The hits just keep on coming in March.
In a major upset, Cornelius Lock proved to be too much, too soon for young Juanito Garcia, scoring a fourth-round knockout over the previously unbeaten prospect in City of Industry, California.
The bout served as a the main event of what would become a five-bout telecast on this week’s edition of Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo Tecate series.
The first round was a feel-‘em bout process for both fighters, with Lock keeping his distance, while Garcia sought ways to solve his opponent’s southpaw style. With not much to choose from, Garcia’s 1-2’s and occasional straight rights provided the round’s only action.
Garcia managed to close the gap in the second round, but it wound up doing more harm than good. Lock was able to get Garcia to drop his left low enough to land a right hook over the top, decking the highly touted prospect late in the second round. Garcia beat the count, but spent the rest of the round on rubber legs, and was still staggering into the ropes while trying to make his way back to the corner at rounds end.
Sensing an upset, Lock remained on the attack at the start of the third round. Garcia, his head now clear, was able to better defend, and respond with enough to force Lock to think twice about charging in.
Chants of “Juanito” started up in the fourth round, with the modest outdoor crowd rallying behind the Phoenix-based boxer. Lock remained unfazed, riding out Garcia’s aggression before finding bringing a sudden and shocking ending to the bout. A perfectly-placed uppercut to Garcia’s midsection forced the Mexican-American to tumble backward to the canvas. Referee Raul Caiz began the count but barely made it midway through before waving off the bout.
The official time was 2:32 of round four.
The win was by far the biggest of Lock’s career, after having previously fallen short when stepping up against notable prospects. Training out of Las Vegas under the watchful eye of Roger Mayweather, Lock (17-3-1, 10KO) now has the right team in place to turn his career around. Tonight’s win was a huge step in the right direction, now his second win since returning to the ring last year following a two-year hiatus.
Garcia dips to 14-1 (5KO) in suffering the first defeat of his young career. His next bout will perhaps be
In the co-feature, junior featherweight prospect Alejandro Perez (11-0-1, 6KO) needed just two minutes to get rid of Puerto Rican journeyman Omar Adorno (16-9-1, 10KO).
Perez, fighting out of Salinas, Calif., controlled every second of the brief affair, digging to the body early while keeping Adorno well within his desired punching range at all times. A left uppercut/overhand right combination by Perez nearly had Adorno out midway through the round. Perez didn’t let him off the hook, pummeling in the corner before catching the Puerto Rican with a left hook to the liver. Adorno paused before crumbling to the canvas. Referee Raul Caiz administered a count before waving off the bout.
The official time was 2:01 of the first round.
With plenty of time to kill between the co-feature and main event, a pair of swing bouts were brought in to help bridge the gap. The more significant of the two saw Covina, Calif.-based prospect John Molina (10-0, 8KO) taking a decision over Carlos Madrid (8-4-2, 2KO) in their six round lightweight battle.
Both fighters fought according to their body frames – Molina a tall and lean 134 lb. fighting from the outside, while Madrid, a squat 135 based out of El Paso, Tex., enjoying the most success when he was able to close the gap and pin Molina on the ropes. Molina’s moments came far more frequently, which was reflected on the final scorecards, 58-56 (2x) and 59-55.
LA-based newcomer Demetrio Soto (2-0, 2KO) had little difficulty getting past southpaw Mike Ramos (1-1, 0KO), knocking out the San Antonio native in the 2nd round of their scheduled four-round welterweight bout.
The righty vs. lefty matchup produced a headbutt midway through the opening round, with Soto on the receiving end. It was perhaps the most effective blow Ramos landed in the brief affair, as Soto otherwise dominated the action. Things picked up in the second round after a relatively slow opening frame, with Soto going on the attack. A right hand to the temple put Ramos on the deck less than a minute to the round. Ramos beat referee Jack Reiss’ count, but could only manage to absorb some more, as Soto twice more sent him to the canvas. The third knockdown was waved off without a count, ending the bout at 1:38 of round two.
Welterweight contender Antonio Margarito was on hand, mainly in support of Garcia. He took time to talk about his upcoming April 12 rematch with Kermit Cintron on HBO, and served as guest announcer for the main event.
The show was presented by Top Rank Inc.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Please Jake can be reached for comments at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .