In the inaugural card at The OC Fairgrounds ‘Hangar’ in Costa Mesa, Roy Engebrecht promotions moved it’s legendary “Battle in the Ballroom” cards out of the Irvine Marriott and into a new facility. Among the sponsors were Tecate , SC Fuels, and the litigation legal firm of Callahan and Blaine. Sellout crowd was 1,568. Some of the new features included VIP booths surrounding the general seating, as well as a big screen featuring ads, film clips, and a live feed of all fight action.
In the main event, Junior Welterweight Aris Ambriz, 15-1-1-8KO’s won an exciting eight-round decision over Huntington Park ’s Hector “Teco” Serrano 13-2-5KO’s. Serrano had a large contingency in the crowd, sporting “teco” T-shirts, and chanting his name, but it failed to get the fighter motivated. Other than rocking the Azusa native with a big right hand in the second, Serrano’s offense remained limited. Ambriz controlled the action with boxing from a distance early, then turned on the action late. In the last few rounds, Serrano’s offense was barely existent, as Ambriz pounded away. Scores were 79-73 twice, and 77-75. Convicted Artist scored 78-74.
In heavyweight action, Sunrise , FL southpaw Quatrine Hill, 4-1-1KO, scored a one-sided four round decision over Phoenix ’s Chad Davis, 2-8. Davis fought in retreat the entire four rounds, and while Hill appeared to have his foe hurt in the third and fourth rounds, Davis ’ defensive style allowed the fight to go the full distance.
In the cruiserweight co-main event. Dallas, TX Brent Urban moved to 7-3-1-5KO’s with a 2nd round KO over Los Angeles ’ Joseph Jones. Jones boxed well in round one, but was caught by a big right hand and ropped early in round two. He never seemed to gain his equilibrium, and went down from a hard body shot moments later. LThsui time, he let the referee count him out at the 2:02 mark. Jones drops to 4-4-2KO’s.
Lightweight Oscar Andrade of East L.A. scored a unanimous decision over Manuel Delcid, also fo los Angeles . Delcid tried to counter his southpaw opponent, but as the bout wore on, was frequently trapped against the ropes, eating wide left-hands. Andrade seemed tro be gunning for a KO, but never badly hurt Delcid, who falls to 5-5-1KO, while Andrade remains unbeaten at 5-0-2KO’s.
In the card’s bantamweight opener, Danny Roman had a tougher time than expected against Jensen Ramirez, earning a draw over four exciting rounds. Ramirez, 0-1-1 overwhelmed Roman with a sheer volume of punches, and his awkward style. Roman did his best work countering weith the left hook, and made many rounds difficult to score. The three judges’ scorecards reflected this, as scores of 40-36 Ramirez, 39-37 Roman, and 38-38 were read. Convicted Artist scored 39-38 for Ramirez.
In MMA action, Isaac Gutierrez of Downey moved to 5-3 with a uninamous 3-round decision over Huntington Beach ’s Carlos Garces. In a 150lb fight fought entirely in boxing and kickboxing stances until the final half of the last round, Garces was simply not busy enough. Once the fight went to the mat, Garces failed to do any signifgant damage, there as well. He drops to 5-5.
Also, MMA yielded the first knockout of the evening, when Miami ’s Ozzie Alvarez walked into a huge shot from Irvine ’s Luis Salgado. While Alvarez more than held his own, it was apparent early on that the better chin belonged to the Californian. The grappling sessions between the two 185lb-ers failed to yield a dominant fighter, and both men were sizing the other up, when the knockout blow landed. The follow up barrage was not necessary, and the referee stopped the bout. Alvarez drops to 1-2, while Salgado remains unbeaten at 2-0-1KO.
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
