Hollywood Fight Results plus Notes on Super Fly 3 and More

HOLLYWOOD, Ca.-In his Hollywood debut, Ali Akhmedov won by stoppage against Jorge Escalante in a cruiserweight fight on Wednesday evening in a bout filled with curious moments.

Kazakhstan’s Akhmedov (12-0, 9 KOs) showed the sold out crowd at the Avalon Theater that he has good skills and power in beating the elusive Escalante (9-2-1, 6 KOs) in the fourth round of the 360 Promotions main event.

Akhmedov was patient in his attack against Escalante who switched from southpaw to orthodox throughout the cruiserweight fight. Though it never seemed to confuse the Kazakh fighter who trains with Abel Sanchez, it proved to be enough of a tactic to keep Escalante in the fight.

The third round saw Akhmedov trap Escalante in the corner and connect with a right cross that buckled the knees of the San Diego fighter who held the ropes to stay up. The referee properly called it a knockdown as the bell ended the round.

Boosted by the knockdown Akhmedov slipped into a more aggressive attack as Escalante moved away and seldom exchanged. Though no blows were actually connected, referee Zach Young suddenly stopped the fight. It was a curious stoppage and left people puzzled at 1:43 of the fourth round.

Co-Main Event

Abraham Lopez (10-1-1, 6 KOs) handed Gloferson Ortizo (12-1-1, 6 KOs) his first defeat by unanimous decision in a super lightweight match that was closer than the scores indicated. Each round saw Lopez use quicker combinations to score, but by the third round Ortizo began finding the range for his big blows.

A clash of heads or a blow by Ortizo caused a cut over the right eye of Lopez but the Rowland Heights fighter managed to score the more impressive combinations, especially a clean left hook in the sixth round to win the fight. One judge scored it 60-54 the other two 59-57 all for Lopez.

“He was a straightforward kind of fighter and very strong,” said Lopez. “The blood was pouring in my eyes.”

Other Bouts

Brooklyn’s Brian Ceballo (4-0, 2 KOs) stopped Bakersfield’s Tavorus Teague (5-21-4) at the end of the second round to win by knockout. A right uppercut caught Teague perfectly during an exchange and he was unable to continue in the welterweight contest.

Adrian Corona (1-0) won his pro debut by unanimous decision after four rounds versus Teodora Alonso (0-2) in a super featherweight fight. There were no knockdowns in the four-round bout. The judges scored the fight 40-36 twice and 39-37 for Corona who fights out of Rialto, Calif.

Elvina White (3-0) got the win by unanimous decision although it seemed Jasmine Clarkson (4-12) out-landed her in the super lightweight contest. White landed the more powerful blows but was often hit by Clarkson’s combinations throughout the four rounds. The southpaw stance and Clarkson’s defense seemed to spell victory for the Texan but the judges saw it otherwise. All three judges scored it 39-37 for White. Scores in the media section were divided evenly.

L.A.’s Vardges Vardanyan (2-0) won the battle of southpaws with a battering of Riverside’s Cameron Christopher (0-1) in a super welterweight contest. Vardanyan was the busier fighter against Christopher who mostly concentrated on defense and paid the price.

Marco Deckmann (1-0) stopped David Damore (1-3) at 2:58 of the second round of a cruiserweight fight. Deckmann fired a four-punch combination that badly wobbled the knees of the Arizona fighter.

Super Fly 3

It was boxing’s version of a movie premiere as 360 Promotions introduced its high-powered stars of upcoming fight cards at the Avalon Theater on Wednesday.

A third installment of the Super Fly series was introduced including world titlist Donnie Nietes for next month at the Inglewood Forum on Sept. 8. Also, World Boxing Super Series super lightweight tournament competitor Ryan Martin was introduced.

HBO will be televising Super Fly 3 to continue the successful venture that started two years ago when Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez filled the stands in the first installment against Carlos Cuadras in September 2016. That initial fight card proved to the network that boxing in the smaller weights was alive and well.

“Chocolatito was the one that opened the doors for the super fly divisions,” said Tom Loeffler, president of 360 Promotions. “It’s become the gold standard for HBO now.”

For those fans around in the 1960s and 1970s, this was not a surprise. During that era fighters like Chucho Castillo, Lionel Rose, and Ruben Olivares packed local arenas including the same Inglewood Forum almost every time they fought.

In Super Fly 3, one of the participants will be Juan Francisco Estrada facing fellow Mexican Felipe Orucuta in a WBC super fly elimination bout set for 12 rounds.

“Juan Francisco Estrada is actually the only one to participate in all the super fly shows,” said Juan Hernandez of Zanfer Promotions that promotes Estrada.

Also, WBO titlist Donnie Nietes of the Philippines is making his second appearance when he defends against fellow Filipino Aston Palicte in a 12 round clash.

Another on the card will be Japan’s Kazuto Ioka challenging Puerto Rican McWilliams Arroyo for the WBC super flyweight Silver title.

“In Super Fly 3 I plan to take a big step toward being a super fly champion,” said Ioka without a translator.

Arroyo arrived and said he expects another great Puerto Rico vs Japan battle.

“They have a lot of good fighters in the smaller weights and so does Puerto Rico,” said Arroyo.

HBO’s Tony Williams is confident of the third tournament.

“It’s not easy getting fighters from other countries to participate,” said Williams the HBO executive. “Super fly series is one of our best successes.”

Ryan Martin

The super lightweight contender made his Hollywood debut several months ago at the Avalon and arrived to meet the press after learning he was selected to participate in the World Boxing Super Series tournament for super lightweights.

“I’m excited about this tournament,” said Martin who moved up from lightweight to super lightweight and has fared better. “I know Josh Taylor is a good fighter and strong. I’m in a division where they are all strong.”

The tournament consists of eight participants from around the world including fellow American Regis Prograis. The tournament takes place sometime in the near future.

Pension Recipient

The California State Athletic Commission gave retired boxer Greg Puente a pension check following the fight card at the Avalon. Commissioner Martha Shen-Urquidez gave the check to Puente for an amount of near $16,500.

Retired boxers who fought for a certain amount of rounds in California are eligible for retirement funds. A follow up story will be published explaining the requirements.

Or you can inquire through the CSAC.

Photo credit: German Villasenor

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