Alexis Rocha KOs Blair Cobbs in the Main Event at SoCal’s Galen Center

LOS ANGELES-After years of back-and-forth taunting Alexis Rocha won the welterweight feud with Blair Cobbs by knockout in a fight that did not disappoint on Saturday.

A mostly pro-Rocha crowd saw their Santa Ana fighter Rocha (19-1, 13 Kos) deliver the desired knockout ending over Philadelphia’s Cobbs (15-1-1, 10 Kos) in front of more than 5,000 at the Galen Center.

Words had been fired by each southpaw fighter, but it all came down to settling their feud in the prize ring. And it was Rocha who emerged the victor.

“It took me quite a while because I was getting careless,” said Rocha. “I could have got him out of there a long time ago.”

In the opening round Cobbs released quick short bursts and seemed to have the advantage as Rocha seemed to be measuring. It was Cobbs round and it looked like his confidence was soaring.

Rocha made his move in the second round with several combinations and momentum was set for the welterweight from Orange County.

Though Cobbs connected several times through the first half of the fight, it was always with single punches and never enough to stop Rocha’s momentum.

In the fifth round Rocha connected with a six-punch salvo and then added a three-punch combination. It was the first time either fighter dominated a round.

Cobbs seemed to slip into a defensive mode and did not fire jabs or combinations. Instead, he seemed to be looking to land a big blow to turn things around. It wasn’t looking good for the “whew!” guy. He was still in the fight but losing on points.

Rocha finally caught up to the fleet Cobbs with a three-punch combination including a right uppercut to the chin that delivered his nemesis to the floor for a count of eight. Cobbs continued.

“I was chasing him around. I fired two hooks and that’s what put him down. I thought he was very hurt,” said Rocha.

Cobbs survived that round and things looked bleak. In the ninth round Rocha maneuvered Cobbs into the ropes and opened up with an estimated 17 unanswered punches. Some snapped back the head of Cobbs when a towel was waved from his corner consisting of Freddie Roach and others. The fight was stopped at 44 seconds of the ninth round. Rocha declared the winner by knockout.

“He’s a good opponent but Mexicanos,” said Rocha. “My mindset was not being tired at all. Give credit to Blair.”

Blair was respectful to the winner.

“He was just a good fighter today. Shout out to him.” Said Cobbs. “I was throwing shots but I wasn’t following up, I couldn’t figure it out.”

McKinson

Stepping out of the main event to semi-main event Michael McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs) accepted a late-replacement contest against a fellow southpaw Alex Martin (17-4, 6 KOs) and both demonstrated the difficulties in fighting southpaws. But McKinson pulled out the win by unanimous decision, 97-93 on all three cards.

Both lefties had similar styles and preferred countering than attacking. The crowd disapproved and booed throughout the 10-round welterweight match. Very few times did either fighter open up with more than two blows. Neither was ever hurt.

McKinson said before the fight that he expected difficulty because he had trained for the attacking style of Vergil Ortiz Jr. who pulled out of the fight for medical reasons. Maybe a fight between the two would be better.

Looking to redeem himself to fans, Bek “The Bully” Melikuziev (9-1, 7 KOs) took his time looking for openings and checking the firepower of his Peruvian foe David Zegarra (34-8, 21 KOs) for one round. Then, he unloaded with one single bazooka left to the body of Zegarra and game over. Knockout in 30 seconds of the second round.

The sound of that body shot could be heard from one side of the arena to the other and perhaps mellows the sting from his sole loss to Gabe Rosado who was analyzing the fight nearby.

Rematch anyone?

Other Bouts

Northern California’s Evan Sanchez (11-0, 6 KOs) hammered and hammered Colombia’s Alejandro Munera (6-5-4, 5 KOs) but the Colombian super welterweight had a chin made of tempered steel. Sanchez did score a knockdown with a step-back right hook counter but Munera seemed unfazed.

Sanchez eventually attacked the body in the sixth and final round and that seemed to slightly irritate Munera, but not too much. Sanchez finally pulled back and allowed the clock to end the fight. Maybe just to save his hands for the future. Nothing less than a diamond drill was going to affect Munera. All three judges scored the fight in favor of Sanchez 60-53.

Texas middleweight Alex Rincon (10-0, 7 KOs) defeated Puerto Rico’s Luis Sanchez (9-3, 6 KOs) by knockout in the second round. In a battle between southpaw sluggers, Rincon caught Sanchez with a counter right hook and down he went as if shot. He stumbled slightly around the boxing ring but was allowed to continue. Another right hook by Rincon almost lifted Sanchez off the ground and down he went again. Referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight at 1:44 as Sanchez tried to convince the judge he could fight. Meanwhile, Rincon collapsed to the floor and his corner worked to revive him by pouring water from a bottle on his head as he lay in his back. Announcer Joe Martinez saw Rincon on the floor and announced Sanchez as the winner though he was the loser.

It was a strange set of events. Rincon was then correctly announced the winner as his corner carefully escorted him from the boxing ring to the locker room. Very strange indeed.

John “Scrappy” Ramirez (9-0, 7 KOs) out-punched Mexico’s Roberto Pucheta (10-21-3) to win by unanimous decision after six rounds in a bantamweight fight. Ramirez took control of the fight around the third round but could never seriously hurt the hard-headed Pucheta. All three judges scored it 60-54 Ramirez.

Alejandro Reyes (7-0, 4 KOs) of Los Angeles floored Mexico City’s Daniel Evangelista (20-13-2, 16 KOs)  twice on his way to a unanimous decision victory after six rounds in a super lightweight match. All three judges scored it 60-51 for Reyes.

Ramla Ali (5-0) needed less than two rounds to stop Shelley Barnett (5-7-2) and win by knockout in the second round of their super bantamweight fight.

“She was tough and didn’t want to stop,” said Ali, who trained in Los Angeles eight weeks for this fight and lives in England. “I’ve been working with Manny Robles on punching with power.”

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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