Santillan Stops Rivera in 1

Thompson Boxing kicked off it’s 2015 season on Friday night at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario Ca.

In the main event, Jr. welterweight prospect Giovanni Santillan (15-0, 8 KOs) wasted no time getting his first victory of 2015, stopping Mexico’s Eduardo Rivera (9-2-2, 3 KOs) in the opening round of a scheduled 8. Santillan, of San Diego started composed but went all out in the final minute of the round and landed a barrage of shots that put Rivera down for the count. Referee Ray Corona began a ten count but decided to wave it off midway through the count. Official time was 2:28.

In the co-main event, super bantamweight prospect Isaac Zarate (9-1-1, 1 KO) earned a hard fought unanimous decision over a game Pedro Melo (12-6-2, 3 KOs) after eight rounds. Though Melo stayed active and at times controlled the pace, it was Zarate with the more accurate and effective offense. All three judges called it in favor of the San Pedro fighter with scores of 79-72 and 78-73 twice.

Also on the card,

Ukrainian Olympian Teras Shelestyuk (10-0, 7 KOs) remained unbeaten, stopping Francisco Reza (13-11, 10 KOs) in the third round of a scheduled eight. Shelestyuk attacked and dominated from the opening bell. In the third, Reza’s corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. Referee Ray Corona waved it off at 1:26 of round three.

Undefeated lightweight Cesar Villaraga (6-0, 4 KOs) destroyed Jesus Angulo (3-7, 2 KOs) in the opening round of a scheduled six. A left hook to the chin had Angulo laid out on the canvas where referee Raul Caiz Jr. immediately waved it off without a count.

Modesto’s Gilbert Mendoza (5-4, 1 KO) upset previously unbeaten Francisco Javier Lapizco (7-0, 2 KOs) after six rounds of action. Mendoza seemed to outwork Lapizco over the six rounds to earn scores of 59-55 and 58-56 twice. Lapizco worked in the opening round but slowed considerably, choosing to only fight in the final seconds of each round.

Unbeaten heavyweight LaRon Mitchell (6-0, 6 KOs) stopped Chad Davis (5-13, 1 KO) at the :44 mark of the final round. A body shot floored Davis in the third and a flurry in the fourth ended it.