By Joe Harrison

On Friday, David Estrada (23-6, 14 KOs) defeated Chris Gray (12-10, 1 KO) by a 6th-round TKO at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. It was Estrada’s first bout after an eight-month layoff. The event, Windy City Fight Night 5, was promoted by Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions.

The opening round was very slow as Gray circled the ring and Estrada followed him. Very few punches were thrown and Gray would clinch if Estrada came in.

In the second and third rounds, Estrada picked up the pace but could not sustain an attack as Gray continuously escaped danger. A left hook buckled Gray’s legs at one point, but Estrada failed to follow up.

By the fourth round, Estrada was much more aggressive and it appeared that Gray was beginning to feel the effects of Estrada’s punches. Gray went down but it was ruled a slip. Then the two exchanged as the round came to an end.

In the fifth, Estrada continued to go after Gray, but he constantly clinched and ran from Estrada. Then Gray slipped again as he was trying to avoid Estrada’s attack.

During the sixth round, Estrada continued to apply pressure and Gray slipped again. This time he was given a warning by referee John O’Brian and told to stay on his feet. Moments later, Gray slipped again and a point was deducted for deliberately going down. Then O’Brian waved off the bout at the 1:42 mark. It was later revealing that Gray had suffered an injury to his right knee.

In other action, Chicago heavyweight David “Diesel” Latoria (2-0, 2 KOs) knocked out Ricardo Bradley (0-5) only 17 seconds into the first round. As they stood in the middle of the ring, Latoria threw some punches and landed a straight right followed by a left hook to the head. Bradley went down and remained there for several minutes while Latoria was being announced as the winner.

Also on the undercard, Chicago welterweight Antonio “El Maestro” Maldonado (2-0, 2 KOs) defeated Timothy Reynolds (0-2) by a 2nd-round TKO. After being dropped by a barrage of punches, Reynolds could not escape further punishment as the corner threw in the towel, ending the bout at 1:26 into the second round.

The next event, Warriors Collide/Windy City Fight Night 6, will feature David Diaz vs. Jesus Chavez on September 26th at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.