Angel Beltran Wins Main Event at Ken Thompson Tribute Show

ONTARIO, CA — In possibly the last Thompson Boxing Promotion show in the Inland Empire, a ceremonial tribute began the night in honor of its great leader Ken Thompson who passed away several weeks ago.

Mexicali’s Angel Beltran (16-1, 9 KOs) won the welterweight main event on Friday by unanimous decision over Corona’s Louie Lopez (13-2-1, 4 KOs) in front of a sold-out crowd at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario. If it was the last show, it ended with four solid fights.

Beltran’s heavy hands connected in the first round as he countered with a left hook and floored Lopez. The local fighter beat the count but was still dazed.

From the second round on Lopez rallied furiously but could never match the firepower of the Mexicali fighter. Each time Beltran (pictured) connected, the blows could be heard throughout the arena. Lopez never wavered but could not seem to stop the Mexican fighter’s rushes.

After eight rounds the judges had it 77-74 and 78-73 twice for Beltran.

Super welters

In the best fight of the night, Louisiana’s Keon Papillon (5-0-1) and Riverside’s Jesus “Lobito” Gonzalez (6-0-1) fought to a split draw after six scintillating back and forth rounds.

Gonzalez started quickly with a furious body attack that Papillon tried to slip away but could not. But the Louisiana fighter began using jumping left hooks and counters to score from the outside.

That became the true battle. Gonzalez wanted the inside and Papillon wanted a fight at distance.

Neither fighter seemed hurt despite getting tagged with ringing shots. Left hooks scored heavy for Gonzalez and rapid three-punch combinations worked for Papillon. It was Gonzalez’s grit versus Papillon’s speed.

Sometimes the battle got rough and each would toss the other around as If wrestling. Referee Ed Hernandez warned the two fighters about using the rough tactics. Despite the fouls, both fighters were actually respectful of each other.

When the fight ended after six rounds it was clear that it was not going to be easy to pick a winner. One judge saw it 58-56 for Papillon, another 58-56 for Hernandez and a third 57-57 for a split draw.

Though some in the crowd booed it was not a bad decision. Both fighters must have hugged at least a dozen times to acknowledge each other’s skills and toughness.

Super Middleweights

Marcos Hernandez (16-6-2, 3 KOs) used his strength and size to out-muscle Jeremy Ramos (11-14) by unanimous decision after six rounds. A left hook to the body dropped Ramos in the second round. But he managed to survive the rest of the match and win a couple of rounds. After six rounds one judge scored it 60-53, the others 57-56 and 58-55 for Hernandez.

Rowdy Montgomery (10-4-1, 7 KOs) battered the smaller Antonio Duarte (2-6) from the opening bell. Though Duarte scored some heavy blows it was not enough to keep Montgomery from knocking him down twice in the second round including the knockout blow at 1:32 of the second round.

Many former fighters who performed under the Thompson Boxing Promotions stable attended the event including Josesito Lopez, Mauricio Herrera, Carlos Bojorquez, Isaac Zarate, Sindy Amador, and Giovanni Santillan.

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