Brian Viloria became the third member of the 2000 US Olympic squad to win a world title, joining Jeff Lacy and Jermain Taylor. Viloria’s effort was far less of a struggle than the aforementioned, as he scored a one-punch knockout of Eric Ortiz at the end of the first round to win the WBC light flyweight title. The two were going back and forth throughout the round, and were both throwing right hands just before the bell. Viloria’s got through first, and Ortiz crashed to the canvas for the full ten count. Official time was 2:59 of the first round. Viloria is now 18-0 (12KO). Ortiz, who was making the first defense of the title he won just six months ago, falls to 24-5-1 (16KO). It was the fourth time in his career that he has been stopped.
Unbeaten teenaged junior middleweight Vanes Martirosyan continues to impress, as he pitched a shutout over Gerardo Cesar Prierto in a six round bout. Martirosyan, who represented Armenia in the 2004 Olympic Games, won every round and nearly took Prierto out in the final round. He improves to 4-0 (1KO), while Prierto falls to 4-3-1 (0KO).
In a sensational lightweight scrap, spoiler Hector Leyva knocked off his second straight undefeated opponent, as he scored a fourth round knockout over David Rodela. The fight was tight brawl through three rounds before Leyva came through with a right hand-left hook combo which flattened Rodela for the count. Leyva is now 4-3 (3KO), with the big win coming just two weeks after having flattened previously unbeaten Jose Perez Jr is San Jose. Rodela falls to 2-1-1 (2KO).
In the show opener, unbeaten Filipino knockout artist Ray Bautista stopped Felix Flores-Murillo in a mismatch of a bantamweight fight. A right hand put Flores-Murillo out 1:17 into the round three. Bautista cruises to 17-0 (13KO), while Flores-Murillo still searches for his first professional win, falling to 0-5. The California State Athletic Commission should be ashamed for sanctioning this fight.
