Zarate vs. Esquivel Ends In A Technical Draw
Featherweight Isaac Zarate (13-3-2, 2 KOs) and veteran Christian Esquivel (29-12, 22 KOs) went less than two rounds on Friday night at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario Ca. and when all was said and done, neither fighter walked away with a victory.
Zarate, who was looking for his second straight win following a loss to Erick Ituarte in May, controlled the action in the opening round and found his range in the second. A series of shots had Esquivel hurt and seemingly on his way out. Fortunately for him, he found a way out. An unintentional clash of heads opened up a huge gash over the vets right eye leaving him unable to continue. Referee Gerry Cantu called it off at the request of the ringside doctor, ruling the fight a technical draw.
In the co-feture, Mohammed Rodriquez (11-4, 4 KOs) edged out a split decision over Cesar Villaraga (9-4-1, 4 KOs) after eight rounds in the jr. welterweight division. Rodriquez was the aggressor throughout but Villaraga boxed well and shook off a lot of Rodriquez’s bigger shots. The fight seemed up for grabs going into the final round and Villaraga looked like he sealed the deal with combination that sent Rodriquez down for the count. Despite a solid effort and a late knockdown, only one judge had Villaraga up with a score of 78-73. The deciding two judges both saw it 76-75 for Rodriquez.
On the undercard,
Unbeaten bantamweight prospect Saul Sanchez (6-0, 3 KOs) scored a first round KO over Nestor Ramos (7-7-1, 3 KOs) in a bout scheduled for 4. A brutal body shot sent Ramos to the canvas where he rolled around in agonizing pain as referee Daniel Sandoval counted him out.
Super bantamweight Daniel Guzman (2-1) stopped Jose Mora (1-5) in the second round of a scheduled four. Mora would hit the deck twice before referee Zach Young stepped in and waved it off.
In the opening bout of the night, lightweight Brandon Trejo (3-0) stopped Carlos Apodaca (0-5-1) in the third round. Trejo landed early and took all the fight out of Apodaca and by the third round, referee Gerry Cantu had seen enough, stopping the bout with Apodaca on his feet but clearly defeated.