Lightweight Jose Roman (23-1-1, 16 KOs) delivered a devastating opening round knockout over Carlos Cardenas (20-11-1, 13 KOs) in the "Path to Glory" main event Friday night from the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California.
John Delperdang (7-1, 7 KOs) of Ontario continued his knockout winning ways by dispatching Colombia's Andres Figueroa (7-2, 5 KOs) in the fourth round of a scheduled six rounder.
Junior lightweight Michael Norato (3-0, 1 KO) remains undefeated after scoring a unanimous decision win over Miguel Barajas (2-1, 1 KO). Norato, tall for the division at nearly six feet tall, kept busy throughout the four round fight. The judges rewarded his work ethic to the tune of a sweep - all three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of the Los Angeles product.
In what was perhaps the most anticipated fight on Friday night's undercard, amateur standout Ruben Villa tasted victory in the professional ranks for the first time. Villa (1-0, 1 KO), a top-flight amateur with tremendous upside, is as good as advertised. In his first professional fight - after a stellar amateur career that saw him net back-to-back National Golden Gloves Championships - Villa dispatched challenger Gerardo Molina (1-2, 1 KO) in the first round on Friday night.
Argentina's Neri Romero (2-0, 2 KOs) started the "Path to Glory" action with a stunning first round knockout of Mexico's Pedro Dimas (0-1).