Jose “El Nino” Reynoso Wins Rematch In Ontario

ONTARIO-Jose “El Nino” Reynoso thought he won the first fight and got his revenge in the rematch against Azusa’s Aris Ambriz while San Bernardino’s Artemio Reyes and Northern California’s Alan Sanchez went to war on Friday.

The junior welterweights stole the night at the Doubletree Hotel in the Thompson Boxing Promotions fight card. Riverside’s Reynoso finally got his win and Reyes got recognition for his toe-to-toe battle that had everybody cheering.

First, in the main event, Reynoso avenged his draw of six months ago when he and Ambriz fought to a draw in a casino fight that caught the eye of many fans in the area. A rematch was made.

“I was hungrier,” said Reynoso (12-3-1) about his performance.

Reynoso’s slick counter punching gave the harder punching Ambriz a lot of problems in the first two rounds. In the third round the Azusa boxer concentrated on the body and that opened things up for his volume punching that turned it a round a bit.

It was a mirage.

From the fourth round on Reynoso used his southpaw stance and defense to fluster Ambriz who tried volume punching but tired a bit and allowed Reynoso to rally with his own volume punching. Ambriz never gave in but Reynoso was like a Rubic’s cube for the taller fighter.

“I just didn’t want them to think he was winning rounds,” said Reynoso. “So I had to let my hands go.”

Ambriz (13-1-1, 8 KOs) tried everything he could think of but Reynoso had the antidote for every formula. In the end Reynoso was the sharper and more accurate puncher though he never actually wobbled Ambriz. The fans were rewarded.

Reynoso was given a majority decision win as judge Carla Caiz scored it 76-76, but judges Daniel Zamora saw it 79-73 and John Davis had it 78-74 for the Riverside boxer.

Artemio Wins Decision

San Bernardino’s Reyes (6-1, 5 KOs) started quickly with some solid shots to the head and body. Sanchez (5-2) absorbed big shots but weathered them well in the first round. The Northern Californian tried to rally but wasn’t able to completely turn it around.

Sanchez moved and hit but couldn’t stop Reyes from landing big body punches in the second round. A right uppercut by Sanchez landed but Reyes scored more up and down.

In the third round a cut under the left eye of Reyes showed. Some stiff jabs and brutal body shots scored well for the San Bernardino fighter. Sanchez rallied with a three punch combination. Reyes ended the round with five straight digging blows.

Reyes tired a bit and Sanchez took advantage with some withering uppercuts and right hands. In the fourth and fifth rounds Sanchez turn things around and seemed to have Reyes fighting on his heels.

With a swollen right eye and cut over the left eye, Reyes fought Sanchez blow for blow and was able to slip a few punches while landing his own. Sanchez landed punches too but seldom blocked or slipped many in the final sixth round. That may have convinced the judges who scored it a split decision 58-56 twice for Reyes and 58-56 for Sanchez. It was one of the best fights of the year and definitely the best six round clash at any weight in Southern California.

Though Sanchez lost, he proved to be a very good fighter with a head made of iron.

Reyes stepped up and proved his conditioning was top notch and defense is continuing to improve.

Other bouts

East L.A.’s Aaron Martinez (13-1-1, 3 KOs) survived a bad cut from an accidental head butt to win an eight round welterweight battle against former contender Pavel Miranda (16-5-1, 8 KOs) of Tijuana.

Martinez was the busier fighter and seldom allowed Miranda to out punch him. Round after round Martinez slammed punches through Miranda’s guard. The Tijuana boxer was very cool but never stepped up the pace and suffered a loss by unanimous decision. The judges scored it 80-72, 79-73, 78-74.

Rancho Cucamonga’ s Eric Garcia (5-1-1, 2 KOs) pummeled Oakland’s Daniel Castillo (2-6-1) ceaselessly until referee David Denkin stopped the fight at 2:34 of the first round of a junior middleweight bout. Castillo was never seriously hurt but received too many punches.

Long Beach boxer Cleveland Ishe (1-0) knocked down Pomona’s Antonio Moya (0-1) three times before referee Ray Corona stopped the fight 28 seconds into the second round of a junior middleweight bout. A right hand dropped Moya during an exchange. He survived that and was floored with a left hook but he survived that knockdown too. The second round wasn’t much better for Moya who was met with another left hook that stopped the fight at 28 seconds of the round. It was the pro debut for both fighters.