Junior Cruzat battered Juan Jimenez Friday night, dropping him four times before the fight was stopped in round three at the Gimnasio Fiscal in his hometown of Llanquihue, Chile.
With the win, Cruzat improves to 8-0, 5 knockouts.
Fighting now as a junior lightweight, the taller Cruzat rained punches down onto Jimenez, but it was well-placed left hooks to the body that dropped Jimenez twice to the canvas in the opening round.
Jimenez was game, fighting in spurts, but Cruzat’s more accurate and harder punches began to take their toll on him. After dominating the action in round two, Cruzat continued walking Jimenez down, connecting several combinations to the head and body.
Another left hook to the body in round 3 dropped Jimenez to the canvas and, after getting up again, was dropped again by a barrage of punches to the head. Jimenez continued to engage in the center of the ring with Cruzat, who landed another barrage of punches that prompted referee David Leal to step in and stop the bout at 2:05.
Cruzat, who was fighting for the first time since defeating Mauro Barrios on February 22, is managed by Tony Tolj, who also manages Jason and Andrew Moloney. Tolj was impress with Cruzat’s performance and believes the 19-year-old has a high ceiling to develop as a pro.
“Junior put on a clinical performance,” Tolj told BoxingScene. “He finished his opponent in less than three rounds. He’s still very raw and there is room for improvement as he’s only 19-years-old. We will step up his level of competition and soon head towards regional title honors.
“We are also very pleased at Dragon Fire (Management) to put on the first boxing event back in Chile and we will (be) back again soon to showcase the talents of (flyweight) Andres Campos, (junior welterweight) Ramon Mascarena, and (unbeaten) Raynel Mederos.”
All three fighters now reside in Chile.
Jimenez, who resides in Antofagasta, Chile, falls to 8-10 1 NC, 1 KO. The 26-year-old has now lost his last five bouts.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing