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Zepeda Defeats Cabrera
By Barbara Pinnella
Photos: Al Applerose
The main event featured Super Lightweights William
Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs) against Giovanni Cabrera (22-2, 7
KOs) in a 12-round bout. They did not use the first of
their scheduled 12-round battle to feel each other out.
Rather, they started right off, with Cabrera being a bit
more effective. Zepeda came back in the second, landing
punches and snapping Giovanni’s head back a few times.
Apparently, Zepeda had enough of a warmup. He was just
raining down punches on Cabrera, and almost everything
he threw landed. A body shot and a hard right hand
proved to be the demise of Giovanni. At 1:58 of the
third round, referee Thomas Taylor jumped in and waved
off the fight, as Cabrera could not continue.
The co-main event had Ricardo Sandoval (25-2, 17 KOs)
battling with Angel Acosta (24-5, 22 KOs). This fight
was to go 10 rounds and was for the WBC Silver Flyweight
Title. Coming in with a lot of wins and knockouts to
their credit, these two went right to work in the first
round. Great second round with both men getting in some
good shots. Lots of action in the third as well.
Interesting thus far, as both men are scoring some
points.
Not a lot different to say about the next couple of
rounds. Moving into the second half, the fight appeared
to be a close one. Both fighters had done good things in
every round, and these last five rounds seemed to be no
different. Headed into the ninth round, it could still
be either man’s game. Tenth and last – who wants it
more? Well, what’s a fight without a controversy, and
that’s what happened in the final round. In a bout that
remained close throughout, referee Raul Caiz, Jr.
decided that Acosta had taken enough punches, and
stepped in to wave the fight off at 1:23. This was not
at all appreciated by Acosta, or his trainer Joel Diaz.
The fans were also unhappy and booed the decision
loudly. Sandoval got the win, but MANY felt the fight
should not have been stopped.
In a Super Featherweight fight, Manuel Flores (18-1, 14
KOs) went up against Nohel Arambulet (23-7-2, 13 KOs).
This fight was for a scheduled 10 rounds. Flores landed
some punches to start off the fight, demanding respect.
Midway in the second Flores dropped Arambulet with a
right – left combination. Nohel got up, but was
immediately dropped again, and the fight was stopped by
referee Jerry Cantu at 1:59.
The first fight on DAZN had Joel Iriarte (3-0, 3 KOs)
facing off against Yainel Alvarez (3-5-2, 1 KO). This
was a welterweight fight scheduled to go six rounds.
Pretty fast-paced first round, with Iriarte getting the
upper hand early. In the last minute of the second
round, body punches and a huge right hand staggered
Alvarez. A perfectly placed uppercut proved to be the
undoing for Alvarez. He could take no more, and the
fight was waved off at 2:41 of the second round. Iriarte
got his third consecutive victory by knockout and
remained undefeated.
UNDERCARD FIGHTS
For the last undercard fight of the afternoon, we saw
Welterweights, as Alex Martin (18-6, 6 KOs) stood across
the ring from Pedro Campa (36,3,1, 25 KOs) in a bout
scheduled for 10 rounds. Not too much in first round. No
surprise, since it is supposed to go 10. Both men had
their moments in the first few rounds, with Campa being
the more aggressive, but we also saw a lot of holding as
well. This happened so much that referee Thomas Taylor
took a point away from each fighter in the fifth for
holding when told to break.
For the second half of the fight, it was all Campa. He
was dictating the pace and controlling all of the
action. Martin could never find an answer for the
pressure of Pedro. In the final round, Campa put an
exclamation point on the fight with a scoring a
knockdown. The scorecards were no surprise; 97-90,
96-91, and 94-93, all for Campa.
Gael Cabrera (5-0, 3 KOs) faced off against Mychaquell
Shields (2-5). This fight was a Featherweight bout
scheduled for four rounds. With just seconds to go in
the round and after serving up a few good right hands,
Cabrera dropped Shields with a sharp left. At the end of
the second, Shields went down again. The doctor looked
at Shields between rounds, but we went into the third.
At 1:09 of that round, a one-two body punch put Shields
down and out. Gael remains undefeated.
Joshua Garcia (9-0, 4KOs) faced off against Jason
Buenaobra (10-11-3, 4 KOs). This fight was for a
scheduled six rounds in the lightweight division.
Nothing special in first round, or the second. Garcia
did go down, but only because their feet got tangled.
The third was a very good round for Garcia, as he was
all over Buenaobra. That continued for the rest of the
fight. Garcia won by split decision, with the scores
reading 57-57 59-55 and 58-56.
Anthony Saldivar (7-0, 3 KOs) faced Roman Canto
(15-18-3, 9 KOs) in a middleweight fight that was
scheduled for four rounds. Saldivar had his way with
Canto in the first round. Canto seemed in distress
shortly into the second round, and the referee waved the
fight off at .54 seconds of that second round.
Daniel Luna (4-1, 4 KOs) went against Joseph Walker
(1-3) in a four-round fight in the Lightweight division.
Luna had Walker in trouble a number of times, but Joseph
would hold and referee Raul Caiz Jr. would have to break
them up. Walker made it out of the round, but the
referee stopped the fight before the second round,
making Daniel’s trip from Victorville a good one.
To open up this boxing event, Japhethlee Llamido (12-1,
4 KOs) vs Ryan Allen (10-8-1, 5 KOs) in a scheduled
eight rounds in the Featherweight division. Good first
for Allen that displayed very good body work. By the
third, Llamido had picked up his rhythm a bit. Halfway
through the fight, Allen came out unloading on Llamido.
But that was countered by a knockdown by Japhethlee. A
right hand caught Allen as he was attempting to throw a
big punch, and his glove touched the canvas. Back and
forth for the rest of the rounds, and we went to the
scorecards. They were 80-71, 78-73, and 77-74, giving
the unanimous decision for to Llamido.
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