By Francisco Salazar at ringside
Photos: Big Joe Miranda

Former Venezuelan Olympian and now fighting out of Oxnard, CA, Alfonso Blanco won a one-sided six round unanimous decision over junior middleweight Leshon Sims on Thursday night at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. Blanco (7-0, 2 KO’s) came on aggressively from the opening bell, landing at will to the head of Sims. Blanco cut Sims (5-10, 3 KO’s) over the right eye with a punch in the first round. However, Sims, sensing he was down, came on and fought in spurts in the second half of the fight. Sims, from Fontana, CA, landed an occasional hook or cross to the head of Blanco. However, Blanco was able to do enough in the end to win on all judges’ scorecards, 60-54. Sims, who had not fought in almost three years, has now lost his last four fights in a row.

Junior middleweight Ernesto Ocon won a six round unanimous decision over Ricardo Malfavon. After a slow start, Ocon (5-0, 2 KO’s) began to get going, throwing and landing combinations to the head. Ocon, from Los Angeles, began landing to the body of Malfavon (1-6-1, 1 KO) in the third round, slowing him down. As the bout progressed, Malfavon, from Santa Ana, CA, slowed down considerably, throwing one punch at a time. All three judges scored the fight 60-54 in favor of Ocon.

In a battle of junior lightweights making their professional debuts, Santiago Guevara won a one-sided four round unanimous decision over Naphi Mohammed. Guevara, from Montebello, CA, landed mostly at will throughout the fight, hurting Mohammed near the end of the first round. The shorter Mohammed, from Garden Grove, CA, tried to get inside of Guevara’s defense or throw from the outside. However, Mohammed would pay for it as Guevara countered to the head. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Guevara.