Joe Cordina wins on points; Ernesto Mercado lands seventh knockout in a row

STOCKTON, California – Lightweight Joe Cordina sent the fight fans here in Stockton home unhappy.

Cordina, of Cardiff, Wales, won a unanimous decision over Stockton’s Gabriel Flores Jnr on Saturday night at Adventist Health Arena. Scores were 117-110, 115-112 and 114-113.

Cordina, 34, set the tone early, pressing forward against the 24-year-old Flores. Still, Flores proved to be an elusive target and a tough customer in an ugly, physical fight.

In the second round, Flores landed a flurry that elicited roars from the crowd, and Cordina lost a point in the round for hitting behind the head.

But Cordina was relentless. He spent the majority of the fight coming forward and targeting Flores’ body.

The championship rounds summed up the bout as both fighters landed blows and emotions peaked. In the 11th, Cordina, who continued to try mauling his opponent, fired off an onslaught of punches that Flores absorbed and managed to withstand all the way through the final bell. 

Cordina recorded his second win in the lightweight division, improving to 19-1 (9 KOs), while Flores slipped to 27-3 (8 KOs) and saw his six-fight win streak ended.

Junior welterweight Ernesto “Tito” Mercado, of Pomona, California, picked up a sixth-round knockout over Antonio Moran, of Mexico City, Mexico. The time of the stoppage was 2 minutes and 37 seconds in the round.

Mercado, 24, dropped the 32-year-old Moran with a right hand in the first round. In the sixth, Mercado hurt Moran with a body shot and sent him to the canvas with a flurry of punches as Moran tried to hold. Later in the round, Mercado scored a walk-off knockout, landing a right hand that dropped Moran, with referee Michael Margado waving the bout off as Moran hit the canvas. 

Mercado improved to 18-0 (17 KOs) after knocking out his seventh straight opponent. Moran fell to 31-8-1 (21 KOs).

Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.