Prizefighting Returns to Maywood Saturday

Prizefighting returns to Maywood with a pretty heavy duty fight card on Saturday afternoon.

Top Rank returns to the Los Angeles vicinity when Mexico’s Francisco Sierra (23-3, 21 KOs) takes on Dyah Davis (18-2, 9 KOs) in a super middleweight fight at the Maywood Activity Center in Maywood, California. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. and a portion of the fight card will be televised on delay.

Sierra recently defeated former Mexican star Jose Luis Lopez and that’s never an easy feat. If you remember back about 14 years ago it was Lopez who nearly stopped Ike Quartey and forced the Ghana bomber to run for his life. He also had one of the most dependable chins to go along with his skills until Sierra forced him to stay in his corner last May 2010.

It should be an interesting contest to see. Davis comes from Florida and exhibits some fine boxing skills and is looking for a return to the win column after losing by decision to Aaron Pryor Jr. by decision last November.

On the same fight card many will see one of the better heavyweight prospects in little-known but big punching Andy Ruiz. He looks like a pudgy choir boy but punches like a human buzzsaw. Those fast fists have surprised many including all of his opponents. Ruiz (7-0, 5 KOs) fights Kelsey Arnold (4-6-2) in a heavyweight bout scheduled for six rounds.

Ruiz is trained by Freddie Roach and if you know anything about the wizard trainer of the Wild Card you know he doesn’t waste his time. The young heavyweight is from Mexicali and has the fastest fists around and can really take a good shot too. It’s kind of shocking to see Ruiz unload those blinding combinations but it's fun too.

In a lightweight bout Oscar Meza (20-4, 17 KOs) fights Leo Martinez (15-14, 7 KOs) in an eight round bout.

Undefeated junior lightweight Jose Zepeda (5-0, 4 KOs) has a tough match with Jose Soto Karass (21-15-1, 19 KOs),  the very tough older brother of welterweight contender Jesus Soto Karass. Soto Karass is rather small for the weight class but don’t expect him to lay down for Zepeda.  He usually goes down smoking.

Several other bouts are planned.

It’s been a few years since Top Rank featured boxing shows in the area. Their first show took place last December and now it looks like the Las Vegas promotion company has California in its sights again.

Ray Alcorta Promotions is the actual promoter of record and Alcorta is recognized as one of the rising stars in the world of match-making too. You will be seeing several of his fight cards in the next few weeks in the Southern California and Nevada area. For tickets and information call (323) 595-3662 or (562) 205-6270. Doors open at 3:30 p.m.

Other fight chatter:

In mixed martial arts UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva (27-4) meets fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort (19-8) on Saturday Feb. 5 at the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. Others on the card are Jon Jones, Ryan Bader, Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin among others. Ultimate Fighting Championship 126 will also be shown on pay-per-view.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (42-0-1, 30 KOs) remained undefeated with a 12-round unanimous decision over Billy Lyell (22-9) on Saturday in Culiacan, Mexico. Chavez, who formerly attended high school in Riverside, is now trained by Freddie Roach and fights at middleweight.

Coachella’s Julio Diaz, a two-time former lightweight world champion, stopped Mexico’s Pavel Miranda (16-7-1) in the eighth round of a welterweight bout in Pontiac, Michigan last Saturday. Diaz (38-6, 27 KOs) is a stablemate of junior welterweight world champion Timothy Bradley.

The fourth annual Grappler’s Quest takes place in Coral Springs, Florida and benefits various organizations battling autism on Saturday Feb. 5. The event takes place at Coral Springs Gymnasium located at 2501 Coral Springs Drive. For tickets and information (877) ARM-BAR1.

Nick Diaz (24-7) kept his mixed martial arts welterweight title by submitting Brazil’s Evangelista Cyborg (18-14) at 4:50 of the second round with an arm bar at San Jose on Saturday. It was the Stockton MMA prizefighter’s ninth consecutive victory.

Mexico’s Raul Hirales (12-0-1, 7 KOs) out-pointed Paramount’s Charles Huerta (16-2, 9 KOs) after eight rounds to win a split decision on Friday in San Diego. Hometown girl boxer Amaris Quintana (4-0-2) beat San Bernardino’s Blanca Raymundo (0-2) in a junior flyweight match after four rounds.

New Mexico’s undefeated Austin Trout (21-0, 13 KOs) meets Mexico’s Rigoberto Alvarez (26-2, 19 KOs) for the vacant WBA junior middleweight world title on Saturday Feb. 5 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Mexico’s Tomas Rojas (34-12-1, 23 KOs) defends the WBC junior bantamweight world title against Nobuo Nashiro (14-2-1, 9 KOs) on Saturday in Osaka, Japan. Rojas is making his first world title defense.

Lyndsay Garbatt (6-3-1) fights Jelena Mrdjenovich (24-6-1) in a 10 round battle for the WIBA junior lightweight world title. It’s a battle of Canadians that takes place on Friday Feb. 4, in Ontario, Canada. Heavyweight Tye Fields (44-2, 40 KOs) is also on the fight card.

Carolina Gaite (18-2, 13 KOs) defends the interim WBA junior bantamweight title against Paulina Cardona (17-7-4) on Saturday in Cordoba, Argentina. Gaite is from Argentina and Cardona from Colombia.

Undefeated Emily Klinefelter (9-0) faces Christina Ruiz (5-3-1) of Texas in a junior featherweight contest on Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa.

Argentina’s Yesica Bopp (14-0, 5 KOs) kept the WBA and WBO junior flyweight world titles by unanimous decision over Northern California’s Carina Moreno (21-3) on Saturday Jan. 29.  The title fight took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista (30-2, 23 KOs) of the Philippines knocked out Alejandro Barrera (21-5, 14 KOs) at 2:56 of the third round of a featherweight contest. The fight took place on Saturday, Jan. 29, at Cebu City.

Former lightweight world champion David Diaz (36-3-1, 17 KOs) squeaked by Colorado’s Robert Frankel (27-10-1) in winning by majority decision on Friday in Chicago, Illinois.

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