Rising heavyweight contender Manuel Quezada scored the biggest win of his career in emphatic fashion, upsetting Travis Walker with an improbable first round knockout at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California on Thursday night.
Quezada (28-4, 18 KOs) of Wasco, California entered the bout with the WBC #11 heavyweight ranking, but few fight fans outside of the Central Valley likely know his name. That could have changed after his career-best win Thursday night. Walker (31-3-1, 25 KOs) of Houston, Texas entered the bout the heavy betting favorite, likely due to his HBO televised bout against leading American heavyweight contender Chris Arreola. Walker dropped Arreola early in the bout, before getting stopped himself. Quezada, 225.6, proved the odds makers wrong in dramatic fashion.
Despite his pre-fight claims that he would charge at Quezada, Walker, 239.6, started out the bout tentative. Neither fighter really pressed the fight over the first two minutes, as both combatants looked for openings. Late in the round an opening presented itself for Quezada, who countered Walker with an overhand right that dropped the former NABF Heavyweight Champion to the mat. Referee Jon Schorle immediately called a halt to the contest over the prone Walker, much to the delight of the frenzied pro-Quezada crowd. Official time of the stoppage was 2:57 of the first round.
By not only winning, but stopping Walker in the first round, Quezada surprised even himself. “No way did I ever think I was going to knock him out in the first round,” admitted Quezada after the fight. Quezada believes Walker came into the bout overconfident. “I guarantee you this guy came in here thinking I was not in his league,” said Quezada after the fight. “And he was right. I am not in his league. I am ahead of his league. This is big. I have cracked the top ten in the WBC.” Quezada would not call out anyone specific, but seems open to any big fight. “Whoever my team wants me to fight, I’ll fight,” says Quezada.
In possibly his most impressive outing thus far, light welterweight prospect Mike Dallas Jr. (9-0-1, 2 KOs) of Bakersfield, California scored a devastating first round knockout of Mexican journeyman Francisco Rios Gil (17-9, 13 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona. Dallas, 140.8, came out quick as usual, but seemed to be sitting down on his punches more than in previous fights. Gil, 142.4, was on the receiving end of some vicious hooks before a flurry finally downed him a minute into the fight. Gil gamely returned to his feet, but was quickly dropped again by a couple of hooks to the head. Unwisely, Gil got back up and took two more hooks that wobbled him before the referee leaped in to stop the contest. Official time of the stoppage was 2:41 of the opening round.
In a thoroughly dominating performance, world class lightweight Jessica Rakoczy (31-3, 11 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada scored a third-round stoppage of the well traveled Jessica Mohs (7-21-2, 2 KOs) of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. All Rakoczy, 127.6, really needed in the fight was her jab, but she did follow up with some right hands for good measure. After two and a half lopsided rounds, the corner of Mohs, 134.4, advised referee Ray Balewicz to stop the bout. Official time of the stoppage was 1:13 of the third round. Rakoczy scored a second round knockout of Mohs in January of 2007.
Rico Ramos (11-0, 7 KOs) of Pico Rivera, California continues to impress as he stopped a game, but outclassed Juan Jose Beltran (19-14-3, 11 KOs) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico at the end of three rounds. Ramos, 122.4, just had every advantage, especially in the speed department. Beltran, 121.2, could do little more than cover up and survive the onslaught for the three rounds. After getting rocked at the close of both the second and third rounds, Beltran was kept on his stool by his corner who advised referee Marcos Rosales to stop the bout.
In an even fight between longtime journeymen, Hector Alatorre (16-8, 5 KOs) of Tulare, California ended his losing streak with a six-round unanimous decision win over Cristian Favela (17-20-6, 10 KOs) of Los Angeles, California. Alatorre, 140.8, started busy, taking the fight to Favela, 140, for the first three rounds. Despite his clear advantage in speed and boxing skill, Alatorre decided to trade with the rugged Mexican. That game plan seemed to catch up with him in the fourth, as Favela took over the fight with hard punches to both Alatorre’s head and body. After a close sixth, the fight went to the cards where Alatorre won by the scores of 58-55 and 58-56 twice.
In an entertaining toe-to-toe battle, Adrian Tait (3-1-1, 1 KO) of Quartz Hill, California scored a four-round unanimous decision win over Joshua Zurfluh (1-6-1) of Long Beach, California. Tait, 147.2, won the fight by outworking the harder-punching Zurfluh, 146.6, for the majority of the rounds. Rounds two and three were very close, as neither fighter gave ground. While Tait outworked Zurfluh, it was the Long Beach native that seemed to pack the harder punch. After clearly winning round four, Tait took all three scorecards 40-36.
In the main MMA attraction of the night, local former collegiate wrestling star Chad Mendes (4-0, 2 KOs, 1 Submission) of Hanford, California utterly destroyed Steven Siler (11-7, 1 KO, 7 Submissions) of Ogden, Utah with a first round knockout. Mendes, 145.4, dropped Siler, 146, with a hellacious overhand right. No one would have blamed the referee if he had decided to stop the bout right there. Incredibly a wobbly Siler returned to a standing position only to get knocked down again by a wicked left hook. The referee leaped in immediately to stop the bout. Time of the contest was 44 seconds of the first.
Shawn Bias (14-8, 3 KOs, 6 Submissions) of Oroville, California pulled out a close three-round majority decision win over Shawn Klarcyk (9-4, 4 KOs, 4 Submissions) of Porterville, California. Bias, 141, had a point deducted in the second round, but still claimed the rough fight by the scores of 28-28 and 29-27 twice. Klarcyk, 139.8, had his moments, but had trouble with Bias’ size on the mat.
Cody Gibson (2-0, 2 KOs) of Visalia, California spoiled the debut of Lemoore’s Dustin Rocha (0-1) by scoring a second-round knockout. Gibson, 155, gained a controlling position on that mat and pounced over a prone Rocha, 152.2, which forced the referee to stop the contest. Official time of the bout was 42 seconds of the second round.
Sergio Quinones (3-5, 1 KO, 2 Submissions) of Lemoore scored a first-round stoppage victory over Chris Sanchez (1-1, 1 KO) of Hanford in a local turf war. Quinones, 145.6, clinched in with a choke to force Sanchez, 144, to tap out. Time of the bout was 1:54 of the first round.
Light heavyweight Brandon Lorenz (2-1, 1 KO) of Lemoore scored a brutal first-round knockout of Mark Matthews (1-2, 1 Submission) of Sacramento. Lorenz, 205, connected with a hard straight right hand that had Matthews, 201, out on his feet before he hit the canvas. The referee immediately stopped the bout at 2:31 of round one. Matthews lay on the canvas for several minutes before making it to his feet.
Courtesy: Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.
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