ANAHEIM – Welterweight Alexis Rocha slowly broke down Jeovanis Barraza, eventually earning a knockout win in round 9. With the win, Rocha, who grew up in nearby Santa Ana, improves to 18-1, 12 knockouts.
The 24-year-old was coming off a knockout win over James Bacon in his previous fight on June 19.
Rocha was facing an opponent who had fought over weeks prior to Saturday’s fight. Barraza notched a one-sided decision win over Argentina’s Jorge Martin Garcia on October 29.
Both fighters mostly stood in the pocket from the opening bell, with the southpaw Rocha landing the more-effective punches. Barraza did not back down, connecting with a counter and a lead right hand to the head of Rocha to end round 2.
The fight also featured both fighters doing their best to keep their lead foot on the outside. Barraza, a conventional fighter, and Rocha would at times get their lead foot tangled up or would inadvertently step on one another in order to gain an advantage.
As the bout progressed, Rocha dug deep to Barraza’s body, connecting with two-punch combinations. Barraza was still game, but his punch output began to decrease with each passing round.
Sensing he was down in the fight, Barraza began initiating exchanges in round 7, finding some success. That rally was short-lived as Rocha connected with hard left hands to the stomach. Rocha also snapped Barraza’s head back twice in that round with sweeping left crosses.
Rocha had his best round in the eighth as he went on the attack, landing at will. Barraza tried to fight back, connecting with the occasional right hand to the head, but had to hold on just to get through the round.
Sensing Barraza was at the end of his tank, Rocha came out aggressively to open round 9. He continued battering Barraza, backing him up against the ropes until referee Ray Corona stopped the bout at 43 seconds
Rocha, who is the younger brother of junior featherweight contender Ronny Rios, has now won his last two bouts since suffering his only loss of his pro career at the hands of Rashidi Ellis on October 30 of last year.
Barraza, who resides in Barranquilla, Colombia and is promoted by Michael Reyes, drops to 23-2, 15 KOs. The 26-year-old had won his previous three bouts since losing to Gabriel Maestre in July 2019.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing