By Mario Ortega Jr. (ringside)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Light heavyweight Tony Hernandez sent his local following home happy as he scored a workmanlike six-round unanimous decision over veteran Ramon Ayala to cap an eight-bout card at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Sacramento on Saturday night.
Hernandez (6-3-1, 4 KOs) of Yuba City, California controlled the ring and outworked the more experienced Ayala (25-10-1, 13 KOs) of San Francisco Acuautla, Estado de Mexico, Mexico over the six rounds.
The only real hiccup Hernandez, 172.3, encountered in the bout was when he was warned by referee Edward Collantes for a low blow early in the third. The stray punch sent Ayala, 172, down in pain and prompted a brief time-out.
When action resumed, Hernandez continued to make the fight. Ayala, who turned professional nearly 18-years-ago, was more apt to showboat at times than to press the action in an attempt to win the rounds.
In the end, Hernandez claimed a shutout on the scorecards of ringside judges David Hartman and Mike Rinaldi, 60-54, while Michael Margado scored the bout 59-55.
Former amateur star Steve Johnson Jr. (1-0, 1 KO) of San Francisco, California was just too much of everything for Phillip Ramirez (0-3) of Sacramento, scoring a first-round knockout in his professional debut.
The beginning of the end came when Johnson, 124.1, landed with a clean left uppercut that sent Ramirez, 125, backing away. Soon thereafter Johnson landed a two-punch combination that concluded with a crisp left hook that sent Ramirez to a knee. Referee David Hartman waved it off at 1:50 of round one. Johnson announced to the crowd that he will be back in the ring on April 26th.
In a battle of attrition, Islam Abdusamadov (2-0, 1 KO) of Santa Clara, California by way of Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia hung on to score a four-round unanimous decision over Juan Meza Moreno (4-5, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, California.
Abdusamadov, 154.5, was the puncher in the fight, but as can sometimes happen when the puncher goes for a knockout that does not come, he punched himself out late and opened the door for a possible upset.
Abdusamadov landed the harder punches from the outset, eventually dropping Moreno, 154.5, to the seat of his pants with a sweeping right hand just after the ten second warning at the end of the second round.
Moreno, without the power of his opponent, relied on his boxing skills and started to come on midway through the third stanza. After going for the kayo early, Abdusamadov looked drained by end of the third round. Moreno boxed well again in the fourth, occasionally absorbing something stiff from Abdusamadov in return.
In the end, the knockdown Abdusamadov scored in the second was the difference in the scoring. All three judges; Mike Rinaldi, David Hartman and Edward Collantes scored the bout 38-37 for Abdusamadov.
Undefeated lightweight prospect Kevin Montano (5-0, 3 KOs) of Concord, California stopped short-notice opponent David Minter (3-3, 3 KOs) of Lincoln, California in the second round of a bout contested just under the welterweight limit.
Montano, 146, came out aggressively to start the second round. Ultimately, a flurry along the ropes punctuated by a short right dropped Minter, 146, to a knee. As referee Edward Collantes began his count, Minter signaled that he had taken enough, prompting the stoppage at 1:06 of round two.
Victor Guerrero (7-0, 5 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Morgan Hill, California took a hard-fought four-round unanimous decision over Matthew Monroe (1-2) of Sacramento.
Guerrero, 161, made his right hand the difference in the bout. Both fighters landed clean to close out the first round, but when Guerrero, 161, would land clean with his right, it just sounded different. Monroe, 158.1, had his moments in the fight, but never enough to sway the judges to tally one in his column. Guerrero swept the cards of Edward Collantes, David Hartman and Mike Rinaldi, 40-36.
Julian Bridges (4-0, 2 KOs) of Antioch, California scored a four-round shutout decision over a game Miguel Soto-Garcia (0-2) of Fresno, California by way of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico.
Soto-Garcia, 147, proved to be a durable and willing foe, but Bridges, 147, carried the rounds with his higher output and effective aggression. All three judges; Michael Margado, David Hartman and Mike Rinaldi, scored all four acts for Bridges, 40-36.
In the curtain raiser, David Reyes (2-1, 1 KO) of Fresno scored a third-round stoppage of Cmaje Ramseur (2-3-1, 1 KO) of Elk Grove, California.
Reyes, 134, outworked and outlanded Ramseur, 134.2, from the early stages of the bout. After banking the first two rounds on the cards, Reyes forced Ramseur to the ropes with a flurry early in the third. Ramseur’s corner did not like what they were seeing and threw in the towel. Referee David Hartman acquiesced and stopped the contest 58 seconds into the third.
In an amateur bout, Madeline Day of Roseville, California bested Shanne Ruelas of Fresno over three entertaining rounds en route to a three-round unanimous decision.
Day, 154, was more technically sound and her conditioning held up better down the stretch. Ruelas, 154, was game and willing over the six minutes. All three judges Michael Margado, Edward Collantes and Mike Rinaldi scored the shutout for Day, 30-27.
Upper Cut Promotions, promoter of Saturday’s event, will return to the Gold Country Casino Resort in Oroville, California on April 26th.
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com
