By Jake Donovan
San Antonio's Ivan Najera cruised to an eight-round points win over Robbie Cannon in their UniMas-televised headliner Saturday evening at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas.
The bout marked Najera's first in a televised main event, an opportunity that fell in his lap after Daniel Diaz was unable to secure a travel visa for his originally scheduled showdown with Saul Rodriguez. The unbeaten Texan made the most of the opportunity, dominating Cannon - who made the road trip from Missouri - from the beginning and doing as he pleased over the course of the night.
While the threat of a knockout never surfaced, Najera delivered the lone knockdown of the evening. A sweeping left hook put Cannon (14-11-2, 6KOs) down and nearly out towards the end of round five. The visiting journeyman barely made it out of the round, and the fact that he lasted until the final bell served as his consolation prize.
Scores of 80-71 (twice) and 78-73 came in for Najera, who improves to 16-0 (8KOs).
Alex Saucedo dominated Eduardo Flores en route, dropping and stopping the well-traveled Ecuadorian in the third round of their televised co-feature.
Saucedo - a well-schooled boxer from Oklahoma City, was well in control for the duration of the brief affair. The unbeaten welterweight boxed early while looking for the right opening to dial up the violence.
Flores did him that favor, pulling off a poor imitation of former two-division titlist Ricardo Mayorga in tapping his own chin and daring his opponent to hit him. Saucedo did just that, cracking the journeyman with a right hand to put him down and out.
The official time was 2:05 of round three.
Saucedo rolls to (17-0, 12KOs) with his first fight and win of 2015. The 20-year old has been a fixture on the Solo Boxeo circuit through his first three full years in the pro ranks.
UNDERCARD
Former amateur standout Ryan 'Blue Chip' Martin remained unbeaten after scoring a six-round decision over Mexico's Carlos Valenzuela (6-3, 3KOs). Scores were 59-54 (twice) and 58-55 for Martin (11-0, 6KO), who was docked a point in round four due to excessive low blows in an otherwise dominant performance. The 21-year old prospect rose to prominence as a top amateur fighting out of Chattanooga, Tenn. before relocating to Cleveland, Ohio upon entering the pro ranks and signing with 50 Cent's SMS Promotions.
Ricardo Lamas maintained his perfect knockout to win ratio, needing mere seconds to dispose of Eduardo Alvarado (1-7, 1KO). A body shot was enough for Lamas (6-0, 6KOs) - a knockout artist from the Houston region - to pick up his fourth consecutive 1st round knockout.
Local favorite Isaac Torres (7-1-1, 3KOs) picked up his second straight win following a six-round decision over Jesse Anguiano (2-5-3, 1KO). Torres earned a knockdown call in round three when a shot upstairs knocked Anguiano off balance, forcing his glove to touch the canvas.
Super featherweight prospect Julian Gilden (8-0, 6KOs) scored a unanimous decision over Texan clubfighter Alberto Navarro (3-9-2, 1KO). Gilden, based out of Corpus Christi, scored two knockdowns in round two but had to settle for a landslide win over a determined Navarro, who was outmatched but never wilted.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox