By Mario Ortega Jr. (Ringside)
STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA – In the first-ever boxing event held at Banner Island Ballpark, local hero Gabriel Flores Jr. bested a determined Ronal Ron en route to a hotly-contested eight-round unanimous decision victory.
Ron (14-6, 11 KOs) of Chino Hills, California by way of Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela proved better than advertised, especially considering one would be hard-pressed to find any pre-fight ballyhoo mentioning him by name.
Flores (23-2, 8 KOs) of Stockton was satisfied to play the role of the boxer as Ron was the aggressor for much of the bout.
Flores, the WBA #12 ranked lightweight, started the fight in control, as his superior technical skill proved a problem for Ron, 134.4, through the first two rounds.
Ron pressed the action for much of the third stanza, as Flores, 134.8, was content to fight off of his back foot. Flores may have been urged by his corner after the third, as he seemed to come out with renewed vigor. After a heated exchange, Ron developed a cut near his left eye that referee Edward Collantes ruled was from a punch in the fourth.
Following a competitive fifth round, Ron landed well with combinations in the sixth, as Flores continued to play the role of counter-puncher to varying degrees of success. When the Stockton native boxed and moved, Ron had trouble finding the target. When Flores found himself stationary or on the ropes, the Venezuelan was far more successful.
Flores took a more forceful approach to close out the final two rounds, snapping Ron’s head back along the ropes late. Flores boxed well down the stretch to punctuate his performance.
Final scores read a little wider than some of the action indicated, as Flores earned the unanimous verdict by scores of 79-73 and 78-74 twice.
With the win, Flores successfully defended his regional WBA Continental USA title and more importantly stays on track for bigger and better things in the lightweight division.
Journeyman Andrew Rogers (9-12-3, 3 KOs) of Elkhart, Indiana scored a workmanlike eight-round unanimous decision to notch an upset over Julian Rodarte (19-2-2, 8 KOs) of Downey, California.
Some of the pre-fight shenanigans will likely garner some scrutiny from those in the know, as Rogers, 140, weighed-in five pounds over the contracted weight on Friday morning. After some negotiating, the bout was allowed to proceed, with Rogers agreeing to a secondary weigh-in Saturday to limit his rehydration.
Rodarte, 134.4, opened the bout well, outworking Rogers in the first two rounds. The fight began to turn in the third after a left hook staggered Rodarte briefly and may have initiated a small cut.
Rodarte pressed the action in the fourth and slowed Rogers with his body attack but with was the Indiana native that had more in the tank down the stretch.
Rodarte, looking a little weary in the seventh, finding himself on his knees twice from slips. Rogers was rough on the inside and looked to be the heavier, stronger fighter as the fight came to a close. All three judges scored the bout for Rogers, 77-75.
Former standout amateur Lorenzo Powell (2-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California scored two knockdowns en route to a one-sided drubbing of converted MMA fighter Ethan Rowan (0-1) of Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Powell, 137.2, rocked Rowan, 139, with the first combination he threw and quickly scored knockdown number one. When Rowan returned to his feet, Powell moved-in quickly and downed Rowan with a left to the body. As soon as Rowan crumpled to the ground, referee Edward Collantes called the one-sided bout at 51 seconds of round one.
In an entertaining scrap, super flyweight prospect Andrew Rodriguez (4-0, 1 KO) of Salinas, California turned back a determined Alejandro Robles (0-4) of Modesto, California via four-round majority decision.
The term “better-than-his record” was created for guys like Robles, 115.8, who stood in there with the multidimensional Rodriguez, 113.8, throughout the bout.
In the end, official judges preferred the offensive output of Rodriguez. Judge Kermit Bayliss scored the bout even, 38-38, but was overruled by judges David Hartman, 40-36, and Brian Tsukamoto, 39-37.
Former amateur star Steve Canela of San Jose, California had hoped to make his pro debut tonight, but a late opponent switch was only approved for an exhibition by the California State Athletic Commission.
Veteran Pedro Pinillo (5-8, 5 KOs) of Cali, Colombia had fought just eight days ago in Georgia, but was willing to fight Canela Saturday night in Stockton.
Canela, 144.6, was consistently first throughout the contest as Pinillo, 145.4, kept a low guard, but hung in there with his fresher adversary. At the bout’s conclusion, ring announcer Lupe Contreeras declared the exhibition had been scored even.
In under one-round, super bantamweight prospect Ab Lozano (2-0, 2 KOs) of Martinez, California made short work of Wild Card Boxing Club regular sparring partner Rod Sarguilla (2-6, 1 KO) of Los Angeles, California by way of Midsayap, Cotabato, Philippines.
Throughout the brief contest, the stronger Lozano, 123.8, was in complete control of
Sarguilla, 123. Lozano forced Sarguilla to the ropes and was unrelenting in his assault. Referee Michael Margado repeatedly asked Sarguilla to show him something, but when the southpaw Lozano rocked Sarguilla late in the round, the official had seen enough. Time of the stoppage was 2:50 of round one.
G-Squad Entertainment has an October 12th date on hold at the Stockton Memorial Auditorium, which lines up perfectly for a Flores return.
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com