Ronny Rios Shocks Diego De La Hoya in L.A. Fight Card

CARSON, Calif.-It was a night of upsets on a summer eve.

Ronny Rios toppled Diego De La Hoya in a super bantamweight showdown while another super bantamweight scrap saw WBC titlist Rey Vargas manage to hang onto his strap in a close 12-round affair on Saturday.

Upsets and reversal of fortunes were the name of the game for the more than 2,000 fans at the Dignity Health Sports Park. The Golden Boy Promotions fight card featured a pair of upsets and one near derailment. The fight card was streamed on DAZN.

None was more shocking than the showdown between two longtime members of the Golden Boy team, Rios and De La Hoya.

Santa Ana’s Rios (31-3, 15 KOs) walked into the ring happily as the underdog and it proved beneficial as he handed Diego De La Hoya (21-1, 10 KOs) his first pro loss and by knockout in their 12-round featherweight fight.

De La Hoya was the big favorite to remain undefeated on his quest to a world title but Rios snatched that opportunity away with a gritty example of trench warfare. Even more surprising was the end that came by knockout. Rios is not a big puncher and De La Hoya is known for his ability to take a blow like his older cousin and boss Oscar De La Hoya.

But not on this night.

Rios had lost his one and only world title opportunity when he fought Rey Vargas two years ago in this same venue. Before walking into the boxing ring on Saturday he had promised to show what he can really do as the underdog.

“I love being the underdog,” Rios said on Wednesday.

On Saturday he showed why underdog status was an advantage as he caught De La Hoya repeatedly with left hooks and right uppercuts. That same combination put De La Hoya down for the first time in his career. He could not continue and referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight at 1:17 of the sixth round. It gives Rios the win by knockout and the NABF super bantamweight title.

“I saw a lot of tape and noticed he has a really high guard. It leaves him open to the body. We were working on that in the gym a lot. Honestly, it was shock. I didn’t know he was going down,” said Rios. “I know Diego, he is a warrior and he’s never been down.”

De La Hoya was gracious in defeat.

“I didn’t feel well. I didn’t feel right,” said De La Hoya. “You have to accept the losses just like you accept the wins.”

Rey Vargas

WBC super bantamweight world titlist Rey Vargas (34-0, 22 KOs) had his hands full with Japan’s Tomoki Kameda (36-3, 20 KOs) who showed up with plenty of Mexican and Japanese fans and plenty of tricks in his bag. But Vargas was able to hit and hold his way to another victory despite the fan outcry that saw the judges favor Vargas with a unanimous decision.

The taller Vargas used his height, speed and reach to keep the fight on the outside. But Kameda, who trains in Mexico, had other thoughts and used his quickness and hand speed to connect with telling blows throughout. He was especially effective with wide left hooks and overhand rights.

Kameda tried for most of the fight to get inside and  engage in close, but every time he got inside the reach of Vargas the Mexican fighter would grab hold of the Japanese fighter. Despite constantly using this illegal tactic referees seem to ignore the egregious  use of holding so Vargas continues to use it.

In the final round as Kameda tried valiantly to get inside, Vargas held him again and as the referee Jerry Cantu tried to break the stranglehold Kameda connected with a blow that buckled the Mexican fighter. The referee deducted a point from Kameda for the hit during the break but never warned Vargas for holding in any round of the fight.

“I believe that he won the fight tonight and I respect him as a champion. He won,” said Kameda. “I need to learn and to practice more in order to get another chance to be champion again.”

Hundreds of fans booed the announcement declaring Vargas the winner by unanimous decision, 117-110 on all three cards. Also in the audience was WBA and IBF super bantamweight titlist Danny Roman.

Vargas spotted him and asked for a unification match.

“You know when a Mexican fights another Mexican, it’s a war,” said Vargas to Roman.

Not when a fighter holds as much as Vargas.

 Joet Gonzalez

After several years of eyeing each other as prospects Joet Gonzalez (23-0, 14 KOs) battered Manuel Avila (23-2-1, 8 KOs) to win by knockout once he got going. Ultimately the Glendora, California featherweight used a relentless attack to surprisingly force referee Jose Cobian to end the fight at 2:27 of round six.

Avila started quickly in the fight with his speed and movement as Gonzalez patiently stalked the Northern California fighter. Occasionally Gonzalez fired a lead right to the head or body but allowed Avila to take the lead in their dance.

In the third round Gonzalez took over the fight and began pressuring Avila behind a tight guard and unleashed a five-punch combination that caught Avila’s attention with the impact and accuracy. A strong left jab and a right cross connected solidly for Gonzalez at the end of the round.

For the next three rounds Gonzalez grabbed total control of the fight and cut off all escape routes for Avila. A six-punch barrage ended with a right uppercut and Avila’s face looked bruised and swollen. Gonzalez did not ease up on the pedal and kept Avila on his back foot. A left to the body and several blows up and down saw Avila lower his head and then go down. Gonzalez had leaned on his head so referee Jose Cobian ruled it a push down but Avila was surprised by the referee’s decision. He got up and Gonzalez attacked again and with another four-punch combination put Avila down on the floor for a knockdown. Avila got up but looked bewildered.

Gonzalez allowed a couple of quick one-two combinations by Avila in the sixth round then pummeled him relentlessly until the referee stopped the fight at 2:27 of the sixth round. Gonzalez now holds both the WBO Global and WBA Continental Americas featherweight titles.

“I am not like these cherry pickers. I will fight the best and beat the best. I just want the champions,” said Gonzalez.

Another Upset

Within seconds of the opening bell, both Venezuela’s Roger Gutierrez (22-3-1, 19 KOs) and Mexico’s Rocky Hernandez (28-1, 25 KOs) were bloodied from each other’s blows. By 2:39 after some brutal exchanges Gutierrez connected with a right cross and floored the shorter Hernandez. Though he tried mightily to get up, Hernandez just couldn’t master his balance and tumbled downward. Referee Rudy Barragan waved the fight over.

Alexis Rocha (14-0, 9 KOs) of Santa Ana, Calif. pounded out a victory by knockout in the eighth round over Puerto Rico’s Berlin Abreu (14-3, 11 KOs) in a welterweight fight. Referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight at 2:56 of round eight. Rocha is the younger brother of Ronny Rios.

Kazakhstan’s Ruslan Madiyev (13-1, 5 KOs) out-fought Ricky Sismundo (35-14-3, 17 KOs) of the Philippines to win by unanimous decision after eight rounds in a super lightweight bout.

Jousce Gonzalez (9-0-1, 9 KOs) of Glendora, Calif. knocked out Mexico’s Jorge Padron (3-4, 3 KOs) at 2:15 of the second round in their lightweight match. Gonzalez is the younger brother of Joet Gonzalez.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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