An exciting night of boxing hit the Coachella Valley on Friday at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. In the main event Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz Jr. (18-0, 10 KOs), of So. El Monte, Calif. took on Ruben “Kanelito” Tamayo (23-7-4, 15 KOs) of Cuidad Obregon, Mexico in a scheduled 10-round featherweight bout.
Diaz Jr. displayed his dominance over Tamayo landing effective and accurate blows to Tamayo’s head and body that slowly wore Tamayo down. Tamayo proved to be a resilient fighter as he continued to engage with Diaz Jr. throughout the night but it was Diaz Jr. who gained the victory via unanimous decision with all three judges scoring the fight 100-90.
“I knew Tamayo was going to be taller and we made sure to land effect counter shots to get the victory,” said Joseph Diaz Jr. “I knew was going to be tough, but I knew I was winning decisively throughout the night. When I started to land the combinations I would make sure to come back out to prevent Tamayo from reaching me. Overall I feel I proved I was a tough fighter and can adjust to any style.”
“Diaz Jr. was a fast puncher, but I thought the fight was very even and was surprised at the unanimous decision,” said Ruben Tamayo. “This is not the end for me, I am going to learn from this experience and continue to fight. Boxing is my passion and I will continue to do it as long as I can.”
Frankie “Pitbull” Gomez (19-0, 13 KOs) of East Los Angeles, gave the fans the something to cheer about as he took on Tijuana’s Jorge “Pantera” Silva (19-10-2, 15 Kos) in a 10-round super welterweight co-main event. Both fighters exchanged blows each not willing to give up to the other. In the third and fourth rounds the crowd erupted into a “Frankie, Frankie” cheer as Gomez cornered the tough Silva in the ropes. By the end of the fight, fans were on their feet cheering on their favorite fighter. Gomez proved to be victorious, winning the bout via unanimous decision with scores of 100-90 by all three judges.
“Silva was a tough fighter,” said Frankie Gomez. “I kept giving him all I could but he kept coming, he has a lot of heart. I knew the way to win this was to outbox him, but I also wanted to make sure the fans were entertained. I could hear the fans shouting and that gave me more motivation to not only win but give them a great fight.”
“The people know I am a fighter that comes to fight,” said Jorge Silva. “I have a lot of heart and I think I showed them that tonight. Although I did not get a victory today, the people were the true winners because this was the fight of the night.”
Paulis “The Killer” Ritter (1-1) of Long Beach, Calif. returned to Fantasy Springs for a second time facing Relonzo Richard Jr. (0-1) of Landcaster, Calif. in a four-round heavyweight bout. Richard had a taste of the mat three times but showed great heart in going the full four rounds but it was Ritter who secured a victor with scores of 38-35, 37-36, 37-36 for a unanimous decision win.
“I love the crowd at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino,” said Paul Ritter. “The fans are so energetic and it motivated me to win this fight. Although I won the fight, I am unsatisfied. I want to see the tae and get back into the gym to make sure that next time I’m in the ring I am better.”
Part of the RingTV live stream, local favorite Alberto Fundora (6-0, 2 KOs) of Coachella, Calif. and Richard Romero (3-1, 3 KOs) of Commerce, Calif. really gave the fans exciting brawl when the super middleweight bout went all six rounds. Both fighters stuck it out neither giving up to the other. By round five, it was clear Fundora was the stronger fighter as a few punches stunned and shook Romero. Fundora finished the fifth and sixth rounds strong and secured a unanimous decision victory with judges scoring the fight at 59-55, 58-56 and 58-56.
“I was boxing in front of my hometown and I knew I had to perform,” said Alberto Fundora. “I trained very hard for this fight, I had a great camp and strong sparring partners because we knew Romero had a great amateur background and was professionally undefeated. Tonight I took advantage of his weaknesses and finished the fight strong.”
Hailing from Indio, Calif. Marco Magdaleno (1-0, 1 KO) made his family proud winning his first professional fight by defeating Philip Bounds (0-1) via first round knockout.
“It feels so amazing to become a professional,” said Marco Magdaleno. “I know I made my family and my hometown proud tonight. I am looking forward to the future, the sky is the limit for me.”
Melsik Baghdasaryan (3-0, 1 KO) of Glendale, Calif. defeated Diego Padilla (1-2) via majority decision 38-38 39-37 and 39-37 in their scheduled four-round welterweight fight.
“Padilla was a tougher fighter than I thought he would be,” said Melsik Baghdasaryan. “But luckily I always train very hard for each fight, I don’t let records faze me. But I knew after the first round of this fight, that I had the advantage.”
Opening up the night and the RingTV live stream, KeAndre Gibson (14-0-1, 5 KOs) of St. Louis, Missouri, kept his undefeated intact when he knocked out Thomas Howard (8-5, 4 KOs) 55 seconds into the second round.
“This fight was all mental for me,” said KeAndre Gibson. “I knew this fight was going to be at a higher weight and I didn’t know what to expect so I had to make sure I was focused and stayed on my game plan. That proved to be effective tonight and I secured a good victory.”
