Undisputed Champion Network

Serhii “El Flaco” Bohachuk kept his perfect record alive after knocking out Ronald Montes in the first round on Tuesday night. The middleweight contest was the main event of a 360 Promotions “Hollywood Fight Nights” club show held at the Avalon Theater in Hollywood, California.

 

“Gracias, muchachos,” said the Ukrainian prospect to the crowd after an easy night at the office.

 

Bohachuk, 11-0 (11), got the shot he was looking for with unrelenting pressure off the jab. With his back against the ropes, Montes, 18-11 (16), was already being suffocated midway through the first round until a left hook found his chin, forcing him to fall forward on his knees for a knockdown. With referee Eddie Hernandez Sr. counting to 10, Montes, 32, stayed put until getting up far too late to warrant a continuation, and the fight was waved off at the 1:50 mark. Bohachuk, 23, didn’t have trainer Abel Sanchez in his corner for this one but there wasn’t much coaching necessary for the power-puncher, who has still stopped everyone put in front of him.

 

All of the evening’s victors spoke with UCNLive.com after their fights.

 

Middleweight prospect Jonathan Esquivel was given a tough fight by Rowdy Montgomery but got the unanimous decision (59-54 twice and 58-55) after six rounds in his first fight that went to the cards.

 

It was one of the more competitive fights of the evening and the scorecards didn’t exactly reflect the heated contest but Esquivel, 8-0 (7), highlighted his end of the argument by scoring the fight’s only knockdown. In the second, Esquivel scored it after a flurry that ended with a right hand behind the Montgomery’s ear. The 32-year-old calmly got up from his knees and signaled to his corner what exactly happened. Montgomery, 5-2-1 (4), had just landed his best punch of the fight so far and it was that moment that sparked a competitive chess match between southpaws. In the fourth, Esquivel sustained a leaking cut near the right eye after a head clash and it may’ve prompted him to switch stances on occasion throughout the remainder of the fight. That didn’t stop him from landing the various left and right hands up the middle but it did affect his defense, which kept the cut bleeding throughout. Montgomery gained confidence, as the end of the fight neared its end. Many of his uppercuts and right hands sprayed the sweat from Esquivel but the 24-year-old from Anaheim, California, never grew weary from getting hit and was always sure to land a shot in return to secure a convincing win.

 

“I don’t feel like I did the best I could but my mind was on the fight and I gave it all I could,” said Esquivel. “The headbutt was my fault because I leaned in with the left hand. I don’t think it was the toughest fight because I think I could’ve done a lot better to make it easier.”

 

Junior featherweight prospect Humberto Rubalcava earned a unanimous decision (60-53, 58-55 twice) win over Roberto Pucheta to remain undefeated.

 

Fighting out of Orange, California, Rubalcava, 9-0 (6), utilized a dominant jab that settled him into a choice fighting distance for the end of his power shots that landed flush early on. Yet in a moment on the inside, Rubalcava struck Pucheta with a perfect check left hook that scored the fight’s only knockdown. Pucheta, 10-15-1 (6), was hurt badly from the shot and was saved by the bell, once time resumed, but the Mexican proceeded to partake in a one-man toughman competition. Rubalcava didn’t exactly get lulled into the street brawl Pucheta sought but was roughed up enough to get cut on the brow by fight’s end. The instance was a first for the 23-year-old but he held his own under Pucheta’s pressure that helped provide entertaining action.

 

“This guy was a lot tougher than I thought – he can take a punch,” Rubalcava recalled after getting eight stitches. “I thought I was going to finish him. I didn’t let it get to my head because if the knockout isn’t there, I’ll take the win no matter what.”

 

Junior lightweight Adrian Corona tried to stop Gabriel Serrano over the course of four rounds but still received a near-shut-out unanimous decision (39-36 twice, 40-35) to remain unbeaten.

 

Corona, 2-0, the son of renowned California referee Ray Corona, was close to getting his first stoppage in the third round, when an overhand right hand dropped Serrano to the mat for the fight’s only knockdown. Serrano, 0-2, was forced to fight off his back foot, thanks to the aggressiveness of Corona, who found his way inside with a keen jab, despite having length and height disadvantages. Serrano wasn’t able to move or establish a jab himself but his upright positioning and chin seemingly asked for the knockout punch. It didn’t come for Corona, 18, but there were several big right hands and left hooks landed on Serrano to provide great footage for the highlight reel.

 

“I gave myself a five out of 10 but overall (Serrano)’s just a negative fighter and it was very hard to look good against a fighter like that,” Corona said after the win before admitting that he was looking for the knockout and will continue do so going forward against a fighter like Serrano again.

 

“Yes, I would do it again but with a better strategy.”

 

German cruiserweight prospect Marco Deckman delivered a tremendous body shot knockout of Jose Jesus Hurtado to get his second win as a pro. The contest was scheduled for four rounds.

 

Deckman, 2-0 (2), looked far superior just from an optical standpoint against a short and flabby opponent but the 27-year-old quickly proved there was a same disparity in boxing skill. Hurtado, 5-10 (5), was shaken by a right hand in the opening round but was sent to his knees in the second when a left hook to the liver dropped him. Once counted out, the out-of-shape 35-year-old remained on his knees gasping for air after the precise shot and Deckman reflected on how good he’s gotten, since moving to Hollywood permanently in order to train with Freddie Roach over the past year.

 

“I cant say the percentage but it’s incredibly high,” Deckman answered, when asked how much better he’s gotten since moving to the States. “I trained in Germany with a great coach and I moved over to Freddie Roach. A big thank you to him and his team. I don’t know how much percent – ten thousand?”

 

Junior welterweight prospect Devon “TG” Lee made his Hollywood debut with a bang after dropping and stopping Kenny Brown in the first round. The contest was scheduled for four rounds.

 

Lee, 6-0 (6), a 23-year-old from Sacramento, California, caught Brown with his hands down while on the inside and the right hand to the chin flattened the local man making his pro debut. Born in Watts, California, Brown, 0-1, was stiff-legged when lying on the canvas and once he rose before the count of 10, referee Sharon Sands saw him unfit to continue. It was the fourth first round knockout for Lee, whose explosive hands matched his confidence shown after the fight.

 

“Devon ‘TG’ Lee will be world champion,” Lee proclaimed after the fight. “They kept talking about Mexico – I started knocking people out in California – so I don’t know about Mexico. I was forced to go there.” Lee then hinted at the trials and tribulations of trying to land a fight for the night, saying there were about four or five potential opponents who backed out of the bout. Going forward, Lee will fight in his home state and ended the conversation with a point to prove.

 

“All I can say is they don’t expect this from me. Everybody is always talking down on me, saying that I’m living in my brother’s shadow – I don’t mind being in my brother’s shadow,” Lee said about brother Maurice, a welterweight. “It’s a good shadow to be in. We will be world champions. They need to pay attention.”

 

In the opening bout of the 360 Promotions card, Teodoro Alonso earned the first victory of his young career once receiving a shut-out unanimous decision (40-36 on all three scorecards) over Jaime Miranda, after four rounds of lightweight action.

 

Alonso, 1-2, outworked, out-landed and out-willed his Mexican foe in an action fight that was fought on the inside the entire way. Neither were willing to clinch either – making it a clean and entertaining scrap – but Alonso clearly earned the rounds with the cleanest shots of the fight and an ability to keep his work rate up. Miranda, 2-3 (2), didn’t have the conditioning to keep up with Alonso and it allowed the 20-year-old from Los Angeles to look even that much better. Alonso’s combination hooks weren’t flashy but their effectiveness may’ve been due to the never-give-up attitude coming from a fighter who lost his first two fights.

 

“It was the best feeling in the world. I wish I could live in that moment so much longer than it was,” Alonso said with emotion after getting his hand raised for the first time. “Those losses just ignited a bigger flame inside to go back to the gym and train harder. God or that win and guarantee myself a win. It was anger but controlled anger that helped fabricate that performance.”

 

 

 

You can reach Michael Baca II at mikebaca2@gmail.com and follow him at twitter.com/mikebaca2