It wasn’t long ago that Mike Dallas Jr. was fighting on ESPN “Friday Night Fights” as an undefeated young prospect. After two consecutive losses, with his back against the ropes, the 26-year-old from Bakersfield showcased a masterful performance against Miguel Gonzalez (20-3, 15 KOs) of Cleveland, OH.
Despite a cut above his left eye that was opened up by an accidental clash of heads in the opening rounds, Dallas displayed great foot and hand speed and landed several quick one-two combos on his way to a unanimous decision victory with scorecards showing 100-90 (twice) and 100-89.
Dallas, who has been training under the watchful eye of the Boxing Writers Association of Americas 2011 Trainer of the Year, Virgil Hunter, improves his record to 18-2-1, with 7 wins coming by knockout.
The show was promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with Showcase Promotions and marked the first ever boxing event held at University of Texas at Arlington’s brand new state of the art 6,200 seat College Park Center, which opened its doors this past December.
In the opening bout of the ESPN “Friday Night Fights” telecast, 26-year-old former Olympian, Shawn Estrada entered the ring 15 pounds heavier than the 32-year-old Terrance Woods (9-4, 6 KOs). Despite his physical conditioning, and his return to action following a knee injury suffered in his last fight, Estrada proved to be a much stronger and more technical boxer on this night. At the end of the 8-round showdown Estrada had nearly shut his opponent out on the score cards (80-72, 80-72 & 78-74).
Estrada hurt Woods toward the end of round 2, and though Woods survived the attack, Shawn would continue to land heavy punches for the duration of the 8-round bout. The 8-round fight marks the first time the undefeated Estrada has let a fight travel past round 6. The unanimous decision victory for Estrada (14-0, 12 KOs) marks only the second time he has allowed a fight to go to the judges.
All Photos by Stacey Verbeek
