Mizuki Hiruta fought in the United States for the third straight time tonight, and it might have been her finest performance yet.
Hiruta dominated her 10-round bout with Naomy Cardenas Gomez of Chihuahua, Mexico in the co-feature of a 360 Promotions card from Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California. The scores were 100-90, 100-90, and 98-92, all in favor of Hiruta, who defended her WBO junior bantamweight title for the fifth time.
Following a similarly dominant unanimous decision and a technical decision in which she’d won nearly every round in her fights at California’s Commerce Casino, the bar was high, but this was likely Hiruta's most complete showing in the ring.
Hiruta of Tokyo, Japan, proved a tough target to hit for Gomez. Hiruta kept Gomez at the end of her jab and caught her in the second round with an eye-catching uppercut, as her footwork allowed her to dance around the ring. Gomez kept trying, but Hiruta, 29, used her opponent for target practice.
Hiruta, who now trains in Los Angeles with Manny Robles, capitalized on Gomez overextending on shots. Her ability to time Gomez coming forward was evident, and the difference in the bout. Gomez came in overweight the day before and was unable to compete for the title, but never took a step backward in pursuit of the upset.
Hiruta is now 9-0 (2 KOs), while Gomez, 26, falls to 9-1 (2 KOs).
Junior lightweight Abel Mejia of Orange, California, rose from a knockdown to score a stoppage for the second time in his career. Mejia got off the canvas, there courtesy of a first-round right hand, to stop former title challenger Aston Palicte of the Philippines in the second round. The time of the stoppage was 1:34.
The fight started poorly for the 22-year-old Mejia, but he responded bravely to the knockdown. In the following round, he landed a right hand that pushed Palicte to the ropes. As Palicte lay on them, Mejia flurried fiercely, forcing the referee to call a halt to the bout.
Mejia was knocked down last summer in the second round against Jose Jesus Correa Abarca, only to stop his opponent. Tonight’s defeat of Palicte was an encore of that performance. Palicte suffered his fifth straight stoppage loss. Mejia improves to 9-0 (5 KOs), with the 34-year-old Palicte falling to 28-9-1 (23 KOs).
Women’s strawweight Guadalupe Medina of Maywood, California, won an eight-round split decision over Mexico’s Rubi Gutierrez. The scores were 77-75 and 80-72 in Medina’s favor, with one judge scoring it 77-75 for Gutierrez.
Medina, 21, displayed her boxing skills and heart against the 19-year-old Gutierrez. Medina kept Gutierrez away with a good jab and movement in the first two rounds. A relentless Gutierrez landed a big right hand at the end of the third round, which shifted the tide of the fight. Gutierrez pressured Medina in the following rounds, imposing her size and strength. Medina did her best work in the eighth and final round, an impressive finish since in recent bouts, Medina slowed down in the late rounds.
Medina remains unbeaten at 11-0 (2 KOs), while Gutierrez falls to 5-3-1 and suffers her second straight defeat.
In the television opener, featherweight Angel Carrillo of Oxnard, California, won a four-round unanimous decision over Damien Basulto of Compton, California. The scores were 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37.
Carrillo, 20, improves to 5-0-1 (2 KOs), while Basulto, 24, takes his first loss as a professional, falling to 3-1 (1 KO).
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