Golden Boy LA Fight Club Brings Fans a Night of Action
By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña (At ringside)
Photos by Cynthia “Cindy Lou” Saldaña (At ringside)
Friday night Golden Boy Promotions celebrated the one year anniversary of it’s LA Fight Club series at the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The crowd was filled with big name fighters such as Ronny Rios, Leo Santa Cruz, and Victor Ortiz to name a few. To kick things off local fan favorite Ivan “Striker” Delgado, 8-0-1, 2 KO’s from South Central LA took on Jesus Sandoval, 5-8-3, 1KO from Mazatlan, Mexico in an 6 round Super Featherweight Fight. Ivan Came out strong cutting off the ring and hitting Sandoval with heavy body shots early. “Striker” continued to pressure Sandoval throughout the fight landing punches at will to the face and body. After 6 Rounds Ivan Delgado walked away with a unanimous decision over Jesus Sandoval. “This was my second time fighting as a southpaw fighter and it’s taken some adjustments to fighting this style”. “Overall i’m glad the fight went my way and i’m excited to fight more this year.
In the second fight of the night Rafael Gramajo, 6-1-1, 2 KO’s of Los Angeles, California took on undefeated Sharone Carter, 4-0, 2 KO’s of St. Louis in a 6 round Super Bantamweight bout. Gramajo out worked Carter throughout and came away with a unanimous decision winning the fight by the scores of 59-54 on all three judges score cards. After the fight Rafael said “Every fight is important to me. This fight was nothing less than that. My goal is to develop my patience in the ring, and go back to the gym and improve.” Gramajo moves to 7-1-1, 2 KO’s
Fighting out of Santa Ana, California and making his pro debut tonight at The Belasco was Alexis Rocha. Alexis who is the younger brother of the WBC Silver Featherweight Champion Ronnie Rios. Alexis came out swinging and impressed the sellout crowd, by stopping his opponent Jordan Rosario, 0-3 of the Dominican Republic. Alexis dominated from the start and in the second pinned Rosario against the ropes when the referee stepped in to halt the fight. “At first I was nervous and impatient in the ring because this was my first professional fight, but I came in and got what I wanted”. I’m very excited for my next fight because I know I will come into the ring calmer and knowing what to expect. I’m very excited for what 2016 brings” said Rocha after his victory.
To start the televised broadcast undefeated the Colombian Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete took on another undefeated fighter Neftali Campos, 11-0, 9 KO’s of Tijuana, Mexico in an 8 round bout. Oscar came out early establishing his body shots and controlling the pace of the fight. In the middle rounds Oscar began to dominate Campos, Neftali began holding on the inside and tried to smother the onslaught of punches being thrown by Negrete, at the end of 8 all three judges had the contest scored the same 80-72 as Oscar kept his unbeaten streak alive. “I’m glad I got to keep my undefeated record. I went for the knockout, but I’ll take the win. I hope this 2016, I can fight for a title here in the U.S.” said Negrete after the fight.
Moving on to the Co-Main event of the evening. Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez, 12-0, 11 KO’s of Buena Park, California made his 5th appearance at the Belasco against the battle tested David “Dangerous” Rodela, 17-12-4, 7 KO’s of Oxnard, California in 8 round co-main Super Featherweight event. Chimpa jumped on Rodela from the start attacking to the head and body. Gonzalez caught Rodela with a hard right hand to the body half way through the 1st flooring David. Rodela was unable to beat the count and Gonzalez improves to 13-0, 12 KO’s. After the fight Gonzalez said “I think the crowds always come out to support me because I always have a smile on my face. I do this for fun, and it’s amazing how my career has just taken off. I am excited for 2016 and building on my record and hopefully by the end of the year we will hit 10 rounds.” Rodela on the other hand plans on hanging up the gloves after tonight’s loss “The way this fight ended just makes me realize this will be my last fight,” said David Rodela. “Chimpa is a great fighter, and I wish him nothing but the best in his career. I love boxing, and I can’t wait to continue to mentor up-and-coming boxers.”
In the main event NABO Lightweight Champion Michael “The Artist” Perez, 23-1-2, 11 KO’s, of Newark, New Jersey made his LA Fight Club debut and took on the the heavy handed Mexican warrior Martin “El Brochas” Honorio, 33-9-1, 16 KO’s of Mexico City. In a fight was a traditional Puerto Rico vs Mexico rivalry fight, the Belasco crowd was soon treated to a barn burner. Both Perez and Honorio came out landing devastating shots on one another, when in the 2nd the two fighters heads collided opening up a huge gash on the top of the head of Honorio and an equally bad cut over the left eye of Perez. In a fight that turned into a bloody mess the ringside physician stepped in after 6 as Perez was unable to see out of his eye do a cut caused by an accidental headbutt. Michael “The Artist” Perez came away with a unanimous decision winning the fight 60-54 on all three judges scorecards. After the fight Perez stated “In the fight, we both were hurt badly. When I went back to my corner after the 6th round, I could no longer see and this is when we decided to end the fight. I wasn’t at all concerned about the judge’s scorecards because I knew I was ahead in every round. After this win, I hope 2016 will bring a world title in to my midst.” Martin “El Brochas” Honorio stated after his loss, “I don’t agree with the decision. I felt we were keeping up and were equal in intensity. At the end of the day, I accept it and know it is time to hit the gym hard.”
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