CARSON, Calif. – Federico Pacheco Jr. (3-0, 2 KO) scored a violent one-punch, first-round knockout with a left hook against Felipe Torres (0-2).
The crushing blow from the 19-year-old prospect forced referee Thomas Taylor to immediately wave off the fight at the 1:40 mark, as the head of Torres bounced off the bottom rope with his arms outstretched.
Torres did not move for a considerable amount of time, and he was immediately stretchered out with a head brace.
The 31-year-old, Los Angeles-based Torres made his pro debut in February and suffered a four-round unanimous decision loss.
California-born-and-bred prospect Gabriel Garcia (9-0, 6 KOs) remained unbeaten by scoring a six-round split decision victory against Marco Diaz (6-1, 5 KOs) in a super featherweight fight.
Judges awarded the 20-year-old Garcia scores of 59-55 and 58-56, while another had it 58-56 for Diaz.
The cross-town super featherweight clash between Adrian Corona and Jerry Perez proved to be an evenly-matched and entertaining one – so much so, that after eight rounds, a victor was not named.
The bout ended in a majority draw with two judges scoring the fight 76-76, and a third having it for Perez at 78-74.
The action-packed pace between Corona, from Rialto, and Perez, from Oak Hills, featured plenty of back-and-forth trades and flurries as well as hooking and leaping punches from all kinds of different angles.
Neither fighter really made necessary adjustments in the seesaw slugfest, but having fought and lost to Frank Martin and Michel Rivera in two of his last three fights, the 30-year-old Perez (14-2-1, 11 KOs) appeared to be the better and more experienced fighter.
As the fight progressed, Perez wore down Corona and finished strong – most evidently in the final round as he walked down the 23-year-old Corona (9-1-2, 2 KOs) with a one-sided onslaught featuring heavy combinations.
The ending to the fight, however, was not indicative of the final result.
Justin Villoria (1-0, 1 KO) made his pro debut in sensational style by scoring a first-round knockout against Sirdarious Smith (0-2). Villoria, from nearby Whittier, thrilled the throng of fans who were in attendance to see him by landing a hellacious left hook to the body of Smith.
Smith couldn’t pick himself off the canvas, and the fight ended at the 1:12 mark.
Flyweight phenom Gabriela Fundora (11-0, 4 KOs, 1 NC) continues to pave a path for herself.
Fighting on the undercard of her headlining older brother Sebastian, the 21-year-old upstart southpaw remained undefeated by scoring a knockdown and unanimous decision against Maria Santizo (11-3, 6 KOs).
Fundora was awarded scores of 79-72, 79-72, and 77-74 in the eight-round bout.
Santizo – a 37-year-old seasoned veteran from Guatemala – was competitive and made it clear early that she wasn’t gonna make it easy for Fundora, connecting with a hard straight right in the second round after a feel-out first round.
Santizo came out strong in the third as well, throwing several flurries, but the eight-inch taller Fundora used her size to walk her down, ending the round with a hard right hand of her own.
By the fourth and fifth rounds, Fundora kicked her offense into overdrive and started tiring Santizo with perfectly placed body shots.
In the sixth, Fundora fended off Santizo with several counterpunches and ended up clocking and knocking down Santizo with a counter right midway through the round. Santizo got up immediately, but she was clearly hurt, as she held on. Fundora shook off Santizo and unleashed an onslaught in her corner when referee Jack Reiss stepped in for a closer look just as the bell rang.
Fundora continued to sizzle in the seventh, and as the fight ended in the eighth, Santizo has already fizzled.
A super featherweight scrap between southpaws Viktor Slavinskyi and Juan Lopez kicked off the card Saturday night.
The tit-for-tat tilt featured plenty of back-and-forth action which took place almost exclusively in the middle of the ring, and it was Slavinskyi (14-2-1, 6 KOs) who ended up sneaking by with a majority decision win in his eight-round bout against Lopez (17-14-1, 7 KOs).
Slavinskyi was awarded scores of 78-74 and 77-75, while another judge had it 76-76.
The 32-year-old Slavinskyi snapped a two-fight skid, while Lopez dropped to 0-5-1 in his last six fights.
Headlining the Premier Boxing Champions on Showtime card at the Dignity Health Sports Park will be a super welterweight bout between interim WBC champion Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora (20-0-1, 13 KOs) and Brian Mendoza (21-2, 15 KOs).
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
