Fight Night Club Results: Garcia Outlasts Serrano
By Jake Donovan
Juanito Garcia ended a three-fight losing streak and a two-year hiatus with a six-round majority decision over Hector Serrano in a spirted main event Thursday evening at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles.
Scores were 58-56 (twice) and 57-57 even in their main event bout atop a show that aired live on Fox Sports Network's "Fight Night Club" series.
The action was non-stop throughout, with blatant momentum shifts. Garcia controlled the action early on, and had Serrano bloodied and battered in a vicious second round.
Serrano, falling way behind, dug deep and took over late in the fight as fatigue appeared to set in for Garcia.
The late rally wasn't enough for Serrano to snap his losing streak, which is now three fights deep as he falls to 13-3 (5KO).
Garcia, once a promising prospect, picks up his first win in more than three years as he improves to 15-3 (5KO).
Ramon Valadez racked up his ninth straight win with a hard-fought unanimous decision over Noe Lopez Jr. Scores were 59-54 across the board in the evening’s co-feature bout.
Lopez was dropped in the opening round, but fought back well in the second round to suggest a dogfight was in store. Valadez fixed that problem, boxing smartly and controlling the action from the third round onward to secure the victory.
Valadez - a series regular with more than half of his pro fights having taken place at Club Nokia - improves to 10-1 (5KO). Lopez Jr. drops his third straight as he falls to 7-10 (4KO).
In the televised opener, Jose Manuel Sanchez (5-2, 2KO) scored a second round stoppage of debuting Rodrigo Garcia. Sanchez, from nearby Santa Ana, scored two knockdowns before the referee decided to wave off the action. The official time was 1:14 of round two.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.
