Timothy Ray Bradley Continues Desert Storm Assault

CORONA, Calif. – Timothy Ray “Desert Storm” Bradley faced the much taller Martin Ramirez and slowly chopped him down to size in scoring a technical knockout victory at Omega Products International on Friday.

Despite a six-inch height disadvantage, Bradley slowly whittled down Ramirez’s defense with steady body shots and quicker punches before more than 3,000 people in the outdoor event.

“I wasn’t myself, I don’t know what it was,” said Bradley (15-0, 9 KOs) who usually attacks with a two-fisted style that reminds many of a new version of Henry Armstrong. “I seemed to be just punching one-two, one two.”

Ramirez (10-16-2), who trains in Mira Loma under Willy Silva, tried using his much longer reach and size. But Bradley’s superior hand speed and foot speed gave the Hermosillo, Mexico native one opportunity. That came in the fourth round when a three-punch combination caught Bradley on the point of the chin.

“I wasn’t hurt at all,” Bradley insisted. “He caught me, but he didn’t hurt me.”

The WBC Youth champion at junior welterweight simply resumed his focused attack and slowly began overpowering the bigger man. At the end of sixth rounds, Ramirez’s corner told referee Ray Corona that his fighter could not continue.

Riverside’s Josesito Lopez returned to form with a convincing victory over Costa Rica’s veteran Anthony Martinez in a lightweight bout on Friday.

Lopez (17-2-1, 10 KOs) used a razor-sharp jab with some heavy body punches to roll to victory before many of his screaming fans.

Martinez (21-24-3), a crafty veteran who’s fought world champions like Daniel Ponce De Leon, mixed up his attack and was able to fend the heavy-handed attack by Lopez, but after three rounds it was apparent he needed more than guile to beat Lopez.

During an exchange of punches in the seventh, Martinez hurt his right arm and was unable to continue. Lopez was deemed the winner via technical knockout at 25 seconds of the seventh round.

The former Rubidoux High track star Lopez seeks a return to the junior lightweight rankings.

Flyweight prospect Manuel Roman (8-0-1) used his reach and speed to gain a unanimous decision over gutsy Jesus Valadez (4-5) after six rounds. Roman is tall for his 112-pound weight class and should do well in the future. There were no knockdowns in the bout.

In a lightweight bout Angel Flores (6-1) of L.A. won by split-decision over Colton’s Jesse Rivas (2-2-2) in a six-round bout. The harder-hitting Flores did just enough to eke out a victory over Rivas who had his moments. The judges scored it 58-56, 59-55 for Flores and 58-56 for Rivas.

Jesus “Pollo” Hernandez of Los Mochis, Mexico dropped Dominic Mendoza (0-5-1) of Pachuca, Mexico in the first and second rounds of a featherweight bout to score a 40-34 victory according to the judges. A right uppercut-left hook-right hand combination by Hernandez helped gain his first victory in his pro debut. He’s managed by Frank Espinosa, the manager of junior featherweight world champion Israel Vazquez.