvas briefly jumping up quickly beating the count but he looked out of it. His right temple was red and bruised. Hoskins immediately pounced on Torres and landed another uppercut snapping Torres' head back. Again Hoskins backed Torres up against the ropes and proceeded to hit him with a barrage of punches. With Torres holding his gloves up in a high tight guard and not throwing back the referee jumped in and waved off the fight at 2:08 of round one. Kevin Hoskins wins by 1st round technical knockout.
Nicholas Balestra (2-1-1, 1 KO) vs Eduardo Hernandez (0-1-0, 0 KOs)
Super Welterweight
Nicholas Balestra D4 Eduardo Hernandez
In the opening fight of the night Nicholas "The Freak" Balestra (2-1-1, 1 KO) of Sacramento stepped into the ring with Eduardo Hernandez (0-1-0, 0 KOs) of North Hollywood for a 4-round super welterweight bout. It was the tall man vs the short man with Hernandez being at least a head shorter than 6'2" Balestra. But that didn't deter Hernandez from making a fight. He knew how to fight a taller guy. He kept moving forward so he could get inside and throw overhand rights and uppercuts and smother Balestra's ability to punch. For the most part it worked although when Balestra had range his punches had power evident by the heavy thudding sound his right hook made when it landed on Hernandez's body in round one and the stunning effect his left hook had on Hernandez and when it landed on Hernandez's head in round two. But Balestra's lack of defense caused him to walk right into punches to the chin in rounds one and two. All three judges saw the fight the same 38-38. Nicholas Balestra and Eduardo Hernandez fight to a draw.
Fight Results for Ramos vs Beltran fight card on Friday, January 6, 2011 at Fantasy Springs in Indio, California
Luis Ramos Jr (21-0-0, 9 KOs) vs Raymundo Beltran (25-6-0, 17 KOs)
NABA USA Lightweight Title
Luis Ramos Jr UD Raymundo Beltran
Fighting in the main event of the evening on ShoBox's first telecast of the year southpaw Luis Ramos Jr stepped up to fight Manny Pacquiao's chief sparring partner veteran Raymundo "Sugar" Beltran in a 10-round lightweight bout for the vacant NABA USA lightweight title. From the opening bell Beltran was the aggressor. Beltran has a good left hook which he landed several times on Ramos' head in the first two rounds. Ramos retaliated in round two with a rabbit punch to the back of Beltran's head as the referee broke up a clinch initiated by Ramos. In round three after a clash of heads a cut opened up above Ramos' right eye. Sensing that his time might be limited Ramos came on strong hitting Beltran with several hard shots. In round four Beltran landed left and right hooks to Ramos' head hurting Ramos. In round five both fighters traded left hooks. Then mid round Ramos grabbed his right eye and bizarrely the referee called a time out and had the ringside doctor look at Ramos' cut for a second time. In round six Beltran continued to target Ramos' cut with left hooks. In round seven Beltran rocked Ramos. Finally in round eight Beltran went to the body. In round nine Beltran staggered Ramos and Ramos held on which he did repeatedly throughout the fight. In round ten Beltran and Ramos traded heavily knowing that it was a close fight and a must win round. Surprisingly the judges scored the fight 97-93, 97-93 and 96-94 for Luis Ramos Jr. Beltran was so upset his corner had to restrain him. The crowd didn't agree with the decision either and erupted in an uproar. Most ringside including the announcers had the fight 96-94 for Beltran or a draw. Luis Ramos Jr wins by 10-round unanimous decision.
Michael Perez (15-1-1, 9 KOs) vs Omar Figueroa (14-0-1, 11 KOs)
WBO Inter-Continental Youth Lightweight Title
Omar Figueroa TKO6 Michael Perez
In the co-main event of the evening Omar "Panterita" Figueroa stepped up in class to challenge Puerto Rican Michael "The Artist" Perez in a 10-round lightweight title fight. Perez tried to box Figueroa in round one but Figueroa kept coming forward and in round two it was heavy trading in the center of the ring. The two fighters fought in a phone booth in round three. It was Perez for the first half of round four then Figueroa took over in the second half backing Perez up against the ropes and landing head shots. Perez was in trouble. His hands were down and he wasn't punching back at the end of the round. In round five Perez was holding on a lot. He was standing straight up and his legs looked weak. During round six the referee checked to see if Perez wanted to fight on. He indicated that he did but once again he ended up against the ropes not throwing back at the end of the round. During the break after round six Perez's corner stopped the fight with Perez retired on his stool. Post fight Perez said that from the 2nd round on he had no legs, had no power. Ironically one would have thought that it would have been Figueroa to have suffered that fate since he had to deplete himself to make weight on Thursday. Omar Figueroa wins by 6th round technical knockout.
Michael Finney (8-0-0, 7 KOs) vs Hector Orozco (4-10-9, 0 KOs)
Welterweight
Michael Finney UD6 Hector Orozco
In the third fight of the night Michael Finney, a good looking Irish kid from Alabama now fighting out of Pahrump, Nevada home to a couple of the more famous legal brothels in Nevada stepped into the ring with southpaw Hector Orozco of Minnesota. Finney who has a great left hook put Orozco "The Fighting Chihuahua" down on the canvas with it in round one. Rounds continued with Finney landing thudding left and right hook body shots along with well placed right uppercuts. It's not that Orozco didn't land punches. He did. He has fast hands but Finney's high tight guard blocked them. By round five Orozco was on his bicycle back peddling only intermittently throwing little flurries of punches. Then pow a right hand from Finney to Orozco's kisser sent Orozco flying back into the ropes and bouncing off like he was tethered to a bungee cord. It looked like Finney was going to knockout Orozco. In final round Orozco's nose was bleeding and he spent the entire round running backwards. Scores were 60-53, 59-54 and 59-54. Michael Finney wins by 6-round unanimous decision.
Naphi Mohammad (0-2-0, 0 KOs) vs Rocco Espinoza (2-2-0, 0 KOs)
Junior Lightweight
Rocco Espinoza UD4 Naphi Mohammad
Naphi Mohammad, a Manny Pacquiao look-alike hoped to win his second fight as a pro but unfortunately his physical resemblance didn't include Manny's boxing skills. Rocco easily won all four rounds making Mohammad hold a lot and look like a punching bag. Oddly the judges returned scores of 40-35, 40-35 and 40-35 even though there was no knockdown or near knockout of Mohammad. Rocco Espinoza wins by 4-round unanimous decision.
Christopher Pearson (2-0-0, 1 KOs) vs Cleven Ishe (3-5-0, 1 KOs)
Middleweight
Christopher Pearson UD4 Cleven Ishe
In the first fight of the night amateur standout Christopher Pearson from Trotwood, Ohio who recently signed with power broker Al Haymon used his superior boxing skills to easily defeat Cleven Ishe. The punch of the night for Pearson who is a southpaw was his straight left which repeatedly found home on Ishe's grill. Although Ishe did manage to snap Pearson's head back once in round three and got in some counter punches and a couple of upper cuts in round four. Scores were 39-37, 39-37 and 39-37. Christopher Pearson wins by 4-round unanimous decision.
Ricardo Malfavon (2-7-1, 2 KOs) vs Stephen Rubalcava (0-8-0, 0 KOs)
Middleweight
Ricardo Malfavon TKO2 Stephen Rubalcava
In the walkout fight of the night Ricardo Malfavon of Santa Ana made a short work of it by dominating Stephen Rubalcava of Exeter, California causing him to quit after two rounds. Ricardo Malfavon wins by 2nd round technical knockout.
Dominic Salcido vs Leon Bobo
January 13, 2011 Friday 7:00 PM
Pechanga Resort & Casino
Temecula, California
On Friday, January 13th legendary trainer and HBO boxing analyst Emanuel Steward of Kronk Boxing and Roy Englebrecht will present a night of boxing for Southern California fight fans in Pechanga's Grand Ballroom.
In the main event of the evening Dominic Salcido (18-3-0, 9 KOs) of Rialto, California will take on challenger Leon Bobo (18-9-1, 2 KOs) of Saint Louis, Missouri in a 6-round junior middleweight bout.
In the special featured bout Detroit, Michigan's Tony Harrison (4-0-0, 4 KOs) will square off with Cleven Ishe (3-4-0, 1 KOs) of Long Beach, California in a 6-round junior middleweight fight.
Also appearing on the fight card will be local boxers from the Inland Empire and Southern California including Monterey Park's Walter Sarnoi (9-2-0, 5 KOs) vs Humberto Zatarain (3-0-0, 0 KOs) of Whittier, Moreno Valley's Kevin Hoskins (4-0-0, 3 KOs) vs Angel Torres (2-7-2, 1 KOs) of Escondido and pro debuter Susan Mellone (0-0-0, 0 KOs) vs Elizabeth Cervantes (2-9-0, 1 KOs) of Lancaster.
Tickets are available at $35, $45 and $55 at the Pechanga Resort & Casino Box Office, online at pechanga.com or by calling 1-877-711-2946.
