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Ronny Rios Shocks Diego De La Hoya in L.A. Fight Card

CARSON, Calif.-It was a night of upsets on a summer eve.
Ronny Rios toppled Diego De La Hoya in a super bantamweight showdown while another super bantamweight scrap saw WBC titlist Rey Vargas manage to hang onto his strap in a close 12-round affair on Saturday.
Upsets and reversal of fortunes were the name of the game for the more than 2,000 fans at the Dignity Health Sports Park. The Golden Boy Promotions fight card featured a pair of upsets and one near derailment. The fight card was streamed on DAZN.
None was more shocking than the showdown between two longtime members of the Golden Boy team, Rios and De La Hoya.
Santa Ana’s Rios (31-3, 15 KOs) walked into the ring happily as the underdog and it proved beneficial as he handed Diego De La Hoya (21-1, 10 KOs) his first pro loss and by knockout in their 12-round featherweight fight.
De La Hoya was the big favorite to remain undefeated on his quest to a world title but Rios snatched that opportunity away with a gritty example of trench warfare. Even more surprising was the end that came by knockout. Rios is not a big puncher and De La Hoya is known for his ability to take a blow like his older cousin and boss Oscar De La Hoya.
But not on this night.
Rios had lost his one and only world title opportunity when he fought Rey Vargas two years ago in this same venue. Before walking into the boxing ring on Saturday he had promised to show what he can really do as the underdog.
“I love being the underdog,” Rios said on Wednesday.
On Saturday he showed why underdog status was an advantage as he caught De La Hoya repeatedly with left hooks and right uppercuts. That same combination put De La Hoya down for the first time in his career. He could not continue and referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight at 1:17 of the sixth round. It gives Rios the win by knockout and the NABF super bantamweight title.
“I saw a lot of tape and noticed he has a really high guard. It leaves him open to the body. We were working on that in the gym a lot. Honestly, it was shock. I didn’t know he was going down,” said Rios. “I know Diego, he is a warrior and he’s never been down.”
De La Hoya was gracious in defeat.
“I didn’t feel well. I didn’t feel right,” said De La Hoya. “You have to accept the losses just like you accept the wins.”
Rey Vargas
WBC super bantamweight world titlist Rey Vargas (34-0, 22 KOs) had his hands full with Japan’s Tomoki Kameda (36-3, 20 KOs) who showed up with plenty of Mexican and Japanese fans and plenty of tricks in his bag. But Vargas was able to hit and hold his way to another victory despite the fan outcry that saw the judges favor Vargas with a unanimous decision.
The taller Vargas used his height, speed and reach to keep the fight on the outside. But Kameda, who trains in Mexico, had other thoughts and used his quickness and hand speed to connect with telling blows throughout. He was especially effective with wide left hooks and overhand rights.
Kameda tried for most of the fight to get inside and engage in close, but every time he got inside the reach of Vargas the Mexican fighter would grab hold of the Japanese fighter. Despite constantly using this illegal tactic referees seem to ignore the egregious use of holding so Vargas continues to use it.
In the final round as Kameda tried valiantly to get inside, Vargas held him again and as the referee Jerry Cantu tried to break the stranglehold Kameda connected with a blow that buckled the Mexican fighter. The referee deducted a point from Kameda for the hit during the break but never warned Vargas for holding in any round of the fight.
“I believe that he won the fight tonight and I respect him as a champion. He won,” said Kameda. “I need to learn and to practice more in order to get another chance to be champion again.”
Hundreds of fans booed the announcement declaring Vargas the winner by unanimous decision, 117-110 on all three cards. Also in the audience was WBA and IBF super bantamweight titlist Danny Roman.
Vargas spotted him and asked for a unification match.
“You know when a Mexican fights another Mexican, it’s a war,” said Vargas to Roman.
Not when a fighter holds as much as Vargas.
Joet Gonzalez
After several years of eyeing each other as prospects Joet Gonzalez (23-0, 14 KOs) battered Manuel Avila (23-2-1, 8 KOs) to win by knockout once he got going. Ultimately the Glendora, California featherweight used a relentless attack to surprisingly force referee Jose Cobian to end the fight at 2:27 of round six.
Avila started quickly in the fight with his speed and movement as Gonzalez patiently stalked the Northern California fighter. Occasionally Gonzalez fired a lead right to the head or body but allowed Avila to take the lead in their dance.
In the third round Gonzalez took over the fight and began pressuring Avila behind a tight guard and unleashed a five-punch combination that caught Avila’s attention with the impact and accuracy. A strong left jab and a right cross connected solidly for Gonzalez at the end of the round.
For the next three rounds Gonzalez grabbed total control of the fight and cut off all escape routes for Avila. A six-punch barrage ended with a right uppercut and Avila’s face looked bruised and swollen. Gonzalez did not ease up on the pedal and kept Avila on his back foot. A left to the body and several blows up and down saw Avila lower his head and then go down. Gonzalez had leaned on his head so referee Jose Cobian ruled it a push down but Avila was surprised by the referee’s decision. He got up and Gonzalez attacked again and with another four-punch combination put Avila down on the floor for a knockdown. Avila got up but looked bewildered.
Gonzalez allowed a couple of quick one-two combinations by Avila in the sixth round then pummeled him relentlessly until the referee stopped the fight at 2:27 of the sixth round. Gonzalez now holds both the WBO Global and WBA Continental Americas featherweight titles.
“I am not like these cherry pickers. I will fight the best and beat the best. I just want the champions,” said Gonzalez.
Another Upset
Within seconds of the opening bell, both Venezuela’s Roger Gutierrez (22-3-1, 19 KOs) and Mexico’s Rocky Hernandez (28-1, 25 KOs) were bloodied from each other’s blows. By 2:39 after some brutal exchanges Gutierrez connected with a right cross and floored the shorter Hernandez. Though he tried mightily to get up, Hernandez just couldn’t master his balance and tumbled downward. Referee Rudy Barragan waved the fight over.
Alexis Rocha (14-0, 9 KOs) of Santa Ana, Calif. pounded out a victory by knockout in the eighth round over Puerto Rico’s Berlin Abreu (14-3, 11 KOs) in a welterweight fight. Referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight at 2:56 of round eight. Rocha is the younger brother of Ronny Rios.
Kazakhstan’s Ruslan Madiyev (13-1, 5 KOs) out-fought Ricky Sismundo (35-14-3, 17 KOs) of the Philippines to win by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a super lightweight bout.
Jousce Gonzalez (9-0-1, 9 KOs) of Glendora, Calif. knocked out Mexico’s Jorge Padron (3-4, 3 KOs) at 2:15 of the second round in their lightweight match. Gonzalez is the younger brother of Joet Gonzalez.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Argentina’s Fernando Martinez Wins His Rematch with Kazuto Ioka

In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentina’s Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Ioka’s familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonio’s Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africa’s obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won today’s rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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Emanuel Navarrete Survives a Bloody Battle with Charly Suarez in San Diego

In a torrid battle Mexico’s Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippine’s Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarrete’s left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarrete’s face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the referee’s call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russia’s Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaev’s guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratalla’s accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
“He was a tough fighter,” said Muratalla. “My defense is something I work on a lot.”
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Ward’s attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Late Bloomer Anthony Cacace TKOs Hometown Favorite Leigh Wood in Nottingham

Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Ireland’s Anthony “Apache” Cacace.
Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.
In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Wood’s trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.
Akin to Wood, Northern Ireland’s Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasn’t at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.
Semi-Wind-Up
Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
This was Taylor’s first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.
Other Bouts of Note
In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Ireland’s previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.
In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The referee’s scorecard read 96-94.
Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.
A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry
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