Antonio Orozco and Seniesa Estrada Victorious in L.A.

LOS ANGELES-Super lightweight contender Antonio Orozco shook off the rust and returned to form with a unanimous decision win over veteran Martin Honorio on Friday.

Several months ago he was unable to make weight but this time he was right on weight.

Before a large crowd at Belasco Theater, the San Diego prizefighter Orozco (27-0, 17 KOs) returned to form in a solid win over Mexico City’s Honorio (33-13-1, 16 KOs). In the co-main event female sensation Seniesa Estrada also performed. More on her later.

It took Orozco several rounds to find his distance and stay out of range of Honorio’s long arms and head, but by the third round he found his groove.

Although he started with an attack to the body, Orozco discovered that it also led to collisions with Honorio’s head. The San Diego fighter switched to an outside attack with strong jabs and right leads that connected and kept the Mexico City fighter at a distance.

“I wanted to change my style a bit so I boxed more,” said Orozco. “People aren’t used to seeing me do that.”

No knockdowns were scored and after eight rounds Orozco was deemed the winner 79-73 on all three cards.

“I thought the fight did him good it’s been a year since he was in the ring,” said Frank Espinoza who manages Orozco. “It takes time to get out the rust. We need to get him back in there again.”

In the first female bout ever televised as a main event by Golden Boy Promotions undefeated Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada shut out Mexico’s Sonia Osorio over eight rounds in a flyweight bout.

Estrada (12-0) proved too quick and too elusive for Osorio (8-6-1) who was willing but unable to match.

The East L.A. quicksilver Estrada pulled the trigger quicker than Osorio almost every time they exchanged. Each was able to land but Estrada out-connected her opponent seemingly four to one every time they exchanged.

After eight rounds all three judges scored it 80-72 for Estrada who was fighting for the first time since signing with Golden Boy. It was also her first time televised. For more on this fight go to our sister site The Prizefighters (www.theprizefighters.com).

Other Bouts

Oscar Duarte (13-0, 9 KOs) floored Jorge Rodriguez (10-2, 10 KOs) three times in winning by knockout at 1:53 of the fifth round in their super lightweight clash. Duarte, who fights out of Parral, Mexico, is trained by brothers Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio.

Duarte slowly has become more adroit at firing punches without telegraphing as he did when he first arrived. Against Nayarit, Mexico’s Rodriguez he used his quicker blows to send Rodriguez to a knockout defeat. Duarte won every round.

Lightweight sensation Jousce Gonzalez (7-0, 7 KOs) grabbed another first round knockout, this time against Durango, Mexico’s Jose Martinez (10-12, 6 KOs). An overhand right early in the fight rocked Martinez then a series of uppercuts and a barrage of blows forced referee Rudy Barragan to stop the fight at 2:48 of the first round.

“Seeing all these prospects go the distance against Jose Martinez really made me want to make a statement,” said Gonzalez. “I wanted to show that I’m on a different level. I wanted to establish myself in the division.”

No opponent has experienced the second round against Gonzalez who is the younger brother of featherweight prospect Joet Gonzalez.

Edgar Valerio (13-0, 8 KOs) floored Mexico City’s Giovanni Caro (26-22-4, 21 KOs) with a left hook counter in the last second of the opening round. Caro hit the floor with such speed that his head hit the end of a photographer’s camera lense. As referee Raul Caiz Jr. was counting the featherweight out he noticed the fighter’s head was on top of the lens and ruled the end a technical knockout because Caro could not continue.

Valerio, who lives in South-Central L.A., is managed by Joel De La Hoya.

A matchup between southpaws ended in a technical draw when Blair Cobbs (7-0-1, 5 KOs) and Mario Esparza (4-0-2) collided heads resulting in a bloody gash on Esparza. The fight was stopped at the beginning of the fourth and final round of the super lightweight fight. According to California rules the fight is automatically ruled a technical draw if it fails to enter the fifth round.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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