Mauricio ?El Maestro? Herrera Out-boxes Hector Alatorre

CORONA, CALIF.-Mauricio ?El Maestro? Herrera bored through the intermittent dancing, mugging and all around cleverness of Hector ?Corazon de Leon? Alatorre in an eight round junior welterweight bout on Friday.

A crowd of more than 2,000 at the outdoor Omega Products International came to see Riverside?s Herrera weave through the maze of tricks of Alatorres arsenal and psychological tactics.

None of it worked. But it was entertaining.

?He was telling me to hit him harder,? said Herrera (15-1, 6 KOs). ?Of course I hit him harder. That?s what I like to do.?

Herrera didn?t waste time testing out Alatorre?s defense. Immediately he fired jabs and blows to both sides of the Tulare fighter?s body. Not everything landed but the Riverside boxer punched through Alatorre?s defense to score points.

Alatorre (16-11, 5 KOs) didn?t waste time sitting down between rounds. Before each new frame he danced to cumbia music to the delight of the crowd. When the bell rang Herrera went back to work like a blue collar worker to expend more damage to the body and head of Alatorre.

The Tulare fighter is one of the wiser veterans of the 140-pound division, he recently fought Victor Ortiz at Club Nokia and almost made the final bell. Against Herrera, he did make it all the way, but the judges didn?t give him a round as all three scored it 80-72 for Herrera.

?He was trying to play head games with me but I see that all the time,? said Herrera.

Mr. Thompson, president of Thompson Boxing Promotions, said they?re seeking a fight with Golden Boy Promotions boxer Victor Ortiz.

Alatorre, who?s fought numerous lightweight and junior welterweight contenders and champions, said that he rated Herrera as a good fighter, but needs to do more.

?He has to get out of his comfort zone,? said Alatorre. ?He?s good but he doesn?t hit hard.?

Herrera wants to move up in the pecking order and is willing to fight the true contenders now. The Riverside fighter wasn?t surprised by Alatorre?s skills and antics.

?I expected all of that,? Herrera said. ?I was hoping to have fun with him.?

Other bouts

Downey?s Chris Rizo (5-0-1, 3 KOs) landed a perfect counter left to the body that left Luis Lugo (11-14-1) gasping for air and in pain. The usually resilient Lugo could not beat the count and was stopped in 1:21 of the first round of junior welterweight contest. A grazing Rizo right hand after Lugo was on a knee was wisely discounted by referee Denkin.

Excessive holding by Maywood?s Manuel Delcid (4-2) cost him the fight against Garden Grove?s Jessie Roman (4-0, 3 KOs) in a lightweight fight. Referee Ray Corona deducted two points for Delcid?s tactics that upset everyone including the crowd. All three judges scored it for Roman.

Allentown?s Miguel Diaz (2-0) flew across the country and landed on Wednesday in short notice to knock out San Bernardino?s Malcolm Franklin (2-1). A Diaz left hook dropped Franklin the first time within 20 seconds of the opening bell. Another left hook during an exchange floored Franklin again. The speedy Franklin, who boxed as an Olympic alternate, was slammed with a right hand that stood him up and forced referee Denkin to jump in to cease the flyweight match.

Venezuela?s Jhon Ortega made his pro debut and battered Nigeria?s Akeem ?The Warrior? Akinbode (1-4-1) with speedy combinations. Several bone crunching Ortega right hands convinced referee Ray Corona to stop the junior welterweight fight in 51 seconds of the first round. Ortega had about 140 amateur fights and it showed.

East L.A.?s Emanuel Medina made his debut with a crushing technical knockout over John ?The Baptist? Dunham (1-8-1) in 1:57 of the first round of a welterweight bout. A counter right hook to the chin in between Dunham?s combination did the job. Referee David Denkin looked into Dunham?s eyes and stopped the fight.

Also present at the fights was Congressional candidate Larry Andre who is running for the 39th District.

?I?d never been to a fight before,? said Andre. ?It?s really exciting.?