Carlos Molina KOs Glenn Gonzalez

By Ralph Lopez

PICO RIVERA-As the sun sets into the Southern California night, the lightsshined down on the ring at The Pico Rivera Sports Arena. The small but loud crowd was treated to a night of good,solid action presented by Golden Boy as part of the Solo Boxeo series. It was a dual main event, and both of them were exciting and fun to watch.

The last bout of the night put local favorite Carlos Molina (13-0 7 KOs), out of Norwalk, up against Glenn Gonzalez (8-2-1, 4 KOs), all the way fromthePhilippines. Molina was all business from his walk out till his arm was raised as the winner after the 5th round.

Molina started off slow, patiently waiting for the Filipino southpaw to attack and effectively counter punching him. The crowd started to chant ?CAR-LOS! CAR-LOS!? as the energy in the arena picked up.

Midway through the second round, Gonzalez put Molina on the ropes, and the Norwalk fighter became more the attacker and the fights mood began to swing.

In the third round, while the fighters were in close quarters, a slight head butt opened a cut on the outside of Gonzalez?s righteye.

The fourth round was filled with action as the two battled toe to toe with plenty of exchanges given and taken, but it was Molina who had pretty much taken over.

In the fifth round, one moment said it all, Gonzalez landed his cleanest punch of the night, and Molina shrugged as if to say, was that all you have? That was the moment the fight was decided, and a few minutes later as the bell sounded to start round six, Gonzalez decided he wanted no more and remained on his stool, and it was official. The crowd applauded and Molina remained undefeated (13-0 7 KOs), and finally broke a smile.

The co-main event was showcased another undefeated boxer, Eloy Perez (17-0 2 4 KOs) from Salinas CA, going up against a rugged and game Derrick Campos (20-8 11KOs) who made the trip from Topeka, Kansas. Simply looking at the total knockout numbers by Perez, you would think he had no power, but your mind would have changed 20 minutes after the opening bell. Perez seemed so in control, calm, and patient, no wasted movement, no meaningless punches. Perez had the big punch of the first round, a solid left hook that seemed to stun Campos.

In the second round there were some good exchanges by both fighters that had the crowd buzzing. As the round ended, Campos took over and punished Perez with a flurry on the ropes as the bell sounded.

As the third round began, it seemed like the high output thrownby Campos may have taken a toll on him as he was breathing heavily, mouth open, and Perez became the busier of the two.

The fourth round Campos came out with vigor, but it was short lived and Perez continued to lay it on. The fifth and final round saw Perez destroy Campos with a devastating left hook. Campos stayed on his feet, but all he did was absorb more punishment, and Jose Cobain stepped in to stop the punishment at 2:02 of the fifth round.

In another bout worth mention, Anthony Martinez went to 5-0, with 4 KOs, after pretty much dominating a rugged veteran from Los Mochis Mexico,Cristian Favela who fell to (18-28-6 9 KOs). Martinez came ready to fight in great shape, anddelivered solid punches throughout, but as the fight wore on he began to take more and more clean shots.

If Favela had any power, Martinez could have found himself in a bad situation. Luckily, Martinez was well matched up, and took home a split decision.

The boxingaction was the first half ofthe twinbilling. The band, Rieleros Del Norte came out and put on a show after the ring was turned into a stage, and the night lived on. Over-all, it was a good night of boxing, and both the fighters and those people who came to see the band came out with another W under their belts.