Arreola Destroys Mitchell, Esquivas Breaks down Marquez!
Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola set out to prove that Seth Mitchell was not on his level and that’s exactly what he did Saturday night at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio Ca.
Arreola (34-3, 30 KOs) of Riverside Ca. destroyed the former Michigan state linebacker Seth Mitchell (26-1-1, 19 KOs) and proved his point in less than three minutes.
Early in the first, Mitchell was able to land a big right hand that stopped Arreola in his tracks but moments later, Arreola landed an even bigger right that had Mitchell on shaky legs. Mitchell would eventually hit the canvas but the knockdown was ruled a slip. Arreola went for the kill and floored Mitchell a second time but he would beat the count and was allowed to continue . A flurry of shots, moments later, as Mitchell covered up against the ropes had referee Jack Reiss jumping in, halting the action and saving Mitchell from further damage.
In the co-feature, Efrain Esquivias (17-2-1, 9 KOs) put on the fight of his life and stopped veteran Rafael Marquez (41-8, 37 KOs) in the eighth round of a scheduled ten at featherweight.
After a technical first, things heated up in the second as Marquez fired off combinations and Esquivias retaliated with a couple big right hands. A reddened and swollen Esquivias came out in the fourth and pressed the action and seemed to able to hit his target with more and more ease. In the fifth and sixth, Equivias was dominating the exchanges and seemed to have Marquez right where he wanted him but in the seventh, Marquez rallied back and battered the Carson fighter against the ropes in the final seconds of the round. The end would come in the ninth when Esquivias would land a straight right hand that sent Marquez crashing to the canvas. Marquez, who had never been previously stopped, made it to his feet but as he stumbled towards the ropes, referee Raul Caiz Jr. waved it off. Efrain was ahead on two scorecards 77-75. The third judge had it a draw.
In a special feature, hometown fighter Ryan Caballero (2-0) dominated his opponent Lyonell Kelly (0-1) over four rounds to earn scores of 40-36 all around. Caballero, the younger brother of undefeated Randy Caballero, controlled the action from a distance and gave the fans a show when he battled it out on the inside.
Undefeated Ronny Rios (22-0, 10 KOs) won a dominate unanimous decision over veteran journeyman Jose Beranza (36-27-2, 28 KOs) after 8 one-sided rounds. Though Beranza worked and threw in flurries, it was Rios with the cleaner and harder shots, impressing the two judges judges who saw it a complete blow out at 80-72. One judge found a couple rounds to give Beranza as he had it 78-74. Apparently the fight was so one-sided it went from a scheduled ten round scrap to an eight rounder.
Pico Rivera’s Rico Ramos (22-3, 11 KOs) scored a stunning come from behind KO victory over previously unbeaten Carlos Velasquez (15-1, 11 KOs) in the final round. Valasquez was outworking Ramos and seemed to be well up on the cards after scoring a knockdown in the fifth. Ramos however would land a debilitating left hook in the tenth that sent Velasquez crashing to the canvas. Referee Lou Moret got to the count of 2 before realizing Velasquez was in no condition to continue. Moret would wave it off at 1:36. Velasquez’s brother had to be removed from the ring and escorted out as Velasquez laid motionless on the canvas for several minutes following the brutal KO.
Unbeaten Maurice Lee (3-0, 2 KOs) went the distance with a game Juan Carlos Sanchez (1-2) and earned a wide unanimous decision after 4 rounds. Lee dominated from the southpaw stance to earn scores of 40-36 all around.
Unbeaten prospect Joet Gonzalez (5-0, 1 KO) earned a unanimous decision victory over a scrappy David Reyes (2-4-1) after 4 rounds of action. Gonzalez pressed the action and dominated the exchanges to earn scores of 40-36, 40-36 and 39-37.
Undefeated Jr. middleweight Justin DeLoach (3-0, 1 KO) battered an over-matched Carl Hill (1-6, 1 KO) for two straight rounds and in the third, a flurry of brutal body shots had Hill hunched over in pain. Referee Jack Reiss stepped in and gave Hill a standing 8 count. He was allowed to continue but a series of unanswered punches had Reiss waving it off with seconds left in the round. Official time was 2:56.
Opening the night of action was Ricky Lopez (10-2, 4 KOs) who survived a flash knockdown in the opening round to score a unanimous decision over Pablo Batres (3-8-1) after 4 rounds. Scores were 39-37 38-37 and 38-37.