Ryan Garcia Edges Carlos Morales in an Untidy Affair at Fantasy Springs

INDIO, Ca.-Rising star Ryan “Flash” Garcia never could find the antidote for Carlos “The Solution” Morales and ended up winning a majority decision in a fight filled with holding and wrestling on Saturday’s Facebook-streamed fight.

A sold out crowd packed the arena to watch speedy Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs) do his thing but the crafty Morales (17-3-3, 6 KOs) had other plans at the Fantasy Springs Casino. The Golden Boy Promotions fight never featured many real exchanges.

“I just was feeling fatigue after the second round,” said Garcia who now has back-to-back fights without a knockout.

Garcia marched into the arena as a large favorite against Los Angeles-based Morales and most expected at least a knockdown by the Victorville fighter who has 13 knockouts in his young career. But Morales proved to be stronger than advertised.

Although Garcia showed faster hands and more power in both hands, Morales caught him early with a right cross and that seemed to keep the bigger fighter in a more defensive pose.

“My plan was don’t move back and that’s when I gave my best success,” said Garcia. “I wanted to move my head and walk to him but I just felt fatigue today.”

Throughout the fight Garcia grabbed ahold of Morales whenever he got into the pocket. This was a tactic used by Garcia throughout the fight and proved frustrating for Morales who got more aggressive inside to no avail.

Garcia had his best moment in the fifth round when a four-punch combination connected and Morales retaliated with two lead rights. Garcia then unloaded another three-punch combination to end the round.

But overall the fight was filled with clinches and more clinches. The crowd was not pleased with the inactivity.

“Honestly I think I could have done a lot of things so we ended up just fighting,” said Garcia. “I just got to get back to the gym and work on my craft. I got so much love for fans and much respect for Carlos Morales and I respect him.”

Neeco

In a text book example of phone booth warfare, Neeco “The Rooster” Macias (17-0, 10 KOs) battered undefeated Marvin Cabrera (8-1, 6 KOs) into near oblivion with a nonstop attack that forced the fight to end at the end of the sixth round of the super welterweight clash.

“All praise goes to God. Knowing I was fighting him (Cabrera) I had to bring my best,” said Macias. “I trained real hard at home.”

Macias nearly sprinted out of his corner at the opening bell with a wicked smile and trapped Cabrera on the ropes while unleashing barrage after barrage. If Cabrera was waiting for Macias to tire he was out of luck.

According to unofficial sources Macias was firing an average of 190 punches a round and most of them were landing. Cabrera tried returning fire but was not nearly as successful and by the third round was merely a punching bag for Macias.

“I guess I was warming up. I started it during amateur boxing and I just carried to the pros,” said Macias while smiling. “We smile because were confident and appreciative of what boxing has given us.”

Other Bouts

Brazil’s Patrick Teixeira (29-1, 22 KOs) out-punched Jamaica’s Nathaniel Gallimore (20-3-1, 17 KOs) to win by unanimous decision in a rugged eight round middleweight fight. No knockdowns were scored in the fight between the left-handed Teixeira and Illinois fighter Gallimore.

“I believe I learned a lot with my loss and I had to work hard to win tonight,” said Teixeira whose lone loss was to Curtis Stevens by knockout in 2016. “I hope in one or two more fights I will get a better fight.”

Omaha’s Kevin Ventura (10-0, 8 KOs) used his height and reach advantage to win by unanimous decision after six rounds against Mexico’s Eduardo Reyes (9-15, 6 KOs) in a lightweight contest. Ventura used his jab and uppercuts to score repeatedly but Reyes was able to work inside occasionally. However, in the sixth round Reyes was deducted a point for a low blow after repeated warnings by referee Ray Corona. All three judges scored it for Ventura 59-54 twice and 58-55.

“Four or five times he hit me down there,” said Ventura who has the same trainer as WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford. “I hurt my right hand in the second round. If it was 100 percent he would have went out for sure.”

Middleweight Alex Rincon (5-0, 5 KOs) kept his undefeated knockout streak going with a third round stoppage of Oklahoma’s Osbaldo Gonzalez (6-3). A savage body attack by the southpaw Rincon softened the defense of Gonzalez and allowed a follow up attack to the head. A four-punch barrage by the Dallas fighter forced referee Tom Taylor to stop the fight at 2:23 of round three.

Alex Rincon’s older brother George Rincon (4-0) won by unanimous decision after four rounds versus Daniel Perales (10-14-1) in a super lightweight match.

Russia’s Sergey Lubkovich (9-0, 7 KOs) stopped Juan Ruiz (21-3, 13 KOs) at the end of the second round of a super welterweight clash.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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