STOCKTON — Diosdado Gabi’s had his visit to Stockton cut short, but he did leave town with the win.
Gabi was cut over the right eye during his super-flyweight fight with Jose Alfredo Tirado on Friday, and the bout was stopped in the fourth round. The officials went to the scorecards, and Gabi was given a unanimous decision in front of a crowd of 2,396 at the Stockton Memorial Civic Auditorium.
Gabi 26-2-1 is ranked fifth in the World Boxing Council’s flyweight rankings, and it was the first bout in the United States for the fighter from the Philippines.
Both fighters were aggressive from the beginning of the fight. Gabi was cut in the second round on the head butt, but it didn’t stop him from going after Tirado 22-9 until the moment the fight was stopped.
The most unpopular decision of the night was Stockton middleweight Andreas Zapata’s four-round split decision loss to James Holmes of Las Vegas.
Zapata seemed to be leading the fight until Holmes landed a right hand that staggered Zapata with about 15 seconds left in the fight. Referee Ray Balewicz ruled it a technical knockdown and gave Zapata 1-1 a standing eight count.
“I don’t have any comment,” Zapata, the correctional officer at Duel Vocational Institute in Tracy, said after the fight. But the fans voiced their displeasure.
Middleweight Everado Lopez of Stockton evened his record at 1-1 by earning an easy four-round decision over Emanuel Marrero of Las Vegas. Lopez was the aggressor from the opening bell and kept pressuring Marrero.
“That was the plan, to keep coming at him,” Lopez said. “It felt great to get the win.”
Middleweight Nick Brooks of Stockton was unable to get past the jab of Jose Grace of Oakland and lost a four-round decision. Brooks is 2-1, and Grace improved to 3-0.
Contact reporter Scott Linesburgh at 209 546-8281 or [email protected]
