By Francisco Salazar
Junior featherweight contender Yenifel Vicente knocked out Andres Garcia in the second round late Friday night at the Los Andes Mall in Panama City, Panama.
Vicente landed a right cross that dropped Garcia to the canvas. Referee Omar Quijada counted Garcia out at 2:36 of the second round.
The 32-year-old Vicente, who is from the Dominican Republic and now resides in Miami, Florida, has now won his last eight bouts, all by knockout, after losing back-to-back fights to Juan Rodriguez and Eric Hunter in 2014.
Vicente is ranked number 13 by the WBO.
Garcia, who resides in Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, drops to 13-7-2, 5 KOs.
Fringe junior featherweight Wilner Soto of Colombia bounced back from a knockout loss to Cesar Juarez on Apr. 14 to stop Julio Escudero in round five.
Soto improves to 21-4, 15 KOs. Escudero, who resides in San Francisco, Panama, falls to 16-8-1, 11 KOs.
Junior lightweight Eric Walters dropped Eduar Marriaga (12-1, 9 KOs) in round four en route to a nine round unanimous decision victory.
Scores were 88-82, 88-82, and 90-80 in favor of Walters, who improves 12-3-1, 6 KOs.
Ethnic Korean, Ukrainian-born junior featherweight slugger Arnold Khegai stayed undefeated on Sunday, August 19, with an impressive two-round stoppage over Uganda’s Mudde Robinson Ntambi at the Korston Club Hotel Moscow, in Moscow, Russia.
The IBF #13-rated Khegai (13-0-1, 9 KOs) utilized his monstrous strength and power to score two knockdowns in the second round, sending Ntambi (23-6-1, 7 KOs) through the ropes and forcing the referee to stop the fight.
The 26-year-old Khegai says he was pleased with his performance and fees ready to climb another run of the ladder to a world championship.
“All my preparations paid off and I am happy with my victory,” said Khegai. “Now I want to come to the United States and fight the champions to show that I am the best 122-lb fighter in the world.”
Showing excellent hand speed and the strength of a middleweight, Khegai set the boxing world abuzz in May of this year, with a dominant unanimous decision over well-respected contender Adam Lopez. The brutal beating of Ntambi only bolsters his case for a chance to prove himself in a high-profile showdown.
“Arnold’s power and variety of punches were very impressive in this fight,” said his promoter, Dmitriy Salita. “I believe he has the skills to be a world champion and the personality to be a star in the sport.“
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 (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
