By Francisco Salazar
Bantamweight prospect Christian Carto was taken the distance for the first time in his pro career, but was able to gain the victory.
Carto defeated Alonso Melendez of Mexico Friday night by a one-sided eight round decision at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The 20-year-old Carto (12-0, 11 KOs), who resides in Philadelphia, dominated the action throughout most of the fight, putting Melendez on the defensive. Scores were 80-72 in favor of Carto.
Friday night marked the sixth time Carto fought this year.
In the co-feature, lightweight Jerome Conquest (9-2, 1 KO) defeated Carlos Rosario (7-3, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision over eight rounds.
Scores were 77-74, 77-74, and 78-73 for Conquest.
In junior welterweight action, Juan Rodriguez (8-7-1, 6 KOs) stopped Maynard Allison (9-2, 6 KOs) after the second round.
Junior middleweight Anthony Prescott (7-7-2, 2 KOs) was able to defeat Erik Spring (10-2-2, 1 KO) over six rounds. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56.
Promoter of the card was Marshall Kauffman.
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, RingTV.com, and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing