Rafael Valencia
Anaheim (February 14, 2020)- All 10,310 fans at The Honda Center erupted as Ryan Garcia (19-0 16 KO’s) made his way to the ring. As soon as the opening bell rang for round one, Garcia wasted no time in displaying why they call him ‘The Flash’. In just 1:20 seconds into the first round, Garcia connected a perfect counter left hook that knocked Francisco Fonseca (25-2-2 19 KO’s) out cold.
“I was hoping that it would last a little bit longer,” said Ryan Garcia. “When I saw Fonseca move to the side, it gave me the opportunity to hit him with that left hook. I saw the left hook. It was there. I just needed to let him to commit to a shot, so I let him get comfortable, and I caught him between the shot. It’s a perfect left hook.”
Devin Haney made his way into the ring after the fight to try and create some noise for a possible matchup between him and Garcia. These two fighters have a history between them that goes all the way back to their amateur careers and as well as some recent back and forth talk on social media. This would be a dream matchup as both fighters have the explosive speed and the undefeated record to go with it. Let the waiting game begin.
Linares Stops Morales in Four
Jorge Linares (46-5 28 KO’s) made a huge statement against Carlos Morales (19-4-4 8KO’s) by knocking out a fighter that has never been stopped before. Linares, in his second bout back from his KO loss to Pablo Cano, wanted to prove that he had one more run in him to win a world title. Having to deal with a cut in the first round do to a head-butt, Linares was able to stay composed and fight his fight against Morales. In the third round, Linares caught Morales coming in with a right hand that dropped him. In the fourth round Linares was able to catch Morales against the ropes and connected the right hand again, but this time Morales was unable to beat the count.
“I surprised myself, but I can demonstrate even more that,” said Jorge Linares. “I wanted to see if I could capture a world title in a fourth weight class. He caught me, I was off balance, but now I’m back at 135 pounds. The best thing I could have done is go back home to Japan with Teiken Promotions and Mr. Honda. Now I’m ready to shore more. I’m at the best moment in my career right now.”
Lex Wins Backyard Fight
Alexis Rocha (15-0 10KO’s) defeated Brad Salomon (28-2 9KO’s) by unanimous decision and remained undefeated. Fighting in his backyard, Rocha was fighting very conservatively throughout the fight and was allowing Salomon to make some of the rounds close. In the tenth round, Rocha connected a right hand that dazed Salomon who eventually went down following a quick combination. The scorecards were 100-89 99-90 and 97-92 all in favor for Rocha. Virgil Ortiz was sitting ringside and watching the action closely and was keeping an eye on a potential foe. A battle of undefeated welterweights could be coming soon.
“That was definitely a close fight. Right off the bat I thought he was really prepared,” said Alexis Rocha. “I’m glad I switched up my combination and knocked him down. I should have put more pressure on him up front, but I’ll do that moving forward. Trust me, I’ve learned a lot from this fight and I’m ready to keep moving up the ladder.”
Blair ‘The Flair’ Stays Undefeated
Charismatic Blair ‘The Flair’ Cobbs (13-0 9 KO’s) defeated Samuel Kotey (23-2 16 KO’s) by split decision. In a bout that resembled a WWE match in the beginning, with take downs and shoulder bumps, Cobbs had a hard time finding his range against a tricky styled Kotey. In the later rounds Kotey found a nice rhythm and was able to land some good punches. The fight got even closer when Cobbs was deducted a point in the ninth round for a low blow. At the end of the fight, the score cards were 96-93(twice) for Cobbs and 95-94 for Kotey.
“It was good a performance,” said Blair Cobbs. “I boxed really good, and I have to hand it to him. He had a hell of chin. I’d hit him, and he kept coming. He’s a wonderful fighter. Good turnout, and he had a tough chin.”
‘Pin Pon’ Reyes Wins By UD
From the opening bell, Alejandro ‘Pin Pon’ Reyes (2-0 2 KO’s) found himself in a back and forth battle against Nelson Colon (4-1 3KO’s). Reyes was able to withstand the pressure from Colon early on by connecting some good combinations and using his jab. In the final rounds Reyes became the aggressor and did enough to get the unanimous decision victory. Two judges had the fight 40-36 and the third judge had it 39-37.
Melikuziev Gets First Round KO
Bektemir Melikuziev (4-0 3 KO’s) only needed two minutes to defeat Oscar Cortez (27-5 14KO’s) by KO. In the first minute of the fight Melikuziev landed an overhand right that floored Cortez. After beating the count, Cortez was caught against the ropes and received a brutal left hook to the body that put him down permanently.
Sanchez Gets KO Victory
Evan Sanchez (6-0 5KO’s) defeated Daniel Evangelista (20-11-2 16KO’s) by KO in the second round. Sanchez connected a perfect right hand that dropped Evangelista in the first round. Sanchez used the same exact right hand to drop Evangelista again but this time he was unable to recover and forced the referee to waive the fight off.
Judges Change Scorecard, Nava Gets UD
In the opening bout of the night, Tenochtitlan Nava (7-2 1KO) defeated Anthony Casillas (8-1 4KO’s) by unanimous decision in a back and forth battle. The fight was first scored a draw, but was overturned after the fighters left the ring. All three judges had the fight 57-57 in the scorecards but were later changed to 58-56 in favor of Nava.
