By Francisco Salazar at ringside
Since tasting defeat in his professional debut three and a half years ago, welterweight Ricky Duenas has run off 10 straight victories in a row. Make that 11 in a row on Saturday night. Welterweight Ricky Duenas stopped Lawrence Hughes in the first round of a scheduled six round bout at the Finish Line Sports Grill in Pomona, CA. The bout headlined a five-bout “Champions of Tomorrow” card, presented by Showdown Promotions. Duenas was coming off a second round knockout over Rufino Flores in his last bout on March 31st. After beginning his career with four straight victories, Hughes had lost his last two bouts in a row. Hughes began the fight well by circling the ring to his left, landing lead right hands to the heads. Later in the round, as Hughes retreated back to a corner, Duenas unleashed a left uppercut to his head. Hughes wobbled, allowing for Duenas to follow up with a right hook to the body. Hughes slumped to the canvas, prompting referee Dr. Lou Moret to step in and stop the bout at 1:52.
“It was a feel out round for me and U was trying to feel out his best punches,” said Duenas, who is trained by longtime Southern California trainer Ben Lira. “I came out on the attack against him. Once I hit him with that left uppercut, I knew he was going to go down.” Duenas, from El Monte, CA, improves to 11-1, 5 KOs. Hughes, from St. Louis, MO, drops to 4-3, 3 KOs.
Junior welterweight Holly Lawson won a disputed four round split decision over Elisa Moreno. Good action between the two fighters throughout most of the fight. At times, Lawson threw more punches over Moreno, successfully landing at times. However, Moreno landed the harder blows to the head of Lawson. Moreno was able to land right uppercuts and left hooks to the head. Lawson was the more effective fighter in the fourth round. One judge scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Moreno, while the other two judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Lawson. Fightnews.com scored the bout 38-38. Lawson, from Los Angeles by way of Vancouver, British Columbia, goes to 3-2. Moreno, from Kansas City, MO, drops to 3-2-1, 1 KO.
Super bantamweight Oscar Venegas stopped overmatched Santiago Alonzo in the second round of a scheduled four round bout. Venegas worked from the center of the ring, landing rights behind a jab. Undaunted, the shorter Alonzo tried to counter with wild hooks and counters, landing occasionally to the head. Halfway through the second round, Venegas landed a left hook that almost dropped Alonzo. Towards the end of the round, Venegas dropped Alonzo with an accumulation of punches punctuated with a right hand to the head. Referee Dr. Lou Moret decided to want the fight over at 2:50. Venegas, from Maywood, CA, goes to 3-1, 2 KOs. Alonzo, from Garden Grove, CA, falls to 0-5.
Junior middleweight Robert Guzman won a four round unanimous decision over gutsy brawler Hector Castro. Guzman landed the harder and effective punches in the first round, especially a left uppercut that snapped Castro’s head back. Castro suffered a cut over his left eye in the second round due to an accidental headbutt. He was stunned later in the round by a combination to the head by Guzman. However, Castro stunned Guzman with a right hand to the head right before the bell. Although Guzman (2-0) was in control of the last two rounds, he was not able to keep his distance from Castro. His lack of jab allowed Castro to bully his way on the inside. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Guzman, 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37. Fightnews.com scores the bout 40-36 in favor of Guzman, who hails from Maywood, CA. Castro, from Glendale, CA, drops to 0-2.
In a battle of junior welterweights making their professional debuts, Kevin Salgado won a hard-fought four round majority decision over Felipe Lara. After Lara, from Santa Ana, CA won the first round by outboxing Salgado, the lankier Salgado found success as times by switching to a southpaw stance in the second round. He momentarily wobbled Lara with two uppercuts, but was not able to finish him off. Both fighters landed vicious shots in the third round, but Salgado’s punches looked the more effective. The pace of the fight slowed down in the fourth round, but again, Salgado landed the more telling blows. One judge scored the fight 38-38, while the other two judges scored the fight 39-37 in favor of Salgado, who hails from Temecula, CA.
Notes
- One amateur bout took place before the professional portion of the card began.
- Featherweight Charles Huerta and 2012 U.S. Olympian Joseph Diaz took in the action from ringside.
- Ring announcer was Hector Duarte.
