Martin Edges Beranza in rematch!
On Friday night, Thompson Boxing returned to the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario Ca. for their first fight card of 2013. The card, “Path to Glory” saw Christopher Martin take on veteran Jose Angel Beranza, the man who dealt him his first career loss in 2011.
In the rematch, Martin (25-2-3, 8 KOs) still had trouble with Beranza’s awkward and aggressive style but did enough to avenge the loss – in the eyes of the judges. The standing-room only crowd however, saw it differently. Over the first four rounds, Martin seemed to have trouble fighting off Beranza (35-25-2, 27 KOs) but in the fifth unleashed a right hand that put Beranza down for the count. From there it was back-and-forth action with Beranza pressing forward and throwing everything he had at the San Diego fighter. Martin would fight off the attack and land the more accurate and technical punches to take the victory and claim the WBC USNBC super bantamweight strap.
When the scores of 78-73, 76-75 and 76-75 unanimously for Martin were announced, the crowd erupted with boos but later turned to cheers when the disappointed Beranza raised his hand in protest of the decision.
Artemio King Reyes after victory
In the co-featured bout of the night, Artemio “King” Reyes (19-2, 14 KOs) scored a second round KO over Rodolfo Armenta (12-10-1, 9 KOs) of Arizona. The Colton CA. fighter rocked Armenta in first round but stayed patient and finished him in the following round. Referee Raul Caiz Sr. would immediately step in and halt the action after a huge shot sent Armenta crashing to the canvas. Official time was 1:47 of the second.
Riverside’s Juan Reyes (9-1-1, 1 KO) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over a tough Hugo Ramos (3-11-2, 1 KO) of Palm Springs. Despite a game effort by Ramos -who had his moments throughout the bout, Reyes was able to walk through huge right hands to land his own combinations and earn the victory after six rounds.
Unbeaten Colombian Alex Theran (11-0, 6 KOs) scored a fourth round TKO over a tough Michael Balasi (10-1, 7 KOs) of Hawaii. Theran dominated the action from the opening bell and in the fourth, unleashed a flurry of shots that sent the Hawaiian down to one knee. A hail of unanswered punches moments later would prompt referee Wayne Hedgepeth to step in and halt the action at 2:22.
Despite a lack of offense and excess holding, Joshua Conely (5-0, 4 KOs) managed to put together enough punches to earn a split decision victory over a game but over-matched Juan Carlos Rojas (4-4, 4 KOs) after four rounds. Conley battered his opponent with huge shots, when he threw punches but allowed Rojas to press the action and control the pace. In the end one judge would see it for Rojas with a score of 39-37, however the deciding two judges would see it for the San Bernardino fighter at 39-37.
East LA’s Xavier Montelongo Jr. (2-1-1) suffered the first defeat of his career at the hands of Pedro Toledo (2-0-1) after 4 rounds. Toledo out worked Montelongo in the opening three rounds and landed thudding over-hand rights at will. Montelongo battled backed in the final round but could not overcome the deficit. All three judges saw it the same with scores of 39-37.