Former WBC super featherweight champion Francisco Vargas (25-1-2, 18 KOs), who was working with new head trainer Joel Diaz, broke down and stopped Rod Salka (24-5, 4 KOs) in six rounds.
Vargas continues to rebuild his career. Last December he won a nine round technical decision over Stephen Smith - in what was the Mexican brawler's first bout since getting knocked out by Miguel Berchelt last January.
Coming in, Salka won five bouts in a row after getting knocked out cold by Danny Garcia in August of 2014.
Vargas started off as expected, by pushing forward with big punches that were flying. Salka was catching him with counters, but his lack of power was not making a dent on the much bigger hitter.
As the fight continued, Vargas continued to apply more pressure in each round and was throwing big punches to the head and body with very bad intentions.
In the fifth round, Vargas and Salka were trading punches at close range when an uppercut landed and forced Salka to go down for a knee. He made it up at the count of eight as the bell sounded to end the round. Salka face was pretty bruised, and his body was red, as they entered the sixth round.
During the sixth, Salka took a lot of punishment and suffered a bad cut around his left eye. The corner of Salka stopped the fight at the end of the round.
In tonight's co-main event, Andrew "El Chango" Cancio (18-4-2, 14 KOs) of Blythe, Calif. defeated the Kazakhstan-born Aidar Sharibayev (7-1, 6 KOs) via technical knockout in the tenth and final round of a bout contested for the vacant WBA Intercontinental Super Featherweight Title. Cancio dropped Sharibayev with a left hook in the third round, and scored another knockdown with a right hand in the fifth round. After dominating for a few more rounds, Cancio stopped Sharibayev at :43 of the tenth round.
"I listened to my corner, and I trained hard. That's why I got the victory," said Andrew Cancio. "I threw jabs and combinations, and I kept moving my head. This was a great performance in front of my fans. It feels amazing because hard work pays off."
Rommel Caballero (0-0-1) of Coachella, Calif. made his professional debut in tonight's swing bout by fighting to an unfortunate technical draw against Eric Rodriguez (1-2-1) of Los Angeles, Calif. The bout originally scheduled for four rounds in the lightweight division. However, the fight was halted at the end of the first round due to an accidental headbutt, which according to the California rules forces a technical draw decision.
"I don't know what to say. It's crazy," said Rommel Caballero. "This is not what I wanted at all. It's the California rules, so I have to respect them."
Javier Padilla (6-0-1, 5 KOs) of Indio, Calif. scored a decisive four-round unanimous decision victory against Ricardo Arias (1-3-1) of Mexico City, Mexico in a super featherweight fight. Padilla won with scores of 39-37, 40-36 and 40-36.
"I've dedicated myself more to boxing this time around," said Javier Padilla. "That's why I won this rematch. I was working the graveyard shift before heading to the weigh-in for the first fight. But I've quit my job, so I was well rested for this one. I can't wait to be back."
Aaron "Silencer" McKenna (3-0, 2 KOs) knocked out Keasen Freeman (4-2, 2 KOs) in the first round a scheduled four-round welterweight fight. After dropping Freeman with a left hook to start the round, McKenna landed a right hand that ended the bout at 2:06 of the same round.
"I felt very strong," said Aaron McKenna. "I landed some good, solid shots. After he went down the first time, I knew he couldn't handle my power. I knew I had to start fast but at the same time be patient, and it all came together."
Genaro "El Conde" Gamez (8-0, 5 KOs) defeated Japanese pugilist Shoki Sakai (22-8-2, 12 KOs) via unanimous decision over eight rounds of welterweight action. Gamez was victorious with scores of 79-73, 79-73, 77-75.
"I felt great, though he [Sakai] was much bigger," said Genaro Gamez. "It was good experienced because he was tough, but at 130 or 135 nobody beats me."
Jonathan "Thunder" Navarro (14-0, 7 KOs) of East Los Angeles, Calif. scored a tough eight-round unanimous decision victory against Justin Savi (9-15-1, 6 KOs) of Silver Spring, Md. in a welterweight bout. Navarro won with scores of 80-72, 80-72 and 79-72.
"It was a tough fight because he [Savi] can take a punch," said Jonathan Navarro. "I've been staying very busy because I've been finishing my bouts clean and without taking too much punishment. Hopefully, I can take a little break and come back in the summer."
