San Diego’s Giovanni Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs) made a statement in stopping Alexis Rocha (23-2, 15 KO’s) of Santa Ana, staying unbeaten in winning the Southern California welterweight showdown headlining on DAZN Saturday night at the Forum in Inglewood.
Fighting on the inside, Rocha and Santillan started in the phonebooth in round one as neither appeared to shy away. Santillan staggered Rocha to begin the second round as Rocha was on his backfoot. Pressing to begin the third, Santillan pumped the jab as Rocha’s nose appeared to be busted trickling blood but that did not stop the Santa Ana fighter’s momentum. The fourth round began with Santillan landing a chopping left, the San Diego fighter continued and connected with a sharp combination as Rocha appeared very sluggish and on the receiving end of Santillan’s offensive.
Santillan dropped Rocha to begin the fight as Rocha was bloodied but got up and continued showing grit despite being bloodied. Rocha was down once again and up as Santillan went for the finish, referee Ray Corona kept a close eye, and the Santa Ana fighter was saved by the bell. Santillan finished off Rocha in the sixth, knocking him down for a third time as referee Ray Corona waived it at 1:13 of the sixth.
Scrappy KO’s Batista in 5
In the co-feature bout, Los Angele’s John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-0, 9 KOs) scored a fourth-round knockout over Ronal Batista (15-4, 9 KOs) of Panama in the WBA super flyweight title eliminator co-feature. It was a slow start for Ramirez as he took his time stalking and measured Batista early in the fight. Things began to sizzle as Ramirez connected and cornered Batista in the third landing with hooks and chopping rights flush on the chin to finish the round. A crunching left hook to the body by Scrappy dropped Batista in the fourth as he continued, but Ramirez finished him off with a vicious right knocking down the Panamanian for a second time as referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight at 2:33
The Battle of the Sandoval’s
It was the Sandoval Battle as Rialto, California’s Ricardo “El Niño” Sandoval (23-2, 16 KOs) and Victor Sandoval (37-4, 23 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico squared off and went the distance in a ten round flyweight bout. It was a fast-paced opening round as both Sandoval’s took it to each other. Victor worked on the inside and dug to the body in the second as Ricardo threw straight punches. Mixing it up in the third, the Sandoval’s fought inside, later in the round it was Ricardo stalking and backing Victor. Displaying a burst in the fourth, Victor Sandoval stood busy and boxed as Ricardo Sandoval chased in the round. Continuing to box and stay busy in the fifth, Victor outworked Ricardo displaying craftiness boxing smoothly.
Victor Sandoval connected Ricardo with a hard right hand in the sixth as he backed up and stopped Ricardo Sandoval’s momentum. Staying busy in the seventh, Ricardo and Victor kept battling on. In the eighth, Victor Sandoval stood busy as Ricardo Sandoval kept coming and mixed it up. Continuing to trade away late in the ninth neither stopped punching as the fight appeared to be up for grabs. The tenth and final round, neither fighter shied away as Ricardo stalked and pressed, Victor boxed and countered as they battled it out in going the distance ten rounds.
Upon completing ten rounds, the judges scored the bout 97-93, 97-93, and 96-94 as Ricardo Sandoval pulls off the unanimous decision.
Gabriel Fundora Wins IBF Title
Gabriela Fundora (12-0, 5 KOs) of Coachella, California won the IBF flyweight champion by knocking out Arely “Ametralladora” Muciño (32-4-2, 11 KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico in the fifth. Mucino attacked Fundora at the opening bell, taking swings at the much taller opponent as Fundora adjusted to strike with a solid straight, later to close the round Fundora staggered Mucino to the corner as she was saved by the bell from the attack. Continuing where they left off, Mucino charged as Fundora countered and connected with straight shots. Mucino was dropped to begin the fifth and continued to fight, referee Jack Reiss gave Mucino a standing eight count but couldn’t continue as Reiss stopped the fight at 1:18 of the fifth.
Joeshon James Scores Quick First Round KO
Super middleweight Joeshon James (8-0-2, 5 KOs) of Sacramento, California disposed of David “Dynamite” Stevens (13-1, 9 KOs) quickly in one round in opening up the DAZN livestream. A chopping right by James staggered Stevens as James followed up with a left hook dropping Stevens. James sent Stevens to the canvas a second time and finished him for good with a chopping right as referee Jerry Cantu stepped in to stop the fight at 2:52 of the first.
Other Bout
In the opening bout from the Forum, making her professional debut, San Fernando Valley’s Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (1-0) won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Clarice Morales (0-3-1) of Toledo, Ohio. Fighting from the southpaw stance, Verduzco was aggressive early in the opening round as she fended off Morales. Working off the jab in round two, Verduzco was consistent in applying and keeping Morales at a distance. Continuing to put in the work, Verduzco stood busy as Morales stood in the pocket exchanging. The fourth and final round saw both ladies sensing the urgency pressing. After completing four rounds, the judges scored the bout 40-36, 39-37, and 39-37.
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