Stockton loves its king.
Gabriel Flores Jr. (23 wins, 2 losses, 8 KOs) Winner by 10 round split decision Julian Rodarte (19-0-2, 12 KOs) in Stockton, California. The fight took place Saturday (March 16) at Adventist Health Arena, and his father, Gabe Flores Sr., promoted the show along with G-Squad Entertainment.
Two of the scorecards had Flores 98-92 and one scorecard had Rodarte 94-96.
The arena, best known as the home of the NBA G League team, the Stockton Kings, has welcomed another king of Flores…or at least a self-proclaimed king – nicknamed “The King of Stockton.” (as if)
It's for the WBA Lightweight Continental USA Title, and not much is read about this belt. In the case of Flores and Rodarte, neither had ever won a title in their careers and treated it like a world title fight.
Mr. Flores appeared in a playful manner, walking through the crowd in a symbolic gesture of being a man of the people, and local rap legend MBNel accompanied him.
Flores got off to a strong start, and the crowd recognized it. Rodarte roared in the third round and advanced with some success, but the pro-Flores crowd screamed for Flores victory.
Midway through the round, Rodarte's face turned red as he relentlessly moved forward and continued to land punches to the body. Flores landed a spectacular left hook that staggered Rodarte, who was unsteady on his feet.
The crowd roared like a jet engine as Flores landed the decisive blow on Rodarte, but nothing Flores did could stop Rodarte.
Rodarte may have been marked, but he kept coming forward. He was also a converted southpaw, and Flores loved interacting with him.
The two exchanged words until the final bell. Flores landed a hard left hook, Rodarte landed a body shot, and neither fighter had any intention of letting the other take over.
“I'm very proud to perform in front of my hometown and get the win,” Flores Jr. told BoxingScene. “I'm also glad that Stockton showed that it can hold a big event and keep the peace. Nothing bad happened and it was a family affair. It meant a lot to me. ”
Joint feature looked at junior welterweights fernando vargas jr.. (14-0, 13 KOs), son of Fernando Vargas Sr., continuing the Vargas dynasty.Vargas was knocked out. brad solomon (29-7, 9 KOs), a veteran with a deep amateur pedigree, met in the fourth round of a bout scheduled for six rounds. Solomon's age highlights the circumstances of this battle: 40 years old is no longer on his side. Vargas Jr., 27, was too young for Solomon. Solomon's legs were unsteady and he was unable to pull away from the young Vargas Jr.
Vargas Jr. maintained a high work rate from the opening bell. Solomon found himself in a corner all too often. In the fourth round, Vargas Jr. stumbled to a hard left hand, and although the shot didn't fall, his legs shook noticeably. After a few seconds, Solomon felt like he was on his knees of his own accord. He gets on the ground and the fight is over in his corner.
Lorenzo Powell (1-0) A team from nearby Sacramento made a successful pro debut. Jose Valenzuela Alvarado (2 wins, 13 losses, 2, 1 KO). Powell got off to a quick start, showing some experience in amateur boxing. Fighting in front of a sold-out crowd in Stockton may have affected his performance. Although Powell didn't get a KO, he won by unanimous decision. The score was 40-36 on all three cards.
The opponent's match was at super flyweight. jesse james guerrero (4 wins, 0 losses, 2 KOs) Choose second round knockout over Jose Rodriguez Montemayor (7-9, 6KO) with body shots. Guerrero is the nephew of Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, who was also in his corner. Guerrero came through from a draw nearly a year ago on a Top Rank show headlined by Jose Ramirez.
Guerrero said in a fighter interview that he fought at super flyweight because he was unable to fight at light flyweight, the weight class in which he wanted to challenge for a world title.
