The StubHub Center in Carson, CA was the host of the much-anticipated fight card put on by Golden Boy Promotions and SHOWTIME, and what an event they gave us! The main event and co-main event were on SHOWTIME, and the fights between Antonio Orozco and Ivan Hernandez, Joseph Diaz and Noel Mendoza, and Dominic Breazeale and Lenroy Thomas were on SHOWTIME Xtreme.

Besides all the great fights, Lucas Matthysse was here as well, in a question and answer round table. While this did occur during some fights, it was a great chance to pick Matthysse’s brain. A separate article will address Lucas.

The main event was for the WBC featherweight title and was between unbeaten Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14 KOs) and the hard-hitting Jhonny Gonzalez (55-8, 47 KOs). This fight was scheduled for 12 rounds. It only needed less than one of those rounds to find a victor, but the very partisan Mares crowd would be sorely disappointed. Gonzalez dropped Mares early in the first round with a wicked left hand, and when Mares got up Jhonny finished the job. The fight was waved off by referee Jack Reiss at 2:55. We have a NEW WBC featherweight champion in Jhonny Gonzalez. I too love Abner, but Jhonny gave an outstanding performance on this night and deserved his victory.

This fight proved once again to never look ahead. All the talk was what Mares would do after he beat Gonzalez – just like the fight made between Canelo Alvarez and Victor Ortiz. All that works, until.

As one might expect, Jhonny was very happy with the outcome. “I’m very excited with what happened. I’ve got a great team, and that’s very important. And I’ve got to thank myself, because without hard work and desire you won’t accomplish what I’ve accomplished.

“I’ve had some personal problems, but that’s behind me now. I trained for 12 rounds; I was ready to go 12 rounds. He’s a strong fighter who has a big punch, but so do I. When I landed that first punch, the way that he fell, I knew it was over. It was just a matter of time, I just had to do my job and finish it.”

With regard to a re-match, Jhonny said, “Of course he deserves it, he’s a great champion. I’d be willing to give it to him. One loss doesn’t mean your career’s over. Sometimes you learn more from it than a victory, so I’m sure he’ll be back, he’ll be very good, and he deserves a re-match.”

Mares came up next, and when he did, Gonzalez took his belt and handed it to Abner, who held onto it for the rest of the conference.

“Thank you guys, thanks to the media. I hope you guys enjoyed it, that half a round,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m blessed, I’m just happy that I’m alive, everything’s good, I’m healthy. Jhonny was the better fighter today. He beat me, he knocked me out and I have nothing but respect for him. He’s world champion again, and there will be another day.

“You know what? I didn’t feel that punch, it was one of those punches that you take and you go down. I didn’t hurt or anything, just boom, you’re down. That was it, he caught me, I was down and got back up. He caught me with more and I went down again. The ref asked me if I could go on and I said yes, but he told me, ‘No, you’re done.’ I said, ‘OK.’

“It’s his job, you know. He knows what he’s doing, and that’s that. I’m gonna go back to the gym and work hard, and be a better person. This is a learning experience for me – losing. I just want to get home now, I can’t wait to see my kids, they’re the most important thing to me. I hope they’re good, I haven’t talked to them.”
 

In the co-main event we saw popular and talented Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (25-0-1, 15 KOs) going up against Victor “Vikingo” Terrazas (37-3-1, 21 KOs) in a fight for the WBC super bantamweight title. This bout was scheduled for 12 rounds. A great, fast-paced first round for both fighters. They did not just wait and feel each other out; as is Santa Cruz’ style, they threw punches – a good start for Leo.

A great second round for Santa Cruz. He came out to inflict punishment, and that is exactly what he did. A dominant round for Leo. After the second round Terrazas was already suffering from an almost swollen shut right eye, thanks to the punishment dished out by Santa Cruz.

Down Victor went in the third, got back up, and very shortly thereafter he was sent down again by a big right hand. Referee Lou Moret waved off the fight at 2:09 of that third round. Leo Santa Cruz is the NEW WBC super bantamweight champion!

“This has been my dream since I was small,” Santa Cruz said later. “I just can’t believe it, it’s a dream come true. I have to thank Richard Schaefer, Golden Boy, my manager Al Haymon, and SHOWTIME for all the opportunities you’ve given me. And of course my dad, my team, and my sponsors.”

This is the second time Santa Cruz has won a title at this venue, and Leo didn’t expect an easy fight.

“I thought it would go the distance. But after I saw that he was getting hurt with my punches I thought I would go after him and try to finish him, so I could go home early. In the second round I started landing some overhand rights and knew that if I kept putting pressure on, I’d get him out of there.

“Right now I want to defend the title, whatever fighter that is, defend the title one or two times.”

In another display of total domination, the well-liked and soft-spoken Antonio “Relentless” Orozco (18-0, 14 KOs) destroyed Ivan Hernandez (29-4, 22 KOs) in a junior welterweight fight that was scheduled for 10 rounds, but Orozco would make it an early night for himself.

Antonio got to display all of his skills in a short period of time, as he lived up to his nickname with some relentless body shots, breaking down his opponent with speed, accuracy, and power. All of this took a toll on Hernandez, and referee Raul Caiz Sr. had seen enough by the third round to call a halt to the bout at 1:39 of that round. It doesn’t seem like it will be too long before we see Orozco in bigger fights.
 

Joseph “JoJo” Diaz (7-0, 5 KOs) had to battle Noel Mendoza (6-3-1, 1 KO) in a featherweight bout that was scheduled for six rounds. Diaz is a speed demon! His delivery is so fast; he hit Mendoza with hard left hands repeatedly out of nowhere. Noel was lucky to get out of the opening round.

Round two, all “JoJo”. He is so poised in the ring; it is amazing for such a young kid. In the third, Mendoza finally had to succumb to the big left hand of Diaz and went down. He hopped right back up and was ready for more action, but be careful what you wish for. A monster straight left hand put Noel down and out at 1:54 of round number three. A true star in the making is Diaz.

The heavy-handed Dominic “Trouble” Breazeale (6-0, 6 KOs) faced off against Lenroy (TNT) Thomas (16-3, 8 KOs) in a heavyweight fight that was scheduled for eight rounds. In the first, Thomas was able to land a couple of good punches on Breazeale – a bit of a surprise to some. In the second Dominic came out a lot stronger, scoring points throughout, even though Lenroy landed a great left hand in the closing seconds.

In the third Breazeale threw a lot of punches, but the sturdy Thomas weathered the storm. In the fourth a huge right hand by Breazeale started the trouble for Lenroy, and Dominic finished him off at 2:29 of that round with a great uppercut. This was a big fight for Breazeale – a nice step up in class – and he proved himself tonight.

In a featherweight bout scheduled for four rounds, East L.A.’s Julian “El Camaron” Ramirez (9-0, 6 KOs) faced off against Abraham Rubio (3-1-1, 1 KO). Both of these fighters were looking to keep that first loss off their records, but it was Julian who would leave nothing to the imagination. Ramirez was looking to end it early, and it took him only one round to make his statement. While he was never able to knock Rubio down, he pounded on him long enough to make the referee have to step in and stop the fight at 2:58 of that very first round.

In a scrappy fight between two featherweights, Rey Vargas (15-0, 14 KOs) stood across from Juanito Rubillar (49-22-7, 24 KOs). This fight was scheduled to go eight rounds.. Vargas is lightening fast, and pretty accurate with those punches. Rubillar was doing his best to try to hang in there.

The fight came to an end at 2:58 of the fourth round after Vargas landed a solid right hand, dropping Rubillar and causing the referee to wave the fight off. Another win and knockout for the good fighter Rey Vargas.

Jesus Ruiz (29-5-5, 21 KOs) went up against Enrique Quevedo (14-6-1, 9 KOs) in a bout scheduled for eight rounds in the super bantamweight division. We saw a fairly active first round from these two fighters, but with no real damage done. Ruiz spent the second round taking it to Quevedo, getting in some good shots and snapping Enrique’s head back a couple of times.

Good action from both men in the third, as the two fighters were able to land punches on each other. In the fourth, the advantage swung back to Ruiz, and the fifth and sixth were no different. In the seventh, Quevedo was able to get some strong punches in on Jesus, but Ruiz remained in control of the fight. The eighth and final saw both fighters come out swinging, and that continued for the entire three minutes. Time for the scorecards. The judges saw it 80-72 and 79-73 twice, giving the unanimous decision to Ruiz.

Ronald Gavril (6-0, 5 KOs) and David L. Courchaine (2-3, 2 KOs) participated in a scheduled six rounder in the super middleweight division. Gavril took control of the fight in the opening round, putting Courchaine on the canvas with a body punch combination. David made it out of the round, however.

More body shots came in the second, and it was after those that Gavril connected with Courchaine’s head with a heavy right hand, dropping him. He got up, but referee Raul Caiz Sr. had to call a halt to the bout at 1:50.

The match that started off this afternoon of boxing saw Lanell Bellows (5-0-1, 4 KOs) facing off against the seemingly over-matched Leshon D. Sims (5-16, 3 KOs) in a super middleweight bout scheduled for four rounds. I must admit that I was setting up during the first two rounds of the fight, so don’t really know what went on for the first half.

Bellows showed good work to the body in the third, and near the end of that round he hurt Sims with a hard right hand to the head. The fourth was more of the same, as Lanell continued to show his power. We went to the scorecards. The judges saw the fight the same; 40-36 for Bellows. Apparently, Sims was indeed overmatched.

Ten fighters were trying to keep their perfect record and eight were able to do so. Obviously, the most surprising loss was Mares’, but one can take nothing away from Gonzalez. He hurt him and finished him off, end of story.

Keep your eyes on Santa Cruz, Orozco, Breazeale, Ramirez, and Diaz, and expect even bigger and better things from each and every one of them. They are all on the right track.

This was an exceptional fight card from top to bottom, one of the best in a long time. Congrats to all the winners, and to Golden Boy and SHOWTIME for making it all possible.