Azat Hovhannisyan Flirts With DQ, Stops Gonzalez
By Francisco Salazar
Not even halfway through his six round main event bout, junior featherweight Azat Hovhannisyan was warned if he threw and landed one more low blow, he would be disqualified.
While that would bring about a cause for concern, it was not a problem for Hovhannisyan.
Moments later, Hovhannisyan hurt Ali Gonzalez with shots to the head, eventually earning a stoppage win at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles on Friday night.
The bout headlined a seven-bout "Battle of the Rising Stars" card, presented by All Star Boxing Promotions.
Hovhannisyan had his ways against Gonzalez, beating him to the punch and causing welts underneath Gonzalez's eyes. Unfortunately, Hovhannisyan would land an occasional low blow, prompting warnings from referee Dr. Lou Moret.
In the third round, Hovhannisyan landed another low blow. This time, Moret deducted a point from Hovhannisyan. Since Hovhannisyan does not understand English, Moret walked him to his corner where a second translated to Hovhannisyan that if he landed another low blow, he would be disqualified.
The move seemed to spark Hovhannisyan as he went on the attack. Moments later, he landed a left hook that dropped Gonzalez to the canvas. Gonzalez got up, but was met with another barrage of punches. Those punches dropped Gonzalez to the canvas and rather than administer an eight-count, Moret waved the fight over at 2:16.
The Armenian-born Hovhannisyan goes to 6-1, 5 KOs, while Gonzalez falls to 6-3, 1 KO.
Junior middleweight Gaku Takahashi won a four round unanimous decision over Javier Albonica. Both were coming off of long layoffs as Takahashi (12-5-1, 6 KOs) had not fought since April of 2010, while Albonica (6-2, 4 KOs) had not fought since December of 2012. That did not stop them from showcasing a solid back and forth bout. Takahashi got the better of the exchanges during a majority of the fight. Takahashi dropped Albonica with a barrage of punches in the third round. One judge scored the bout 38-38, while the other two judges scored the bout 39-36 and 38-37 in favor of Takahashi.
Junior middleweight Urmat Ryskeldiev won a six round unanimous decision over Malik Bazille. The southpaw Bazille (2-3) was able to land repeatedly with counter or lead left hands to the head of Ryskeldiev. Momentum shifted in the third round as Ryskeldiev pressed forward, forcing Bazille to fight off his back foot. Ryskeldiev (9-3-1, 5 KOs) landed at will with each passing round, forcing Bazille to fight more cautiously. Sensing he was down, Bazille took more risks in the final round, burn Ryskeldiev withstood any offense, winning on all three judges' scorecards, 59-55, 58-56, and 60-54.
In a minor upset on paper, welterweight Alejandro Manuel Reyes won a six round majority decision over Brian Jones. After an even first round, the southpaw Reyes (3-2, 1 KO) began to take the fight to Jones. Reyes simply beat Jones (9-3, 4 KOs) to the punch during a majority of the exchanges, but Jones was able to make it a fight as he countered well late in the fight. The rally by Jones fell short as two of three judges had Reyes up 58-56, while the third judge scored the bout 57-57.
Welterweight Saul Bustos was successful in his professional debut, knocking out Tony Gonzalez in the second round of a scheduled four round bout. The taller Bustos was able to rain punches down onto Gonzalez, but the southpaw Gonzalez (0-2) was able to counter with lefts to the head. After a minute into the second round, Bustos landed a straight, counter right above Gonzalez's left eye. Gonzalez dropped to his knees, bending forward in pain as referee Zachary Young counts him out at 1:21.
Junior welterweights Gloferson Ortizo and Jesus Delgado fought to a four round majority draw. Both had their moments throughout the fight, as the ebb and flow brought about solid exchanges. Ortizo (1-0-1) pressed the action, doing his best work as Delgado was against the ropes. Delgado (1-0-1) was able to counter, landing a few hooks or crosses flush to the head of Ortizo. Both landed at will in the waning seconds of the fight, bring the crowd to its feet. One judge scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Ortizo, while the other two judges scored the bout 38-38.
Super middleweight Reggie Verduzco knocked Jerome Buchannan out in the third round of a scheduled four round bout. After an even first round, Verduzco (2-1, 2 KOs) dominated the action the second round" landing straight rights and left hooks to the head of Buchannan. About 30 seconds into the third round, the southpaw Buchannan dropped Verduzco with a left cross to the head. After getting up, Verduzco landed a counter left hook to Buchannan's head, dropping to the canvas. Referee Dr. Lou Moret immediately waved the fight over at 1:05.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
