Arreola rings Abell

Ringside by Francisco Salazar and Felipe Leon
Photos by “Big” Joe Miranda

Prior to stepping inside the ring against Joey Abell on Friday night, heavyweight contender Chris Arreola spoke highly of trainer Ronnie Shields refining his mechanics on setting down on his punches.

With a new found confidence, Arreola knows that his punches have more power and one punch could change the outcome in a fight, as was the case with Abell.

Arreola stopped Abell in the first round of a scheduled 10 round bout before an energetic sold-out crowd at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA.

The bout headlined a six-bout card, presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions.

This was Arreola’s first fight in five and a half months, when he won a 12 round unanimous decision over Manuel Quezada in Ontario, CA. Prior to the Quezada bout, Arreola had lost a 12 round majority decision to Tomasz Adamek in April.

Even prior to him losing to Vitali Klitschko in September of 2009, boxing scribes and fans were wondering if Arreola took boxing seriously because of weight issues and dedication in the gym. For over a month, Arreola had added trainer Ronnie Shields to his team, which includes Henry Ramirez, and a conditioning coach as well. The result was a slimmed down Arreola for this fight.

Abell entered the ring with a modest record, but had faced soft opposition mostly in his home state of Minnesota and in Pennsylvania. His two notable victories were over Galen Brown and Teke Oruh, who suffered his first loss to Abell and is the only fight to loss by decision to the hard-hitting Abell.

The southpaw Abell boxed from the outside from the opening round. He was able to get in a few straight left hands to the head of Arreola, but did not follow up.

As Abell was going in, Arreola threw and landed a counter right hand to the head that wobbled Abell. Arreola attempted to follow up with a barrage of punches as Abell tried to stay on his feet as he was going to a knee and arms stretched out.

Seeing that Abell looked out on his feet, referee Tony Crebs attempted to step in and stop the bout, but not quick enough for Arreola to plant a kiss on the right cheek of Abell. Crebs eventually stepped in and stopped the bout at 2:18.

Afterwards, Arreola ran up onto the ropes in a corner and acknowledged the crowd. A few fans booed the stoppage, perhaps because they thought the bout was waved off prematurely.

“I didn’t him much in the fight, so I might as well kiss him,” said Arreola after the fight to the assembled media. “I worked a lot on balance for this fight. 2010 was my worst year as a fighter. I’m going to work my ass off in 2011.”

Ronnie Shields gave high marks for his new pupil.

“We just wanted him to sit down on his punches. We really had him work on his balance. We don’t want him to lunge with his punches. Just for him to sit down on his punches.”

Arreola, from Riverside, CA, improves to 30-2, 26 KOs. Abell, from Coon Rapids, MN, falls to 27-5, 26 KOs. – F. Salazar

Lopez Wins by Dramatic KO

After having trouble deciphering the busy style of Bakersfield, CA's Mike Dallas Jr. (17-1-1, 7 KOs), local favorite Josesito Lopez (29-4, 17 KOs) was able to crack the code and hand Dallas Jr. his first loss but also strip the NABF Jr. Welterweight strap from around his waist with a seventh round KO. The contest turned in a rough and tumble affair as Dallas Jr. repeatedly clinched and complained of rabbit punches while Lopez showed no respect and pushed down his opponent a number of times through the face off.

Lopez is coming off from stopping Sergio Rivera in three quick rounds last November while Dallas Jr. easily stopped Devarise Crayton in two rounds in October of '10.

The first round was an eventful one with a tumble in the beginning seconds as Dallas Jr. held and Lopez tried to push him off. The stanza continued with Dallas Jr. trying to counter punch the combos from Lopez with a lead right and when that didn't work, he held. Near the end of the round, Lopez developed a cut on the bridge of his nose. Dallas Jr.'s holding tactics continued in the second as he tried to get on the inside of the slightly taller Lopez and smartly held when not in position. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. had to warn the Bakersfield fighter from hitting on the back of the head while holding. Lopez was having trouble getting Dallas Jr. from clinching and opted to try to punch his way out but with out much luck. Dallas Jr. seemed to beat Lopez to the punch for most of the round as he scored with a jab followed with a straight right until Lopez caught him with a lead right of his own that wobbled Dallas Jr. as the bell sounded to end the round. Josesito began as the aggressor in the third as he was busier with his punches than in the last two rounds. Dallas Jr. kept the same modus operandi as he tried to counter punch the man from Riverside and when he missed, he held to the frustration of Lopez and the crowd. Dallas Jr. tried to use movement to stay away from the stalking Lopez while both fighters threw punches at a kinetic pace.

The fight fell to a familiar script in the fourth with the more mobile Dallas Jr. circling the perimeter of the ring while stopping only to throw multi punch combos on Lopez. Lopez stalked Dallas Jr. against the ropes but Dallas Jr. was able to escape by holding and pivoting out. Lopez finally caught up to him by the middle of the fifth when he scored a hard right hook to the chin of Dallas Jr. As Dallas Jr. complained of rabbit punches he forgot the first cardinal rule of boxing, always protect yourself. As referee Caiz Jr. watched, Lopez kept attacking while Dallas Jr. held the back of his head. Lopez almost sent his opponent to the canvas as Dallas Jr.'s legs wobbled but the he was able to survive the round.

Despite the busier of the two in the sixth, Dallas Jr. seemed to slow down as Lopez able to catch up to him easier and score harder and harder punches. The result came in the second minute of the seventh when Lopez scored a looping left hook to the chin of Dallas Jr that sent him stumbling backwards to the ropes. Lopez, knowing he had his man hurt, attacked with flurries as Dallas Jr. dropped his hands prompting Raul Caiz Jr. to stop the bout. Dallas Jr. complained of an early stoppage. Official time was 1:47 of the seventh round.

"It was a tough fight, a tactical match," the new champ said immediately after the fight. "Mike Dallas is a good fighter, he is fast and skilled, that is what I trained for. I went through the storm and stayed focused." - Felipe Leon

Hoskins Goes 4 For the First Time

Undefeated j. lightweight Kevin Hoskins (4-0, 3 KOs) stayed that way but had to earn a tough split decision over awkward but game Ramon Flores (3-10-2, 3 KOs) in a four-round brawl.

Hoskins of Los Angeles, began the contest calm enough controlling the first round with a stiff jab but by the second, he forgot about the weapon and allowed Wilmington, CA's Flores to get up close and throw bunches of power punches with an over hand right landing the most. The third was much of the same but Hoskins was a slightly more effective as he utilized his right upper cut to surprise Flores. Flores was game though and did not stop throwing punches although most of the time unbalanced and not with much power. Hoskins composed enough in the last round to hurt Flores a couple of times with a straight right and more upper cuts from either fists despite Flores continuing to score with that over hand right. At the end, judges Fritz Warner and Barry Druxman scored it 39-37 for Hoskins while Max Deluca saw it 39-37 for the fan favorite Flores. - Felipe Leon

Villanueva Wins Impressively

It was all bantamweight Mat Villanueva as he dropped over matched Jose Luis Cardenas twice in the first and again in the second to win by KO at the :47 mark of the second. At the onset of the first, Villanueva of nearby Van Nuys, CA, connected with a left uppercut followed by a left hook that sent Cardenas down hard. The man from Santa Ana, CA, beat the count but only to be dropped again by a straight right hand when his back was against the ropes. The game Cardenas told referee Tony Crebs that he was ready to go after beating the count and had some moments as he scored on the inside. It only took another straight right hand to send Cardenas back to the canvas but this time referee Tony Crebs did not bother to administer a count and instead opted to waive off the contest.

With the win, Villanueva sees his record stay perfect with a 3-0, 4KOs while Cardenas drops to 5-12-1, 3 KOs. - Felipe Leon

Estrada stops overmatched Schmidt

Unbeaten super middleweight Shawn Estrada dropped Jon Schmidt three times in the first round, eventually earning the stoppage victory in a scheduled six round bout.

Estrada, a 2008 Olympian in Beijing, has Schmidt on his heels from the outset of the fight. Schmidt did little to fight back and mostly tried to cover up as Estrada let go of his hands.

Estrada dropped Schmidt first with a barrage of punches, followed by a right hand to the head. After getting up, Schmidt was met by another barrage of punches, followed by another right hand that him on the canvas a second time. The final knockdown was Estrada landing a left-right combination to the head that dropped Schmidt down for good, prompting the bout to be stopped at 1:48.

“I thought he was going to give me more because of his record, but I was able to stop him,” said Estrada after the fight.

Estrada, from East Los Angeles, CA, goes to 11-0, 10 KOs. Schmidt, from Minneapolis, MN, drops to 10-2, 6 KOs. – F.Salazar

Elegele stops Aguilar in one

In a battle of unbeaten and southpaw junior welterweights, Joseph Elegele knocked out Manuel Aguilar in the first round of a scheduled six round bout.

The stronger Elegele rained hard punches down on the shorter Aguilar, who tried to counter, but with little success. Elegele landed a well-timed right hook to the head that dropped Aguilar to the canvas. Aguilar sat on the canvas as referee Tony Crebs counted him out at 2:18.

Elegele, from Melbourne, FL, improves to 10-0, 8 KOs. Aguilar, from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, falls to 5-1, 4 KOs. – F.Salazar

Ringside notes

- Lightweight contender John Molina, heavyweight Manuel Quezada, unbeaten heavyweight Malik Scott, former world champion Wayne McCullough, unbeaten light middleweight Javier Molina, baseball great Pete Rose, and actor Holt McCallany from the show “Lights Out” took in the action from ringside.

- Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas called the action from ringside for ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights.

- Ring announcer was Sonny Franco.