Oliver McCall (52-9, 37 KOs) scored a second round KO over John Hopoate (11-3, 11 KOs) on Friday night at the Orleans Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. McCall’s son Elijah McCall (3-0) also won by a second round KO, beating Chad Davis.
On Firday Night Fights, Antwone Smith (16-1-1, 8 KOs) outpointed Richard Gutierrez (24-2-1, 14 KOs). The judges scored the fight 97-93, 96-94, 100-88 in favor of Smith. In other fights, Guillermo Rigondiaux stopped Juan Noriega (3-4) in three making his pro debut. Erislandy Lara (6-0) scored a fourth round TKO over Edwin Vasquez (22-14-2)..
RONNY RIOS AND CARLOS MOLINA WIN BIG IN SAN DIEGO, HOT PROSPECTS STAY UNDEFEATED
SAN DIEGO, CA (May 22, 2009) Southern California based prospects Ronny Rios and Carlos Molina stayed undefeated on Thursday night with sensational performances at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego.
In the opening bout of the evening, 19 year old super bantamweight Ronny Rios proved once again why he is amongst the most talked about prospects in boxing.
Squaring off against Mexican Alvaro Muro, the Santa Ana native used his fast hands to drop Muro twice in the first round and followed it up with a devastating right hook to the body which prompted the stoppage at the 2:27 mark of the second stanza.
With the win, his most impressive performance to date, Rios improved to 5-0-0 (2KO’s) while Muro fell to 6-15-0 (5KO’s).
Dominating the early rounds with outstanding body work, the 22 year old Molina battled the rugged Costa Rica native Anthony Martinez in an excellent six round lightweight bout. Although outgunned, Martinez never stopped trying to answer back the heavy handed Molina.
In the fifth and sixth rounds, Molina appeared intent on finishing Martinez but the veteran would not give in to the Commerce, California prospects’ attempts.
At the end of the six rounds, Molina was awarded a well earned unanimous decision by scores of 60-54 on all three judges score cards. With the win, Molina improved to 7-0-0 (3KO’s) while Martinez moved to 21-30-3 (9KO’s).
Said manager Frank Espinoza, “I was very happy with both performances. Muro had just gone the distance with Gary Russell so it’s impressive that Ronny was able to stop him in the second. And Carlos stayed with his game plan and won every round in his bout.”
“We’re looking to have both guys back in either late June or July.”
The ESPINOZA BOXING CLUB was started in 1991 by Los Angeles area businessman Frank Espinoza.
Espinoza, born and bred in East Los Angeles, was a huge fan of the sport and eventually went on to establish himself as one of the top managers in the world of boxing..
In 2006, Espinoza was awarded the Manager of the Year award from the World Boxing Hall of Fame and inducted into the California Boxing Hall of Fame.
Espinoza’s management style has earned him numerous accolades from several respected print and internet boxing writers. In the September 2008 issue of Ring Magazine, Espinoza was praised for his outstanding handling of the career of junior featherweight world champion and “Pound for Pound” superstar Israel “EL MAGNIFICO” Vazquez.
Along with managing Vazquez also manages a young squad of talented and promising fighters composed of Luis Ramos, Carlos Molina, Abraham Lopez, Ronny Rios, Manny “Suavecito” Roman and Jesus “Pollo” Hernandez.
Among the world champions Espinoza has managed in the past are Martin “Gallito” Castillo, Enrique Sanchez, Isidro “ Chino ” Garcia and “Mighty” Mike Anchondo.
It is the goal of the Espinoza Boxing Club to always fight for our fighter’s best interests and to maximize their potential.