KO Artists Umar Dzambekov and Cain Sandoval Keep on Truckin’ at Santa Ynez

Sometimes the knockouts just come.

Undefeated contenders Umar Dzambekov and “Sugar” Cain Sandoval treated their fans to riveting knockout wins at Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez on Friday.

Light heavyweight Dzambekov met fellow Russian fighter Artem Brusov and needed less than three rounds to showcase his accurate left cross.

In the opening round Dzambekov was able to penetrate Brusov’s guard and snap his head back violently. That was the first sign of what was coming.

With knowledge of his prior success, Dzambekov corralled Brusov against the ropes and nailed him with a sidewinder left to the chin and down he went for the count. Referee Thomas Taylor ruled the fight over at 2:59 of the second round.

“It was just a matter of time,” said Dzambekov who improved to 13-0 (9 KOs)

In a super lightweight clash, it was expected to be a clash between sluggers and “Sugar” Cain Sandoval (16-0, 14 KOs) proved to be the superior fighter with a knockout win over tough Filipino Jino Rodrigo (13-6-2) in the final round.

Rodrigo had Sandoval reeling from an overhand right in the second round. Sandoval survived and then rallied with a steady march forward that included jabs, body shots and slipping the Filipino fighter’s big bombs.

Sandoval steadily captured each round and though Rodrigo continued to go for the home run swing, Sacramento’s Sandoval battered him with singles, doubles and triples. He also showed tremendous stamina.

In the 10^th and final round Rodrigo continued to unload big swings and when he attempted to jab, Sandoval unleashed a perfect three-punch combination that delivered Rodrigo to the floor. Referee Rudy Barragan signaled the fight over at 2:30 of the 10^th round.

“I’m one of the top people at 140,” said Sandoval adding that he is one of the top contenders at the super lightweight and welterweight class.

Other Bouts

Daniel “Chucky” Barrera (10-1-1) out-battled rugged Mario Hernandez (13-7-1) over eight hard fought rounds in a super flyweight match to win by decision.

Barrera was mugged early by the constant pressure of Hernandez but soon found his footing. He used angles and volume punching to keep Hernandez from over-running him in their eight-round fight. All three judges scored in his favor 80-72, 79-73, 77-75.

“Right Hook” Roxy Verduzco dropped down to super bantamweight and found familiar success in defeating Mexico’s Perla Lomeli by unanimous decision after eight rounds.

The left-handed Verduzco (pictured with promoter Tom Loeffler) looked sharp and even stronger at the 122-pound weight class and immediately discovered that Lomeli has an extremely good chin and accurate right counter.

Verduzco showed off her years of amateur experience and once again demonstrated the move to professional style is becoming second nature to her. Every punch she fired had poison attached and they came in bunches.

Lomeli was very patient in diagnosing Verduzco’s attacks. In the third round Lomeli fired two well-placed right uppercuts after Verduzco’s blows and found success. That was immediately noticed by Verduzco and she eliminated that punch as a weapon for the fighter from Mexicali.

In the second half of the fight Verduzco relied on a steady supply of jabs and combinations. A perfect double left hook to the body on head scored big in the fifth. But Lomeli had a good sixth round when she found the mark with four lead rights through Verduzco’s guard.

Overall Verduzco was the busier and more accurate puncher and never wavered in landing combination blows. The judges scored the fight 80-72 twice and 79-73 all for the undefeated (6-0) Verduzco who is trained by her mother Gloria Alvarado.

Featherweights came out firing with Jonathan Vasquez (2-0) catching Antonio Ferrel (0-2) with a left hook during an exchange the sent him to the floot. Ferrel beat the count but found Vasquez right in his face again with a nonstop attack. After several blows to the body Vasquez went upstairs and caught Ferrel with an overhand right and down went the Santa Rosa fighter again. Referee Ray Corona immediately stopped the fight at 51 seconds of the first round giving Vasquez the win by knockout.

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