The main event from Thompson Boxing Promotions “New Blood” boxing series featured an all action brawl between featherweights Juan Reyes of Riverside, Calif. and Jonathan Arellano of Ontario, Calif. Reyes and Arellano, former sparring partners that perhaps know each other better than they should, thrilled the capacity crowd at the Omega Products Outdoor Arena in Corona, Calif.
The draw ended with scores of 76-74 for Reyes, while the other two judges scored it even, 75-75.
Reyes got things started in the first round with a straight right to Arellano’s chin that buckled his legs, which led to a knockdown. Arellano shook it off quickly and began trading punches with Reyes, showing no signs of being knocked down just seconds earlier.
The third round provided non-stop fireworks, as both fighters were content to let the punches fly. Reyes landed straight rights, while Arellano countered with powerful right-handed uppercuts and left hooks. In the fifth round, Arellano put Reyes on his back with a stiff right cross, but Reyes quickly got up and came back firing. Reyes carried that momentum into the sixth round with a flurry of punches, while Arellano cleverly counter-punched. By the eighth and final round, both boxers showed swelling in the eyes, with Reyes sustaining a cut over his right eye.
“I knew this was going to be a tough fight,” said Reyes, who is promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions. “Jonathan and I go way back and it showed tonight. We know each other’s styles, which made for an exciting fight. I know this will go down as a draw, but I think we both did a great job tonight.”
“He’s a heck of a fighter,” Arellano said. “The plan was not to match his punch output because he throws too many punches to keep track of. I picked my spots and threw a bunch of punches of my own. I’m disappointed I didn’t get the win, but that doesn’t take away from what an exciting fight this was.”
In the co-main event, Colombian middleweight prospect Alex Theran calmly stalked Texan Justin Williams through six rounds to remain undefeated scoring a unanimous decision victory sweeping it on all three scorecards 60-54, 60-54 and 60-54. Theran bettered his record to 15-0, 8 KOs, while
Williams goes home to Texas with a record of 4-9-2, 2 KOs.
Theran, a southpaw, used his jab, as he has done in previous matches, to set up power punches that stunned the taller Williams. Theran effectively worked the body in the fourth and fifth rounds, which took a toll on Williams. Throughout the fight, Theran landed the cleaner, crisper punches and looked conditioned to fight twice the amount of rounds.
“I’m just taking it one fight at a time,” said Theran, who is promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions. “I can feel my stamina getting better with each fight and with every victory my confidence grows. I’ll take a few days off, but after that I’ll be back in the gym trying to stay sharp and in shape for my next fight.”
Super bantamweight Danny Roman of Los Angeles outpunched Jose Iniguez of Tijuana, Mexico to score a second round knockout in a scheduled 6-round fight. Roman enhanced his record to 7-1-1, 3 KOs, while Iniguez dropped to 7-16, 1 KO. Roman repeatedly landed combinations to the head and body, which quickly wore down the less active Iniguez.
Welterweight prospect Oscar Godoy of Wattsonville, Calif. had to deal with a little adversity on his way to a second round knockout victory over Rogelio Castaneda, Jr. of Sacramento. Godoy, who improved to 11-2, 6 KOs, suffered a nasty cut above his right eye in the opening round from an inadvertent head butt. Godoy, however, pushed forward in the second round backing up Castaneda against the ropes and hurting him with a flurry of punches. Godoy scored the knockout victory at the 2:37 mark of the second round (scheduled 6-rounds). Castaneda falls to 26-17-3, 8 KOs.
Super bantamweight Fernando Fuentes of Hemet, Calif. improved to 3-1 with a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Hipolito of Lubbock, Tex. in the 4-round opener. Hipolito drops to 1-2, 1 KO. Fuentes counterpunched effectively against the more aggressive Hipolito, scoring points with timely combinations and persistent body punches.
