Munguia and Yokasta Win

Mexico’s Munguia Wins and Costa Rica’s Valle Does Too in OC

By Lauren Rodriguez

(Photos by Al Applerose)

ANAHEIM-Ca.-Saturday night, Golden Boy Promotions held their latest bout card at the Anaheim Honda Center. The arena almost entirely sold out as the crowd trickled in.

The main event of the night was a super middleweight bout between Jaime Munguia (40-0, 32 KO’s) and Jimmy Kelly (26-3, 10 KO’s). The crowd roared with a standing ovation for Munguía while his opponent was met with booing all around.

In the first round the two moved around, landing sporadic jabs as they got acquainted with one another. By the second round, Kelly let a sudden combination fly, catching Munguia off guard.

It was in the fifth round that the two tired fighters began head locking one after the other, requiring referee interference. Munguía began to throw a series of punches as Kelly attempted to dodge, only to be knocked down with a left hand. Kelly was again dropped twice more, secondly by an uppercut and lastly by a combination that left the English fighter dazed and unable to continue. Munguia remains undefeated, improving to 40 victories, 32 by way of knockout.

The future looks promising for Munguia who is willing to move up or down a weight class.

“I’m ready to go back to 160 to fight for a world title or move up to 168. I’m ready for any challenge. There are a lot of people who are supporting me. I want to say what Oscar said, for (Jermall) Charlo to grow some balls and stop hiding behind (Al) Haymon. I think it would be great for boxing. We hope the end of the year we can get a big fight,” said Munguia.

Co-Main Event

The co-main event was a 10-round bout in the super lightweight division. Mexico's Oscar Duarte ( 23-1-1 (17 KO’s) faced Philippines' Mark Bernaldez (23-6,17 KO’s), both fighters with similar records. Duarte towered over Bernaldez, sitting on his solid punches.

The solid attacks by Duarte quickly had Bernaldez against the ropes. By round four, Bernaldez suffered a flurry of straight shots to the forehead before countering in the last 10 seconds.

The 5th round seemed to foreshadow a knockout as Bernaldez remained unresponsive against the series of combinations by Duarte. It was in the eighth round that Duarte had exhausted his opponent’s responsiveness as the bout was stopped by way of knockout. The bout was brought to a halt at 2:05 of round 8, a victory knockout for Duarte.

IBF MINIMUM WEIGHT TITLE

Presented by both Marv Nation and Golden Boy promotions, Yokasta Valle (25-2, 9 KO’s) and Lorraine Villalobos (5-4, 2 KO’s) faced off for the IBF minimum weight title. In a 10-round bout, the women warriors went the distance as they refused to let either take home a knockout.

Valles displayed strong form against Villalobos’ heavy hitters as the two utilized the short two-minute rounds. Valles' impeccable reach and precision made it difficult for the slower Villalobos.

By the 5th round, Villalobos appeared tired, missing shots before falling over, quickly rising with a smile to show the referee that she’s not yet out of the fight.

Valle, of San Jose, Costa Rica, currently trains under Coach Gloria Mosquera, who has been perfecting the top prospects. Valle isn't stopping with the IBF title as she looks to unify titles.

“What I’ve always said is that I want to fight against all the other champions. I want to unify even if it’s against Seniesa, I want to fight all the champions”, stated Valle.

DAZN OPENER

The DAZN opener of the night in the super welterweight division was between Evan Sanchez (11-1, 6 KO’s) and Carlos Ortiz (13-5, 13 KO’s).

The two were out for blood as they went toe-to-toe. By the second round, the two fighters were literally head-to-head as they simultaneously exchanged jabs.

Ortiz began to close in as Sanchez stumbled. It was evident Ortiz packed a powerful punch as they echoed through the arena. The crowd screamed praise for Ortiz who thrust his opponent onto the ropes as he released a vicious left hook combination that dropped Sanchez entirely.

The bout was stopped at 2:59 of round 5. Ortiz improves to 13-5,13 KO’s).

Other Bouts

In the middleweight division, an 8-round bout between Carlos Ocampo (34-1, 22 KO’s) and Vincent Rodriguez (40-11-1, 21 KO’s). Rodriguez immediately appeared out of his element as Ocampo made up his weight in height. It was a shot to the body of Rodriguez that quickly ended the fight at 2:06 of the first round. Ocampo improves to 34 victories, 22 by way of knockout and only one loss.

In the welterweight division, Mexico natives Alejandro “Pin-pon Reyes” (8-0, 5 KO’s) and Moises Flores (25-7-1, 17 KO’S) met for a scheduled 6 round bout. The bout ended as quickly as it began, at 50 seconds of the 2nd round, after Flores was left unable to stand. Reyes remains undefeated with 8 victories, 5 by way of knockout.

In the lightweight division, Saul Hernandez (17-16-1, 12 KO’s) and Japhethlee Llamido (8-0, 4 KO) went the distance. Hernandez began the round with solid form as he used his lengthy arms to his advantage. Hernandez’s advantage was minimal inconvenience for Llamido who moved into his opponent's body.

Hernandez appeared to be going for a knockout as he aimed for Llamidos liver, forcing the opponent to hold his arms tightly against his torso before rebutting. By the third round Hernandez’s advantages seemed to expire as he slowed around the ring. Llamido dodged his tired jabs as Hernandez failed to connect.

The bout was scored a unanimous decision by judges who voted Llamido as winner. Llamido progresses to 8 undefeated wins, 3 by way of knockout.

In the first bout of the night, Hassan Coleman made his pro debut against Jorge Estrada (3-0) as they faced off in the super welterweight division. The bout was nothing short of eventful as the two began to brawl.