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Avila Perspective, Chap. 226: Another Look at Pomona and More

Pomona, a hidden treasure.
If you are not acquainted with Pomona, it’s located 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Decades ago it was an area with roots in farming and livestock. Only the Los Angeles County Fair today maintains that tie to farming and livestock.
Houses and more houses dot Pomona’s city of more than 150,000 people. It’s the last city inside the border of the County of Los Angeles.
Years ago, the first time I ever heard the term Pomona was during the 1950s movie “War of the Worlds”. During a town meeting in the film, the characters mention Pomona and Corona. Back then only citrus orchards, grapevines and livestock existed in the area.
Not many people.
Pomona also has some bad history. It was not a place welcoming for people of color, though it was first inhabited by Native Americans and later Mexican rancheros. During World War II a Japanese internment camp was placed in the Pomona Fairplex area.
A few famous individuals were raised in Pomona including Major League Baseball’s Mark McGwire, actress Jessica Alba, rapper Suga Free, author Richard Armour, Olympic gold medalist Bob Seagren, and boxers Alberto Davila, Richie Sandoval and Sugar Shane Mosley.
That’s where boxing comes in.
Last week Golden Boy Promotions brought its brand of prizefighting to the city of Pomona. On Thursday a press conference was held inside an artsy Mexican restaurant named El Jefe. The food was good and the service excellent. Golden Boy Promotion’s Oscar De La Hoya held his media conference inside the eatery.
Across the street from El Jefe the Pomona Fox Theater stands. It was built in 1931 and has that great feel that you only get from the movie theaters of that era. Big and lush the theater was the site for a Golden Boy boxing show.
Shane Mosley Jr. was one of the competitors in the crowd at the press luncheon. He’s a ranked fighter in the super middleweight division. He also grew up in Pomona and has family, friends and fans in the town located in-between the 1-10 and 60-Freeways.
Seeing Mosley all grown up made me realize how fast time flies. (That’s Mosley Jr on the right, tagging Mario Lozano whom he outpointed handily.)
The first time I met Shane Mosley Jr. was when he attended a boxing card in Las Vegas around the year 2000. He was about 8 years old and was with his dad, aunt and grandfather Jack Mosley. We were all there for different reasons. I was covering the Felix Trinidad vs. David Reid super welterweight world title fight at Caesar’s Palace.
I was with my photographer, who I would later marry, and Jack Mosley asked if we could watch over Shane Mosley Jr. We consented and Jack and Shane Sr. ran off to track down Tito Trinidad who just knocked out Reid and beat Oscar De La Hoya a few months earlier.
As we watched over Shane Mosley Jr. one of the other fighters seeking a big fight walked over to me. It was Vernon Forrest. He also was seeking a big fight and Mosley was one of the guys he sought. We chatted a bit and even took a photo together. I still have that photo of the great Vernon Forrest who was tragically killed in 2009 during a robbery in Georgia. A great fighter and a great guy. R. I. P.
Jack Mosley soon returned and we all went into the big conference room to hear Trinidad talk some and Don King talk even more. Nobody can run a press conference like Don King. He had everybody talking and had so many fighters under contract and they all would show up to his boxing cards.
I remember Mosley taking a shot with the microphone and asking to get a fight with Trinidad and others jumping in to challenge Mosley, Trinidad and each other. One of those was Randall Bailey.
Anyway, getting back to 2023, sitting in the middle of the Fox Theater in Pomona and watching Mosley Jr. talk to the media was like fast-forwarding in a time machine. While he was talking I could see his grandfather Jack Mosley, aunt Serena Mosley and father Shane Mosley walk toward a row of seats.
After the session ended everyone got up and began chatting with one another. As I began talking to one of the cameramen, someone tapped me on the shoulder and I looked and he said “remember me?”
It was Clarence “Bones” Adams the former bantamweight world champion. He now trains Mosley Jr. Back in the early 2000s one of my favorite fights of that era was Adams versus Paulie Ayala. Those guys could fight.
The smaller weight divisions were filled with great fighters like Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson, Prince Naseem Hamed, Johnny Tapia and more. The list seemed endless. And then came Manny Pacquiao who made the jump from super flyweight to super welterweight.
Now, 23 years later, we seem to be having a resurgence in the smaller weight divisions. Last Saturday’s match between Luis Nery and Azat Hovhannisyan re-ignited that old spark with a flamethrower.
It had been about a year since I saw a truly good fight in person that made the crowd roar like a dragster revving its engine.
Though the Fox Theater doesn’t hold more than 1,000 people it was loud and rocking with excitement at the action provided by the two super bantamweights. It was savage and intense.
After 11 rounds of this ferocious firefight, the crowd needed a breather to gather their composure. Even those sitting in the media section who have witnessed hundreds of fights needed a moment to register in their mind what they had witnessed.
Those watching on DAZN saw an excellent example of prizefighting. But those watching in person at the Fox Theater truly got the whole brunt of excitement and electricity that comes from a prize fight like this.
Magical.
Golden Boy at Fantasy Springs
Tonight, the main event pits super flyweights John “Scrappy” Ramirez (10-0, 8 KOs) fights Luis Villa Padilla (16-3-2, 2 KOs) at Fantasy Springs Casino.
Also featured are super bantamweights Manuel Flores (14-0) versus Franklin Gonzalez (25-1, 2 KOs) in the semi-main event. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions boxing card that includes two female bouts.
DiBella Entertainment card in NYC
Heather Hardy (23-2) leads a main event when she fights Brazil’s Taynna Cardoso (5-1) at Sony Hall in Manhattan tonight.
Hardy, a former featherweight world champion recently lost her longtime trainer Hector Roca. She is dedicating this fight to her mentor and friend who passed away in January. Watch the fights on YouTube channel: Boxing Insider.
Super lightweight title fight
Puerto Rico’s Subriel Matias challenges Argentina’s Jeremias Ponce for the vacant IBF super lightweight world title on Saturday Feb. 25, at the Armory at Minneapolis, Minn. Showtime will telecast the match.
You never know what you will get from Argentina. Because we don’t often view contenders from South America, you can get a beast or a dud. But when they are good, they are really good like Marcos Maidana.
Ponce is undefeated and has fought several times in Europe and sports a spotless record and shows power.
Matias is a Boricua and has speed, power and attracts fans with his flashiness. We will see if he can deal with the Argentine on Saturday.
Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury
Fast-rising Jake Paul has chased Tommy Fury for over a year and now they finally meet on Sunday Feb. 26, at Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. ESPN+ will show the fight on pay-per-view at 11 a.m. (Pacific Time).
“The Problem Child” Paul (6-0, 4 KOs) fights “TNT” Fury (8-0, 4 KOs) at the Diriyah Arena in a cruiserweight clash set for eight rounds.
From the first time I saw Paul perform I quickly realized he had something. He does pack a punch and has a willingness to learn and accept pain while picking up skills. Those two things are key to any prizefighter. I say prizefighter because it’s different from boxing amateurs which is slap fighting in my opinion. That’s all speed and holding. Prizefighting is hitting and hurting and that’s what Paul strives to do in all his fights.
Fury is a different matter. He comes from a fighting family that includes heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. But Tommy Fury is not Tyson. They don’t look the same and Tommy Fury looks more bodybuilder than fighter.
We shall see on Sunday.
Fights to Watch (Pacific Time)
Thurs. DAZN 6 p.m. John Ramirez (10-0) vs Luis Villa Padilla (16-3-2).
Sat. Showtime 6 p.m. Subriel Matias (18-1) vs Jeremias Ponce (30-0).
Sun. ESPN+ ppv 11 a.m. Jake Paul (6-0) vs Tommy Fury (8-0); Ilunga Makabu (29-2) vs Badou Jack (27-3-3).
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its money’s worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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