Fists Fly At Fantasy Springs
Report & Photos By Roy & Marlene Marquez
Undefeated prospects
Randy Caballero, Frankie Gomez and Antonio Orozco
converged in Indio, CA to ply their trade before a
capacity crowd at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. In
the main event, Gomez was put to the test against
Kadaphi Proctor in a junior welterweight bout scheduled
for eight. And in the co-feature, Caballero and upstart
Alexis Santiago fought for the vacant WBC Youth
Intercontinental Super Bantamweight belt.
Undefeated junior
welterweight Frankie Gomez plastered Kadaphi Proctor
with right hands leading to a TKO at 2:25 of the fourth.
Per Gomez, “He was already slowing down in the third and
fourth. If the referee didn’t stop the fight I would
have ended it.”
After two ugly rounds, a
fight finally erupted in the third when the fighters
exchanged hooks early in the round. Moments later
Proctor (7-6-1) ate a Gomez right hand, took two steps
backward and then sunk to the canvas. When the action
resumed Gomez (10-0) jumped on Proctor and busted him up
for the balance of the round.
Gomez stuck to the game
plan in the fourth and raked Proctor with right hand
after right hand until referee Eddie Hernandez stepped
in to stop the fight.
Rising prospect Randy
Caballero methodically boxed his way past Alexis
Santiago to capture the vacant WBC Youth
Intercontinental title. Following two slow rounds to
start the contest, the fight picked up steam in the
third.
Caballero (12-0) brought
the fight to Santiago who used superior hand speed to
thwart Caballero’s charge. Caballero dictated the pace
in the fourth when Santiago (7-1-1) fought flat footed
throughout the round.
But Caballero had his
best round of the fight in the fifth when he caught
Santiago with a number of left hooks that put Santiago
on his heels and the crowd on its feet. Caballero caught
Santiago with another left hook late in the seventh.
Santiago buckled but
regrouped and fought to the bell. Santiago refused to go
gently and opened the eighth like a man possessed.
Caballero weathered the early storm and fought his way
back into the round. Two judges scored the bout 80-72
and the third favored Caballero 79-73.
Juan Sandoval outslugged
Eduardo Vasquez over six scintillating rounds to win
their junior lightweight bout by unanimous decision.
Vasquez (4-1) and Sandoval stood toe-to-toe and traded
hooks for the first full six minutes of the fight. After
the sizzling start, the action finally slowed in the
third. But one round off was enough for Sandoval who
ramped up the action again in the fourth.
Sandoval (5-6-1) shook
Vasquez with hooks to the body on route to a dominant
round. Sandoval followed a big fourth with a bigger
fifth when he dropped Vasquez with a right hand on the
button. Vasquez roared back in the sixth but got rocked
late and was nearly out on his feet when the fight
ended. The judges awarded the fight to Sandoval by
scores of 59-54, 58-55 & 58-55.
Guadalupe Salcido stoned
Stephen Rubalcava to win his professional debut by a
landslide. Salcido (1-0) nearly ended the fight in the
first when he rocked Rubalcava with right hands. Referee
Eddie Hernandez leaned in for a long look but decided
the let the contest continue.
Rubalcava (0-5) took a
beating in the third but stayed on his feet and made it
through the round. With both fighters dead tired, the
action slowed in the fourth and the fight went to the
scorecards. Salcido won the bout by three scores of
40-36.
Welterweight Antonio
Orozco remained undefeated but had to get off the mat to
keep his unblemished record intact. After dropping
Joshua Beeman (4-10-2) early in the first, Orozco got
caught at the bell and was deposited onto the canvas.
Orozco (11-0) dominated the second and readied Beeman
for the kill.
The kill came 2:03 later
when Beeman was counted out on his knees in the third.
The fight lasted less than three rounds and featured a
total of four knockdowns; three by Orozco and one by
Beeman.
In a four round,
all-action fight, Seniesa Estrada defeated fellow
flyweight Blanca Raymundo by unanimous decision. Estrada
(2-0) took the fight to Raymundo and outworked her
throughout.
Raymundo countered
effectively and was in every round but came up short on
the scorecards 40-36, 40-36, 40-36.
|