Angel “Moreno” Rodriguez (11-1, 8 KOs), the hard-hitting super lightweight prospect of Pico Rivera, California, made quick work of Gabriel Gutierrez (7-14, 5 KOs) of El Paso, Texas by stopping him via second-round knockout in a MarvNation Promotions main event on Saturday evening at the Derby Room in Pomona, California. The fight headlined a card that was streamed live on FITE TV Pay-Per-View.
Rodriguez’s power was evident from the start as he sent his foe to the canvas on two occasions in the first round. Gutierrez was saved by the bell, but only to be dropped again with a knockdown that forced referee Jack Reiss to end matters at :20 of the second round.
“It feels great to come back,” said Rodriguez. “It was the perfect performance for my return, thanks to my new coach. I wasn’t looking for the knockout. I was just trying to look sharp, but the knockout came. We’ve got something big planned in September, and I can’t wait to announce it soon.”
In the co-main event, Raul Salomon (11-1, 9 KOs) of Long Beach, California defeated Geronimo Sacco (9-5-1, 1 KO) of Buenos Aires, Argentina via knockout at 1:35 of the second round. The fight was scheduled for eight rounds in the super middleweight division, but Salomon only needed two after breaking his opponent down early with vicious hooks to the body and uppercuts to the chin.
In other undercard action:
· Undefeated flyweight Christian Robles (8-0, 3 KOs) of Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico scored a six-round unanimous decision win against rugged challenger Dan Cormier (2-1) of Providence, Rhode Island. Robles won with three scores of 60-54.
· Lightweight Nolan Ticman (1-0) of Palm Springs, California made a successful pro debut against Keith Carson (0-6-1) of Pomona, California with a four-round unanimous decision win. Ticman won with three scores of 40-36.
· Avious Griffin (8-0, 7 KOs) of Chattanooga, Tennessee scored a knockout win over Daniel Perales (12-24-2, 6 KOs) of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico in a scheduled six-round welterweight fight. Griffin ended matters at :51 of the second round.
· Rising welterweight Vlad Panin (14-1, 7 KOs) of Gomel, Belarus scored an impressive knockout win at 1:48 of the second round against Hevinson Herrera (27-21-1, 21 KOs) of Barranquilla, Colombia in a bout originally slated for six.
· Ruben Islas (6-0, 5 KOs) of Rialto, California scored a knockout win over Christian Renteria (9-13, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico in a lightweight battle initially scheduled for four rounds. Islas scored two knockdowns before a third knockdown ended matters at 1:30 of the second round.
· Francisco Rodriguez (6-0-1, 5 KOs) of Jurupa Valle, California and Daniel Olea (13-9-2) of Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico fought to a four-round draw in a welterweight battle. One judge had it 58-56 for Rodriguez, while two others had it a 57-57 draw.
· Juan Sanchez (4-0, 4 KOs) of Buena Park, Mexico scored a third-round technical knockout win over Emmanuel Tennison (1-3) of Fort Worth, Texas in a scheduled four-rounder in the welterweight division. The fight was stopped at 2:47 of the aforementioned round.