Inside the hallowed halls of the Mardi Gras Ballroom in the Orleans Hotel and Casino, fan favorite Guilty Boxing delighted the sold out crowd to another solid night of fistic action. While the event itself wasn’t exactly the be-all/end-all of Guilty cards, it was more than enough to satiate the appetites of locals across the Valley (it was the first Friday Night Fights card in almost three months).
Zcy “Z” Gorres, a promising contender from Mindanao, Philippines, dominated his opponent, Jose Alfredo Tirado, for ten grueling rounds in the main event. The fight was never close as Gorres controlled the pace from the get-go, allowing his pesky right jab and stifling straight left to befuddle Tirado. Gorres wobbled his foe on a few occasions, but the tough hombre from Culiacan, Mexico, refused to budge and remained on his feet for the duration of the contest.
Round after round Gorres pummeled Tirado, who grew more frustrated with each passing stanza. Tirado had a point taken away from him in the sixth from referee Jay Nady for repeated holding and hitting, but it was of no use score-wise as Tirado was so far behind on the cards anyway. Gorres wound up coasting to a hard-fought (if that makes sense) victory and won via unanimous decision with tallies of 98-91 (twice) and 99-90.
Gorres was relentless in his pursuit of victory but he tended to be a little one-dimensional and too reliant on his left hand. Had he been able or willing to mix up his fistic repertoire, he may have had a better showing. Though he dominated his opponent, Gorres didn’t overly impress and seemed to be going through the motions in the latter stages of the battle. With that said, Gorres improved to 22-1-1 with 11 KOs and appears to be a threat in the super flyweight division. Tirado, for his game efforts, fell to 24-9 with 19 KOs.
Dimitrique Edwards electrified the crowd with a stirring first round knockout over the lanky Freeman Taft, dropping Taft for good at 2:34. Both light heavyweights slugged it out for the first two minutes of the fight, but it was Edwards who landed the slicker punches and eventually delivered a sinister five-punch combo that felled the Phoenix, AZ, resident. Edwards, Glendora, CA, improved to 8-2-1 by scoring his fifth professional knockout while Taft dips to 3-4-2 with 1 KO.
Las Vegas’ own Damian Norris, who hails from Cuba originally, starched Henderson, NV, native Joe Gusman with a brutal one punch third round knockout in their cruiserweight encounter. Norris planted a devastating right uppercut onto Gusman’s jaw, dropping him flat onto his back, forcing his head to frighteningly smack across the canvas, ending the fight at 1:48 of the third. Luckily Gusman was okay after a few minutes, but it was clearly the knockout of the night. Norris improved to 7-1 with his sixth knockout while Gusman lost for the first time as a pro; he now stands at 7-1 (4).
And lastly, Sergio Mendez outworked the tough Mario Franco over four rounds of junior lightweight action. Neither man was ever in danger of being stopped or dropped but Mendez was the clear victor, winning via unanimous decision with scores of 40-36 (twice) and 39-36. Mendez, from Norwalk, CA, rose to 2-0 (1) while Franco, Los Angeles, dropped to 0-3.
