By Francisco Salazar and Edgar Gonzalez at ringside
WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (38-2, 37 KOs) successfully defended his world title against previously undefeated #1 ranked contender Cristobal Arreola (27-1, 24 KOs) on Saturday night at the STAPLES Arena in Los Angeles. Klitschko was able to score effectively at a
distance against the aggressive Arreola, who mad him work very hard. The punishment was stopped after round ten.
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Heavyweight Johnathon Banks (22-1, 15 KO’s) won an eight round majority decision over Javier Mora. Banks controlled the action, although Mora did have his moments. Banks hurt Mora (22-5-1, 18 KO’s) in the fifth round, but could not finish him off. One judge scored the bout even 76-76, while the other two judges had the bout scored 79-73 and 78-74.
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Unbeaten lightweight John Molina (18-0, 14 KOs) knocked out Efren Hinojosa (30-7-1, 17 KOs) in the first round of a scheduled eight round bout. After Molina came out aggressively to start the round, Molina hurt Hinojosa with a right cross to the body. As Hinojosa was going down, Molina landed a left uppercut to the top of the head. Referee Tony Crebs counted Hinojosa out at 34 seconds.
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Featherweight Salvador Sanchez stopped Trinidad Mendoza in the third round of a scheduled six round bout. Sanchez (14-3-2, 8 KO’s) dropped Mendoza (28-25-2, 20 KO’s) with a left hook to the body in the second and repeated it again in the third. Referee Jack Reiss counted Mendoza out at 1:23. Sanchez claims to be the nephew of the late, great Mexican Hall of Famer Salvador Sanchez.
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In featherweight action, Rico Ramos remained unbeaten with a six round unanimous decision over faded former world champion Kermin Guardia (37-10, 20 KOs). Guardia held his own against the bigger Ramos, but the young prospect began to overwhelm Guardia. Ramos (13-0, 8 KOs) had Guardia hurt in the final round on numerous occasions, but Guardia was able to hold on. All judges had Ramos winning 60-54, 60-54, and 59-55.
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Heavyweight Cedric Boswell (31-1, 24 KOs) won a lackluster eight round unanimous decision over 269lb Cisse Salif (23-15, 21 KOs). No knockdowns and very little action between the two. All three judges scored the bout 80-72 in favor of Boswell.