Guilty Boxing: Friday Night Fights at The Orleans in Las Vegas

Guilty Boxing presented another Friday Night Fights to remember at The Orleans in Las Vegas, Nevada. Boxing has been said to be the theatre of the unexpected and last night was no exception as top ten ranked bantamweight Heriberto Ruiz was upset by crafty southpaw Samuel Lopez in a 10 round majority decision.

Click for larger image © Mark DeSisto

Based on some of the recent past performances of the combatants, the crowd was anticipating fireworks, but they were let down a bit by the hesitancy of the fighters to take any chances in the early rounds. Ruiz seemed to be troubled by Lopez’s southpaw stance throughout the fight, and went backwards a few steps after a Lopez flurry at the end of round two.

The action heated up in round four, as the fighters let their hands go a bit more, and Lopez suffered a minor cut in the corner of his left eye from what appeared to be an unintentional head butt. Lopez suffered another minor cut above his right eye in round six from a Ruiz punch. Neither laceration became a factor, as Lopez appeared focused throughout the fight and intent on gaining the victory. Samuel often strongly finished exchanges and landed effective punches out of clinches, in particular a straight left hand.

Lopez aggressively barreled the stronger-looking Ruiz into the ropes in round seven, with Ruiz sustaining a cut above his right eye and the wound would bleed somewhat for the remainder of the contest. Both fighters finished strongly and Lopez was rightfully rewarded the hard fought victory. Lopez improves his record to 17-3-0 (6) while Ruiz falls to 33-4-2 (15).

Click for larger image © Mark DeSisto

The undercard featured some exciting fights. Las Vegan by way of Anchorage, Alaska, welterweight Abel Perry came on to win a four round bout against previously undefeated Rene Aguaristi. Aguaristi, of Morham Hill, California, came out strong in the first round, seeming to surprise Perry with some heavy shots to take the first round. Perry quickly regained his composure however and his speed advantage, typified by excellent combination punching, became evident throughout the rest of the fight. Perry was deducted one point late in the fight for a kidney punch while Aguaristi’s back was turned, causing a measure of scoring suspense while awaiting the verdict. Perry and his corner breathed a sigh of relief as he was awarded a split decision to move to 2- 0 while Aguaristi falls to 2-1.

Click for larger image © Mark DeSisto

In a six round super lightweight bout, local fighter Dominic Chavez scored his first career stoppage with a second round technical knockout of an overmatched Anthony Delgado of Phoenix, Arizona. A wicked right uppercut from Chavez is what started the beginning of the end, flooring late replacement Delgado, who rose on shaky legs to beat the count. A final flurry in the corner prompted referee Jay Nady to stop the bout. Chavez improves to 4-0 while Delgado drops to 3-5-2.

Click for larger image © Mark DeSisto

In another six round super lightweight fight, Jose Freddy Barrera of Riverside, California was the busier man in his majority decision victory over opponent Sergio De La Torre of San Diego. De La Torre appeared to be the heavier puncher as he hurt Barrera more when he landed, particularly to the body, but his flurries were just too few and far between. Barrera seemed to want the victory more and kept his fists flying throughout the bout to earn victory and see his record to 8-0 (0). De La Torre dips to 9-6-1 (1).

Click for larger image © Mark DeSisto