By Jake Donovan
Antonio Orozco often draws comparisons to former 122 lb. king Israel Vazquez - one of his ring idols - for his all-action style. The unbeaten contender had to apply some of those same championship traits in surviving a near-disastrous opening round to stop Miguel Huerta in the second round of their Fox Sports 1-televised headliner Friday evening in Indio, California.
In more than five years as a pro, Orozco has barely lost a round or been forced to even break a sweat. That changed within the first two minutes of Friday's affair, when Huerta connected with a left hook on the chin that had the 26-year old on unsteady legs for the remainder of the round.
"I'm not gonna lie, I was feeling it," Orozco honestly admitted after the fight. "He caught me with a left hook. I was hurt but overcame the adversity and scored the knockout."
The seed for that accomplishment was planted in the early moments of round two. Orozco recovered in between rounds, and had every intention of fighting fire with fire. A sweeping left hook put Huerta down in a heap, to where it looked like the fight was over at that very moment.
"We had to come back and make a point," Orozco insisted. "I had to let him know we weren't going to take it."
Huerta somehow managed to recover from the blow, but never managed to punch his way out of trouble. Orozco drove the veteran into the ropes, unloading power shots until referee Pat Russell felt that Huerta was no longer able to sufficiently defend himself.
The official time was 1:00 of round two.
Orozco advances to 19-0 (15KO) with the win, scoring his 7th consecutive knockout in the process. Huerta falls to 27-12-1 (16KO), suffering his fourth loss in the span of his last five contests.
UNDERCARD
In the televised co-feature, 20-year old featherweight prospect Julian Ramirez scored two knockdowns en route to a landslide points win over spoiler Derrick Wilson.
Scores were 79-71 and 78-72 (twice) in favor of Ramirez, who set the tone with an opening round knockdown and never let up. Wilson (10-6-2, 3KO) offered his usual determined effort, but was severely outgunned for much of the night.
Ramirez (10-0, 6KO), managed by Joel de la Hoya, is the great nephew of the late Genaro Hernandez, a former two-time super featherweight titlist in the 1990's.
In the televised opener, unbeaten heavyweight prospect Dominic Breazeale ran his record to 9-0 (9KO) with a 3rd round stoppage of rotund Homero 'El Oso' Fonseca.
The bout was never competitive, as Breazeale had his way over the squat and plump Fonseca, who weighed in at a career heaviest 298 lb. The Texan was 291 lb. when he went eight rounds with unbeaten Andy Ruiz, and perhaps figured that round was once again the best way to go against notable prospects.
Breazeale exploited his opponent's subpar condition, dishing out a beating until forcing a submission. Fonseca was ordered by his corner to remain on his stool after three rounds, informing referee Pat Russell that he wouldn't be coming out for round four.
A member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing squad, Breazeale has yet to be extended beyond the fourth round in his young pro career. Friday's contest marked his third straight appearance on Fox Sports 1 since the network entered the boxing fold in September.
OFF CAMERA
Former super welterweight Cornelius Bundrage (33-5, 19 KOs) kept alive hope for another run towards alphabet hardware after scoring a 12-round decision over Joey “Twinkle Fingers” Hernandez.
Scores were 118-110 across the board in a bout that determined the mandatory challenger for current titlist Carlos Molina. Bundrage, now 40, improves to 33-5 (19KO) with the win and will now wait out Molina's title defense versus Jermall Charlo, which takes place March 8 on the undercard of a pay-per-view headlined by Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez' ring return versus Alfredo Angulo.
Hernandez falls to 23-2-1 (13KO) with the loss, snapping an eight-fight win streak.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, Yahoo Boxing Ratings Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox