By Francisco Salazar
(MONTEBELLO, Calif.) - Xavier Montelongo may be known as 'The Mongoose' but he could also be called a champion as well.
Montelongo won a hard-fought six round unanimous decision over Cesar Martinez before a partisan crowd at the Quiet Cannon.
With the win, Montelongo won the vacant California State featherweight title.
Montelongo was able to get the better of the aggressive Martinez during the first half of the fight, especially on the inside. Montelongo was able to land counter and straight right hands to the head.
Martinez mounted a rally in the fourth round, attempting to walk Montelongo down, finding some success by attacking the body of Montelongo
However, Montelongo was able to box from the outside, countering repeatedly with right hands to the head of Martinez, especially in the final two rounds.
All three judges scored the bout in favor of Montelongo, 59-55, 59-55 and 58-56.
Montelongo improves to 8-3-1, 2 KOs, while Martinez falls to 4-5-2, 1 KO.
Junior welterweight Eddie De La Huerta stopped Rick Quevedo in the second round of a four round bout. The larger De La Huerta (2-0, 2 KOs) was able to rain down an abundant amount of punches onto Quevedo. A left hook from De La Huerta midway through the round hurt Quevedo (1-3) and moments later, a left uppercut from De La Huerta dropped Quevedo to one knee. Quevedo tried to fight back in the second round, finding some success with rights hands to the head. But De La Huerta was just too strong, mixing in hooks to the head and body. A left uppercut from De La Huerta to Quevedo's head wobbled him, prompting referee Dr. Lou Moret to stop the bout at 1:47.
In a bout featuring mixed martial arts fighters who were making their professional boxing debuts, Jared Papazian knocked out Ruben Warr in the first round. Papazian, who reportedly competes in the UFC, dropped Warr with a right midway through the first round. Moments before the bell sounded to end the first round, Papazian landed a lead right cross to the head, dropping Warr flat onto his back. Referee Sharon Sands immediately waved the fight over at 2:59.
In a clash of unbeaten junior welterweights, Brahmavigi Montgomery and Jesus Sanchez fought to a four round split decision draw. Sanchez (1-0-2) scored well with looping right hands to Montgomery's head. Montgomery (1-0-1) swung momentum his way in the second and third rounds, landing his share of rights. He began to tire in the final round, allowing Sanchez to get inside and score with more right hands. One judge each had the fight scored 39-37 for Montgomery and Sanchez, while the third judge scored the bout 38-38.
In the opening bout of the All Star Boxing card, junior middleweight Lucius Johnson won a four round unanimous decision over Luis Cruz (0-1-2). Johnson, who was making his pro debut, rained down counter right hands to the head of Cruz throughout the bout. Johnson sealed the win late in the fight, dropping Cruz with a counter right hand to the head late in the fourth round. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Johnson, 39-36, 39-36, and 40-35.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com and on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
