Jose Reynoso Wins Riverside, Ramos & Rocha Win In L.A.

ONTARIO-Three undefeated fighters departed with a loss including Hector Serrano who was stopped by fellow Riverside prizefighter Jose ?El Nino? Reynoso in the eighth round on Friday.

It?s not often that a trio of fighters suffer losses simultaneously on the same card but it happened at the Doubletree Hotel on Thompson Boxing Promotion?s Locked and Loaded fight card in front of Irish Mickey Ward whose wars with the late Arturo Gatti were legendary.

Reynoso (13-3-1, 2 KOs) and Serrano (13-1, 5 KOs) were not strangers to each other and proved it as they whacked each other with vicious body shots from the opening bell. A right uppercut by Serrano snuck through Reynoso?s guard and drew the first blood as that fighter?s nose immediately turned red after the blows impact.

Serrano and Reynoso both sparred each other a number of times and knew what to expect. But still, there were adjustment to be made as the two pounded away on each other?s torsos. Third round proved to be Serrano?s best round as he increased the frequency of his punches.

Back and forth the two Riverside fighters exchange tremendous blows that had many in the audience squeamish. Perhaps it was Ward?s presence at the fight that inspired the two warriors or maybe it?s the rivalry between the two gyms that is a mere three miles apart.

In the eighth round Reynoso jumped on Serrano immediately with a three-punch combination that tore through Serrano?s guard. Then the left-handed Reynoso fired an eight-punch combination. He seemed to sense one of the punches hurt Serrano and followed that discovery with a 12-punch combination that resulted in blood pouring down Serrano?s face. Another blistering combo prompted referee Raul Caiz to step between the fighters and halt the blood lust at 1:50 of the eighth round.

?I sensed I hurt him with body shots,? said Reynoso who trains at Capital Punishment Boxing gym. ?My plan was to go for it in the ninth but it came a round earlier. Nothing wrong with that.?

Serrano was gracious in defeat. Though he never was knocked down he did absorb some punishing blows.

?It was his night,? said Serrano, who fights out of Willie Schunkes Boxing gym. ?I just have to do my homework and prepare better next time. He won fair and square.?

Maybe a rematch is in the calendar?

Semi-main event

Undefeated junior featherweights Efraim Esquivias (10-0, 6 KOs) of Carson and Ephraim Martinez (4-1) of Buttonwillow, California entered the ring with no losses. For three rounds both exploded on each other with speed and power but it was Esquivias body blows that turned the tide.

Martinez, who resembles Alfonso Gomez and fights like him, weathered an early barrage by the speedy Esquivias and landed some well timed blows of his own. But it was never enough.

A body shot to the mid-section in the fourth round nearly dropped Martinez and from then on Esquivias poured on the punches until referee David Denkin stopped the fight at 48 seconds of the round. It was a good stoppage and saved Martinez from further unnecessary punishment.

Riverside junior welterweight Artemio Reyes Jr. tore through Minnesota?s Patrick Cape in 2:01 of the first round. Though Reyes took his time, a counter right hand floored Cape. The visitor survived but then was cornered by Reyes who delivered a right to the body and it was over for Cape who crumbled.

?I wanted a longer fight but I?ll take it,? said Reyes (7-1, 6 KOs).

Garden Grove?s Jose ?Gato? Roman (8-0, 7 KOs) found Arizona?s Jesus ?Vikingo? Garnica eager to exchange in the first round. Three knockdowns later Garnica discovered it was a bad idea. A Roman left hook floored Garnica the first time, then a right hand dropped him a second instance. The final knockdown was a counter left hook that saw Garnica counted out at 1:41 of the first round.

Venezuela?s Jhon Ortega (2-0) knocked out Northern California?s German Bacho (0-2) at 1:59 of the third round in a junior welterweight bout.

Indio?s Diego Madrigal won his pro debut over Bakersfield?s Jose Garcia (0-2) by decision in a bantamweight fight.

LA Live

Santa Ana?s Luis Ramos (17-0) survived a swollen eye to easily decision Puerto Rico?s always dangerous John Figueroa (7-7-3) after eight rounds of a lightweight contest.

Ramos, a southpaw, remains undefeated and looks poised to test some of the bad boys of the 135-pound division.

Montebello?s Nestor Roach (23-2) beat fellow bantamweight contender Jose Navarro (27-6) of Los Angeles by decision after eight rounds on Friday at downtown Los Angeles.

A badly swollen right eye suffered by Navarro early in the fight proved detrimental as he was convincingly beaten by Rocha.