Rios stays unbeaten

By Francisco Salazar at ringside
Photos: Big Joe Miranda

Junior lightweight Ronny Rios stopped Jeremy McLaurin in the fourth round of a scheduled eight round bout at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, CA. Although both fighters fought in spurts throughout the fight, Rios (17-0, 8 KOs) landed the more effective punches of the two. In the fourth round, Rios wobbled McLaurin (9-3, 5 KOs) with a left hook to the head. McLaurin tried to fight back, but Rios pinned him in a corner, throwing and landing punches to the head and body. When McLaurin looked as though he was not able to defend himself, referee Raul Caiz, Sr. stopped the bout at 2:31.

“He had an awkward style,” said Rios afterward. “I was a little hesitant because I didn’t want to get caught since he had a long reach. I did not want to take any risks, so there was no need for me to rush. I just had to be patient and I had to get on the inside. I definitely wanted to give the fans excitement, but I didn’t want to get carried away.”

In an all-out war, featherweight Alejandro Perez stopped Derrick Wilson in the eighth and final round. Wilson (9-3-2, 3 KOs) controlled the bout early but was dropped at the end of the second round by a left hook to the head. Wilson bounced back, but Perez (16-3-1, 11 KOs) dropped him with another left hook to the head at the end of the fourth. Perez dropped Wilson with an accumulation of punches in the fifth. Wilson came back in the sixth and looked like he was catching a second wind, but was dropped by a counter right to the head by Perez to start the eighth round. Referee Ray Corona stopped the fight at 27 seconds.

Junior lightweight Jose Sanchez stopped Manuel Sarabia in the first round of a scheduled four round bout. The southpaw Sanchez (7-2, 4 KOs) was too fast for the spent Sarabia, eventually dropping him to the canvas with a four-punch combination to the head. Referee Raul Caiz, Sr. immediately waved the fight over at 2:08, saving Sarabia (16-34-10, 10 KOs) from further punishment.

In a battle of featherweights making their professional debuts, Julian Ramirez from East Los Angeles stopped Javier Damien in the first round of a scheduled four round bout. Damian, from Mexico City, DF, Mexico, charged out of his corner, throwing wild punches. Ramirez easily countered him with to the head and body, eventually dropping him with an accumulation of punches to the body. Damian stood up, but was trapped against the ropes, absorbing an accumulation of punches before referee Ray Corona stopped the fight at 2:26.

In the walkout bout of the evening and the only fight to go the distance, welterweight Luis Mora won a four round unanimous decision over Ricardo Malfavon. Mora (2-0-1, 1 KO) landed the more telling blows, but Malfavon (2-8-1, 2 KOs) was able to counter to the head of Mora, drawing blood from the nose in the latter half of the fight. However, all three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Mora. Fightnews.com scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Mora.

February 4th, 2012

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