Desert Storm Blows Away Santiago
 

Written By Raj "Another One Bites The Dust" Sharma

Photos By John "Let 'Em Fight" Pinto

Unbeaten prospect Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley rolled into Lancaster, California on Saturday night and blew away another opponent, as veteran Jesus Santiago was not allowed to answer the bell for the seventh round of their scheduled eight round junior welterweight bout. After six one sided rounds, referee Pat Russell called a halt to the bout upon the advice of the ringside physician. The bout headlined an entertaining seven bout card put on by Monte Estrada Promotions at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds before a lively crowd.

 

Bradley hit Santiago with everything but the proverbial kitchen sink during their contest, but the courageous Santiago kept coming back for more. Bradley displayed his trademark body assault on the inside, and used quick single and double jabs to set up thudding right hands when at longer range. Santiago’s main strategy was to try and counter Bradley when he threw his combinations, but he wasn't busy enough and ate a large number of power punches for his troubles.

 

The bout’s only knockdown occurred in the second round, when Bradley floored Santiago after a double jab set up a clubbing right hand. By the sixth, it was obvious that Santiago’s only chance at victory was an unlikely knockout, and Bradley was showing no signs of letting up. At the round’s conclusion, referee Russell called in the doctor to take a look at Santiago and the bout was waved off. Palm Springs’ Bradley improves to 13-0 with 7 KOs with the win, while Santiago falls to 9-13-2 with 2 KOs. Bradley becomes only the fourth man to stop Santiago, joining Emmanuel Augustus, Mohamed Abdulaev, and Miguel Angel Huerta.

 

Bradley complimented Santiago on his toughness after the bout.

 

“This guy, he had a strong chin man” he said. “I felt a little weak in there today; I had trouble making the 139 limit. It started affecting me in my arms a little bit. It hurt me in the fight”. Look for Bradley to return to action on June 23^rd at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California against an opponent yet to be announced.

 

 

UNDERCARD

 

In the co-feature, Suswella Roberts and Gloria Ramirez fought a spirited six round junior welterweight bout that ended up in a majority draw. The taller Roberts was the more aggressive of the two, using a pawing jab to work her way inside on her southpaw opponent and unload. Ramirez got the better of some of the exchanges with some clean straight lefts, and also banged the body effectively with right hooks. Two judges scored the bout even at 57-57, with one favoring Roberts at 58-56. Roberts, trained by Pat Goossen of the famed Goossen family, remains unbeaten at 6-0-1 with 3 KO's. Ramirez’s record now stands at 9-13-1 with 2 KO's.

 

 

Adrian Tait of nearby Quartz Hill didn't let down his fans, needing less than 90 seconds to knock out the debuting Abraham Gonzalez of Santa Ana. A seemingly nervous Gonzalez came out swinging wildly, with nothing of consequence landing on the more relaxed Tait. Tait soon took the initiative, using a series of jabs to set up a hard right hand that dropped Gonzalez. Gonzalez arose, but was soon felled face first to the canvas by another right that caught him on the left side of the jaw. Referee Pat Russell reached the count of ten at 1:26 of the first, giving Tait the second KO win on his 3-0 record. Gonzalez is 0-1.

 

 

In a minor upset, Crystal Morales defeated Miriam Nakamoto by split decision in a four round female lightweight attraction. Morales outworked her hard hitting opponent early in the bout and withstood a late rally to get the win. Final scores were 39-37 twice for Morales, and a score of 39-37 for Nakamoto. Morales, fighting out of Oxnard, improves to 4-3-1 with 1 KO, while Nakamoto’s record is now 1-1.

 

The third fight of the evening pitted Leonel Medrieal of Oxnard against Angel Flores of Las Vegas. The two lightweights fought a mostly tactical four rounder, with Medrieal seeming to deserve the nod with his higher work rate and effective counterpunching. Two of the judges however favored the harder hitting Flores, who sporadically landed hard punches to the head and body during the bout. Scores were 39-37 twice for Flores and 39-37 Medrieal. Flores’s record is now 4-1 with 0 KO's with the split decision win, while Madrieal evens out at 3-3.

 

The aggressiveness of San Diego’s Avelardo Sanchez earned him a split decision win over Pomona’s Leshon Simms in a middleweight four rounder. The stocky Sanchez swarmed the taller leaner Simms for much of the bout, throwing wide left hooks and looping right hands. Simms landed some hard rights on the inside in the first round, and let his hands go late, but it was not enough in the eyes of the judges. Official scores were 39-37 twice for Sanchez, and 39-37 for Simms. Sanchez is 1-0 while Simms falls to 2-1 with 2 KOs.

 

Hanford’s Irvin Garcia got his professional career off to a successful start with a devastating first round stoppage of Rafael Garcia of Maywood. The junior lightweight bout was scheduled for four rounds. Rafael tried to pressure Irvin from the opening bell, but soon found himself on the receiving end of some heavy artillery. Late in the round, a left hook deposited Rafael on the canvas, where he remained for a short time after Pat Russell had waved off the count. The official time of the stoppage was listed as 2:33. It was the first loss for Rafael Garcia, whose ledger now stands at a reported 2-1-1. Irvin Garcia is 1-0 with 1 KO.

 

The ring announcer for the evening was Joe Martinez. The national anthem was sung by Griselda Perez. Notable figures in attendance were former WBC light flyweight champion Eric Ortiz, unbeaten prospect Jose Aguiniga, and the legendary Bobby Chacon.

 

Monte Estrada Promotions returns to the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds on September 23^rd.