Victor Zaleta: record, next fight and profile →
Junior lightweight contender Abel Mendoza stopped former three-time world title challenger Victor Zaleta of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in round 4 Saturday night at the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalaro, New Mexico.
The handlers for rugged contender Victor ‘Nene’ Zaleta knew it was an uphill battle the moment that terms were accepted to face Leo Santa Cruz in downtown Los Angeles. Zaleta moved up in weight to face the all-action bantamweight titlist in last weekend’s televised co-feature on Showtime.
Leo Santa Cruz doesn’t just throw- he lands. The rising star landed an avg. of 33 power shots per round- 20 more than the wgt. class avg. He avg’d 93 punches thrown per round. Zaleta put up decent stats, landing a wgt. class avg. 18 punches per round- not nearly enough to slow down the whirlwind attack of Santa Cruz.
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California - IBF bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (22-0, 13KOs) made the first defense of his title in style, as he punished Victor Zaleta (20-3-1, 10KOs) for nine rounds, scoring three knockdowns along the way, and closed the show in the ninth for a TKO victory.
Leo Santa Cruz makes his return to the ring after a dominant performance against Eric Morel this past September as he will be taking on Victor Zaleta at the Staples Center on the undercard of the Abner Mares-Anselmo Moreno bout later tonight. His fight may actually end up being an audition for the winner of the main event as Santa Cruz is looking for bigger name fights. Even though he is currently campaigning at 118 pounds, a move up to 122 may be around the corner for him.
LOS ANGELES – All six fighters squaring off in Saturday’s tripleheader at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles participated in a final press conference on Wednesday to discuss the highly anticipated SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast, live at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Photos by Esther Lin.
WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Abner Mares (Center) speaks to members of the media on November 5, 2012 in Los Angeles, California during a public media workout in preparation for his November 10, 2012 world title defense against WBA Bantamweight Super World Champion Anselmo Moreno at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles which will be televised live on SHOWTIME.
Luis Sandoval catches up with IBF super bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz to discuss his upcoming fight with tough Victor Zaleta.
Give credit to Leo Santa Cruz for taking full advantage of a golden opportunity. The unbeaten bantamweight titlist made a major statement in becoming the first to stop Eric Morel, a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic squad and former flyweight titlist, in their Showtime-televised fight in September. The win served as a breakthrough moment in his career, quite a statement considering his previous performance was a title winning effort over Vusi Malinga three months prior. His whirlwind attack against Malinga served as a rare bright spot on an otherwise forgettable quadruple header.
LOS ANGELES - Unbeaten in his last four fights, Mexico's Victor Zaleta will get the biggest opportunity of his career on Saturday, November 10 when he faces unbeaten reigning World Champion Leo "Terremoto" Santa Cruz for his IBF Bantamweight World Championship in a co-featured attraction to the Abner Mares vs. Anselmo Moreno WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles that will be televised live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).