By Michael Montero: Golden Boy Promotions kicked off the holiday weekend in style with another “LA Fight Club” card at the Belasco Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The card was streamed online at RingTVLive.com and aired on Spanish language channel Estrella TV. As always, it was a fun club atmosphere with plenty of local talent.
In the main event, undefeated Los Angeles bantamweight Oscar Negrete faced Mexican Jose Bustos, of Cuidad Juarez, in a bout scheduled for ten rounds. Negrete came out stalking in the early going, quickly establishing himself as the boss in the ring. Bustos hung tough but didn’t throw much; he appeared to be more focused on weathering the storm. Even though Negrete suffered a cut over the left eye in the fourth round he stayed aggressive and consistent throughout the middle rounds, and then seemed to slow down a tad late. Bustos worked his way back into the fight with some big shots in the later rounds, but it was too little too late. Negrete cruised down the stretch in a solid, workmanlike performance from both. The judges scored it 100-90 and 99-91 twice for Negrete, who improves to 15-0 (5KO) while Bustos drops to 11-7-3 (7KO).
The co-main was an eight rounder between super bantamweights. Emilio Sanchez, from nearby Pacoima, California, brought an unblemished record of 12-0 (9KO) into the ring. Mexico City native Hugo Partida came in with a respectable, experienced ledger of 20-7-1 (15KO). It was bombs away from the opening bell as both men put on a spirited performance that delighted the crowd. The more fundamentally sound Sanchez tried to control the distance behind his longer jab, while Partida pushed inside to work the body. By the middle rounds it had turned into a highly entertaining dogfight. It appeared that Partida broke his jaw in the fifth round but he bravely fought on. The judges scored it 79-71 and 78-73 twice for Sanchez, who keeps his undefeated record intact and is a prospect to keep an eye on.
In the TV opener, Miami based super middleweight prospect Niko Valdes improved to 2-0 (2KO) with a stoppage over Michael Andrews. It was target practice from the onset as Valdes, a southpaw, teed off with accurate shots from all angles. Andrews, of New Mexico, showed plenty of grit and hung tough, but was overmatched. At the end of the third round Valdes shattered his opponent’s nose and it bled heavily. In between rounds the ring doctor examined Andrews and determined he was in no condition to continue. Andrews, now 0-2, wanted to continue, but the doctor made the right call.
Earlier in the night before the card went live on Estrella TV there were amateur fights between Los Angeles and New York area law enforcement. Part of the proceeds tonight went to local charities. It was a wonderful gesture which the community eagerly supported.
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