Friday Night’s LA Fight Club was full of action as Diego De La Hoya (12-0, 7 KOs) took on former title contender Jesus “Estrella” Ruiz (32-7-5, 21 KOs) in a 10-round featherweight bout. Despite some hard shots landed by Ruiz, De La Hoya was able to showcase his movement, timing, speed, and power. De La Hoya moved and countered effectively, avoiding many of the hard shots thrown by Ruiz and masterfully capitalizing on the missed shots. De La Hoya won the bout via unanimous decision.
“Movement was a big part of our plan to out box him and so we conditioned so that I could move effectively throughout the fight. I felt comfortable and calm and in control throughout the whole fight and I thought I landed some good uppercuts and really hurt him. Those were some of my favorite punches to throw,” said Diego De La Hoya following the fight.
“His distance and his movement made it difficult for me to execute my game plan, which was to outbox him and then eventually land a big shot. I was never hurt throughout the fight but he just outworked me and made it difficult for me to land,” said Jesus Ruiz.
In the co-main event of the night two undefeated rising prospects, two-time Brazilian Olympian Everton Lopes (4-0, 1 KOs) and Omar Tienda (13-1, 8 KOs) of Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon, Mexico went head to head in one of the most important fights of each other’s young careers. Lopes tasted that canvas twice in the bout in the face of the hard charging Omar Tienda’s attack. Lopes recovered to fight back and show his boxing skills, moving effectively and landing solid left hands from the southpaw stance. Lopes fought hard to earn a majority decision.
“Every fight is a learning experience. I learned a lot now I need to go back and work on what I didn’t do as well as I would have liked to do. This was my first time being knocked down but I felt I stayed calm and kept my distance and that was the difference in the fight,” said Everton Lopes.
“That was a robbery. My plan was to pressure him and not give him room to think. I think I did that effectively but I was robbed anyway,” said Omar Tienda.
Opening up the LA FIGHT CLUB telecast, undefeated local favorite Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (11-0, 9 KOs) had the crowd cheering him on as he took on Luis Lizarraga Jr. (5-6-1, 2 KOs) of Merida, Mexico in a scheduled six-round lightweight fight. Gonazlez dominated the fight early on delivering a devastating left hook to Lizarraga Jr. in the second round, winning the fight by TKO.
“That left hook is something we have been working on. I felt calm and relaxed throughout the fight, which helped me to land that shot perfectly,” said Christian Gonzalez of the fight.
