Baja Boxing in association with the Castro Limon Foundation of Tijuana, MX, presented a special “KO Against Child Cancer” fight card in benefit of the foundation. The foundation is dedicated in alleviating the suffering of children suffering from the different strains of the disease. Baja Boxing, led by Antonio “Cañas” Lozada, put together a ten card fight card in which part of the proceeds were donated to the foundations. Along with the over the one thousand fight fans present at the Municipal Auditorium, several children from the foundation were present at the event.
Juan Pablo "CheChe" Lopez
In the main event, Tijuana light welterweight Juan Pablo “CheChe” Lopez (18-0, 17KOs) looked impressive in his first ten round test as he stopped Luis Rey Campoa (8-6-1, 5KOs) Ciudad Obregon, MX, just short of the mid way mark.
The first one was one of study as both fighters circled around each other, not trying to do much of anything. Lopez, who is trained by Don Romulo Quirarte and his sons, was the busier of the two and his combinations looked crisp although many did not land except when a hard right hand got through Campoa’s guard to end the round. The rhythm quickened in the second with Lopez taking the lead. Both fighters began to let they hands go with Lopez striking first and harder but Campoa was right there with him although falling slightly behind. Lopez had success throwing a classic jab followed with a right hand and a left hook to the liver.
By the third round, Lopez began warming up and mixed his punches well as he fought from the outside and when need be, at close range scoring with upper cuts. Lopez scored impressively to both the head and body as he was visibly better skilled than Campoa. Campoa tried as he might to keep with Lopez but the difference in tools was evident and the proof came near the end of the round when Lopez trapped Campoa against the ropes and landed a short left hook on the inside that dropped Campoa. Campoa beat the count administered by Guillermo Ayon and reached the end of the round.
Lopez Lands Left Hook
In the fourth round, Campoa reached the center of the ring with a much tighter defense as he tried to deter Lopez from the body attack. Despite of that, Lopez was able to find enough openings to cause damage at the 2:58 mark of the fourth, he landed a brutal left upper cut to the mouth of the stomach that sent the Ciudad Obregon native down once again. Although he beat the count, he could not continue and Ayon stopped the bout.
“I hope I can fight for some type of title later this year,” Lopez stated immediately after the win. “I was expecting a tougher fight, I was ready to go the ten rounds. I wasn’t looking for the knock out, we were prepared to increase the pace each round.”
De Alba Stays Perfect
It took the two-time Mexican National Amateur champion Jorge “Tremendo” De Alba (5-0, 5KOs) all four super bantamweight round to keep his perfect record intact after Jorge Luis Babuca (1-4-2) of Nacozari, MX, turned out to be a stiffer test than expected.
De Alba Triumphant
The southpaw De Alba, who is trained by former two-time world champion Raul “Jibaro” Perez, used the first round as one of study as he calmly threw his jab trying to find his range. The highly mobile Babuca was able to circle the perimeter of the ring and slip most of the punches coming in from the local favorite. In the second, Babuca began to apply the pressure and began to turn the tables and catch De Alba with his back to the ropes. Now with Babuca willing to trade, De Alba was able to catch him with hard counter combinations to the head punctuated with hard hooks.
The punishment took its toll since Babuca slowed considerably in the third. De Alba took advantage and began to throw more punches but always with self-control, putting together two and three punch combos. It continued into the fourth and as De Alba slipped a lazy jab, he came back with a thundering right hook to the chin that sent Babuca to the canvas. Referee Guillermo Ayon did not bother administering a count and simply waived off the bout. Official time was 1:03 of the fourth round.
“Tiburon” Devours Leyva
Out of the CREA Gym run by Don Romulo Quirarte, featherweight Edwin “Tiburon” Solis (3-0, 3KOs) looked impressive in his stoppage of Macario Leyva (0-2) of Agua Prieta, MX. Solis of Tijuana was in full control for the first round as he pumped out combination after combination eventually dropping Leyva with a left hook. Leyva tried to defend himself and even was able to muster up a couple of looping right hands that found their mark, but Solis was able to walk right through them continue attacking, especially to the body.
Solis Scores
Forty-three seconds into the second round, referee Juan Morales Lee had seen enough as Solis was really putting the pedal to the metal and began to tag Leyva non-stop. Although Leyva was not hurt at the time of the stoppage, he did not offer any argument.
Other Results:
Super flyweight Arturo “Fuerte” Badillo (18-1, 16KOs) of Tijuana, MX, recovered from his first professional loss back in April as he dropped Agua Prieta, MX’s Arcadio “Carcario” Salazar (6-5-2) three times en route to a first round KO. The ending blow was a well placed left upper cut to the solar plexus. The end came at the 2:28 mark of the first round.
In a torturous slow paced six round straw weight bout, local favorite Julio Cesar “Gatito” Felix (16-3-1, 6KOs) was awarded a unanimous decision over fellow southpaw Ricardo “Rocky” Armenta (10-8-1, 4KOs) of Agua Prieta, MX. Neither man seemed to want to take the initiative through out the contest but Felix was able to string together a series of punches that got through the high guard of Armenta enough times to give him the win. No official scores were read.
Ciudad Obregon, MX’s southpaw featherweight Ruben Tamayo (9-0-2, 5KOs) battered a slow and plodding Cesar Lopez (1-3) of Rosarito, MX, to earn a unanimous decision in a six round bout. The crowd called for an early stoppage as Lopez, also a southpaw, did nothing to prove that he wanted to be in the fight, let alone win it. No official scores were announced.
After four less than skillful flyweight rounds, Tijuana’s Sergio “Elegante” Nuñez (1-4) finally broke a four fight losing streak to win his first fight with a unanimous decision over Javier “Chivero” Franco (2-2-1, 1KO) of Nuevo Casas Grandes, MX. No official scores were read.
Tijuana super flyweights Jesus Alejandro Juarez (1-0-1, 1KO) and Manuel Armendariz (2-2-1) fought to a majority draw after four rounds. Monique Rendon saw it 39-37 for Juarez while both Dr. Roman Cruz and Zach Young had it an even 38-38.
Melchor Olvera (1-0) made his pro debut a good one when he won a unanimous decision over Alejandro Garcia (0-2-1), both of Tijuana, in a four round super featherweight contest. No official scores were read.
Juan Manuel Saldaña (1-0) made his pro debut a winner while spoiling Ali Gonzalez’s (0-1) with a four round featherweight unanimous decision. Both fighters hail from Tijuana. No official scores were announced.
