By Jake Donovan



Moving up in weight and giving away hometown advantage did little to discourage the rhythm of Z Gorres, who looked solid in his injury-induced stoppage win over former bantamweight titlist Cruz Carbajal. The bout served as the televised opener to the “Latin Fury 11” pay-per-view telecast aired live from El Palenque de la Feria in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico.



The official time was 0:02 of the sixth round of their scheduled ten-rounder.



Gorres, a southpaw from Cebu, Philippines, weighed in at a career-high 123 lb for the bout, after having spent the majority of his eight-year career two divisions below. Though at a natural size disadvantage, Gorres still proved to be the aggressor throughout the contest, which featured several exchanges and seemingly as many accidental headbutts.



Momentum remained mostly in Gorres’ favor, though Carbajal certainly had his moments. The heavy-handed Mexican veteran was effective with his straight right, though a weapon he threw and landed far too infrequently.



A brief scare came in round three, when a cut opened just about Gorres’ right eyelid, as the result of one of several butts.



It was a round largely dominated by Gorres after a back-and-forth second, though the cut hardly proved worrisome. He went on to own the fourth and fifth round. Carbajal tried his hardest to make a fight out of it, but quickly found himself outgunned by the Filipino challenger eight years his junior.



The fight was no longer a matter of if Gorres would win, but in what fashion. Carbajal’s corner removed the mystery after the fifth round, when their fighter revealed an injured left arm while sitting on his stool.



Referee Alberto Ramos wasted no time in waving off the fight, allowing Carbajal to received immediate medical attention.



Gorrez improves to 30-2-2 (17KO) with the win, his third straight since his controversial 12-round draw against Vic Darchinyan more than 18 months ago. The bout also marked his debut in Mexico, as well as his third fight in as many weight classes, with this bout taking place one pound about the super bantamweight limit.



Where his next fight comes remains to be seen, or whether or not he is done as a player in the super flyweight division. Gorres seemed filled out at super bantamweight, though a title run at bantamweight would most likely prove to be the best fit.



As for Carbajal, a long and hard career examination could be in order. The 35-year old veteran drops his second straight as he falls to 29-17-2 (25KO), and no longer capable of fighting competitively with, never mind beating, the best fighters in and around his weight class.



Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.