Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA and Emanuel Steward, in association with Roy Englebrecht Promotions and Kronk Boxing gave us Friday night fights. This fight card offered up an interesting array of fighters. Early on the crowd was quite sparse, but by the time the National Anthem was sung the room had filled up nicely.

Unfortunately, the main event was canceled just shortly before the event due to an abscess in the mouth of Cleven Ishe. The doctors would not let the fight happen, claiming that if Ishe was hit in the mouth the abscess could explode and cause serious damage.

Ishe’s opponent Tony Harrison, was quite disappointed, as was trainer Steward. But they both swore that they would be back.

This was just the last in a series of setbacks for this event. The original card has long-since fallen apart, and had changed considerably.

In a fight scheduled for six rounds, Walter Sarnoi (10-2, 5 KOs) faced off with Jose Miguel Cota (15-6, 6 KOs). Cota went down in the first, but it was due to a slip. There were some good body shots by Sarnoi in the opening round. Those were probably the best punches thrown.

Cota came out the aggressor in the second but then slowed down some. Jose was warned about leading with his head. There was a lot of grabbing in the middle of this round, then the action picked up a bit again.

In the third Cota came out on fire again, followed by a good exchange in the middle of the ring. Round four was sloppy, with both fighters getting some type of admonishment. But it was Cota who was coming forward and Sarnoi doing the retreating during most of the round.

An uneventful fifth round. Walter down due to a slip in the sixth. This was the only round where the fighters worked the majority of the round. Still, holding and running was the main order of this fight. We went to the scorecards. The judges saw it 58-56, 58-56, and 59-55, all for Sarnoi.

Time for the women, as Elizabeth Cervantes (3-9, 1 KO) faced off against Susanna Mellone, who was making her professional debut. This was scheduled for four rounds in the bantamweight division.

The girls were not outdone by the men, as they tried to stay in tight and fight. The first round was a bit close, but in the second Cervantes was giving Mellone a lesson. Action continued in the third, with the women throwing both lefts and rights. Both were connecting with those punches.

In the fourth and final, Elizabeth was taking it to Susanna. If this was booked to be an easy fight for the pro debut of Mellone, it wasn’t. We went to the scorecards. The judges saw it 39-37 for Cervantes, 39-37 for Mellone, and 39-37 for Cervantes, giving her the split decision victory. Mellone is now 0-1 professionally.

The third fight of the evening was between Alonso Loeza (1-3-1, 1 KO) going toe to toe with Ulises Soriano (2-0). This was a scheduled four rounder, in the junior welterweight division.

They attacked each other from the outset and did not stop. This continued into round two. They fought in close the majority of the time, with Soriano a bit more dominant.

We saw the same thing in the third. The attacks continued, only now Loeza seemed to be landing the better punches. Round four found them once again come out swinging. It appeared that both were trying for the knockout. That didn’t happen, and we went to the scorecards. The judges saw it 38-38, 37-39 for Soriano, and 36-40 for Soriano, giving the majority decision to Ulises, keeping him undefeated.

In a junior lightweight fight scheduled for four rounds, we saw Kevin Hoskins (5-0, 3 KOs) facing Angel Torres (2-7-2, 1 KO). This was a quick one. Hoskins knocked Torres down early in the first round, then hit him with everything he had when the fight resumed, causing the referee to stop the contest at 2:08. Hoskins remained undefeated. Kevin is really fun to watch and someone to keep an eye on; a skilled little fighter.

The opening bout was between Eduardo Hernandez (0-1-1) going up against Nicholas Balestra (2-1-1) in a fight scheduled for four rounds in the super welterweight division. Physically, Balestra was the much taller of the two.

There was quite a bit of action all throughout the first round, with both fighters doing some damage. A good opening round. The second was another good round that saw both men staying active. For the second time in as many rounds, Balestra lost his mouthpiece, but it did seem that it was Nicholas that was dishing out the harder blows.

The third was a lot of the same – these two did not want quit. The fourth ended as the first began, with a punching and movement the entire three minutes. We went to the scorecards. All three judges saw the fight the same at 38-38. The fight ended a draw.

As I mentioned earlier, with the original card losing its main event, co-main event, and then the other publicized fight, it was a difficult night. The fighters worked hard and we got to see the impressive talents of Kevin Hoskins. A tough night, but hopefully Steward et al comes back and things go more his way.


Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.