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LEMOORE, CALIFORNIA — Light welterweight prospect Mike Dallas Jr. scored three knockdowns in round two to halt veteran Lenin Arroyo and inch closer to a world ranking in the main event of a seven-bout card at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino on Thursday night.

Arroyo (20-14-1, 4 KOs) of Miami, Florida by way of San Jose, Costa Rica got off to an aggressive start, but the quicker and slicker Dallas did the better work in the first. Dallas (16-0-1, 6 KOs) of Bakersfield, California came out guns blazing in the second, eventually dropping Arroyo, 143, with a short right uppercut to his body and elbow. Arroyo protested the knockdown as referee Marcos Rosales gave him the standing eight count.

Dallas, 142.2, made any debate over the validity of the knockdown a moot point before round’s end. Shortly after action resumed, Dallas landed a hellacious right and left combination that downed Arroyo for the second time. Arroyo rose again, much worse for the wear, before two hard right body shots and a left put him on the canvas for the third time. With the three knockdown rule in effect in California, Rosales waved off the fight at the 1:30 mark.

“I was just waiting for him to make a mistake, and I caught him with some smooth punches,” said Dallas, describing how the knockout came together. “I used my angles and hit him with a couple good power shots.” In Dallas’ previous fight, he scored an eye-opening decision win over fellow unbeaten Lanard Lane on Showtime. Arroyo represented a new test considering his experience level and former fringe contender status. “I am stepping up every time and trying to become the new face of boxing,” said Dallas, who plans to return to the ring on October 30th in Detroit, Michigan. “I am not taking any breaks. I will be back in the gym Monday.”


2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada (9-0, 9 KOs) of East Los Angeles, California scored a unsatisfying technical stoppage over Nathan Bedwell (3-5, 2 KOs) of Jackson, Tennessee to continue his rout of the lower rungs of the super middleweight and middleweight divisions. Estrada, 164.8, landed one or two clubbing blows to the head of the clumsy Bedwell, 165.2, before inadvertently hooking him to the ground. Bedwell rolled around on the mat, wincing in pain and favoring an already bandaged right knee.

The ringside doctors were quickly summoned into the ring to check on the downed Bedwell. After very little observation, Bedwell left the ring on his own power and the fight was called off. Referee Jon Schorle ruled that the fall was caused by an accident, and when Bedwell could not continue he called the technical stoppage in Estrada’s favor. Bedwell’s corner had informed Schorle that their fighter had been battling a recurring injury to his right knee, which may have helped the referee make his decision on the verdict. Estrada, who previously hailed from nearby Hanford, apologized to the crowd for not putting on a better show.

After the fight Estrada gave his opinion on how the fight ended. “I believe that he felt my power. I believe he felt my speed and strength and he took the fast way out,” said Estrada. “He took the knee, but I don’t blame him. Who wants to be in the ring with me?”

Estrada will take a step up in class for his next bout, which takes place on November 8th at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Opposing Estrada for the ESPN2 televised bout will be the rugged Tony Hirsch (12-3-1, 6 KOs) of Oakland, California. The two had been originally pegged to meet for what would have been Estrada’s sixth pro bout in May of last year, but Hirsch suffered a torn rotator cuff muscle and had to withdraw. In three bouts since returning from injury this year, Estrada has fought for just over two minutes.


Moving down from bantamweight to super flyweight, Michael Ruiz Jr. (6-0, 3 KOs) of Fresno, California flexed his power at the lighter weight class with a brutal fourth-round knockout of Frank Gutierrez (2-8-2, 1 KO) of Highland, California. Ruiz had competed at 112-pounds during a stellar amateur career, but turned pro just under the 118-pound limit.

After Ruiz, 115.8, landed a head-snapping straight left in the early going, Gutierrez, 114.8, took a more defensive approach to the fight. Ruiz proceeded to thoroughly dominate rounds one and two, before Gutierrez provided some resistance in round three as he suddenly became offensive. However, Gutierrez’ aggression only left more openings for Ruiz to exploit. Gutierrez’ habit of holding his chin high in the air did not help his cause much either.

Gutierrez’ fleeting competitiveness was quickly halted in round four. Ruiz landed a short left inside that dropped the Highland native in the fourth. Once Gutierrez returned to the vertical position, a sweeping left ended the fight. Referee Marcos Rosales waved of the contest shortly after Gutierrez’ head bounced off the canvas. Official time of the stoppage was 2:07 of round four.


Javier Molina (4-0, 4 KOs) of Norwalk, California ended a nearly eleven-month layoff with a 39-second stoppage of journeyman Marco Antonio Arauz (3-7-2, 1 KO) of Palmdale, California. Molina, 154.8, rocked Arauz, 149.2, with the first clean punch he landed and followed up with a somewhat unnecessary flurry score the knockdown. Referee Jon Schorle called a halt to the bout without need for a count. Molina, also a 2008 U.S. Olympian, matured into a full-fledged junior middleweight as he turned 20-years-old during his time away due to a hand injury.


Super flyweight puncher Matt Villanueva (3-0, 3 KOs) of Van Nuys, California scored an emphatic second-round knockout of Christian Salgado (1-2) of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Villanueva, 114.8, controlled the action from the outset, eventually dropping Salgado, 114.4, with two short rights late in the first. Before Salgado could begin to clear the cobwebs, Villanueva ended matters with a straight right early in the second. Official time of the stoppage was 28 seconds of the round.


Jonathan Arrellano (6-0-1, 1 KO) of Ontario, California scored a unanimous four-round decision over the game but outclassed Abel Gomez (3-4, 1 KO) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Gomez, 117.4, pressed forward in the early stages of the fight, which seemed to only aid the offense of Arrellano, 118.2. The Ontario native was effective by picking his spots and landing the harder shots, as was evident by Gomez’ rapidly reddening face.

Arrellano really opened up in the third, stunning Gomez with three and four-punch combinations. To his credit, Gomez often returned fire and continued to press on. The fight looked much the same in the fourth, but ended on a good note with a two-way exchange. In the end, all three judges had the fight for Arrellano by the scores of 39-37 and 40-36 twice.


Powerfully-built super featherweight Kevin Hoskins (3-0, 3 KOs) of Moreno Valley, California scored a second-round knockout of Rene Torres (0-4-1) of Pomona, California in the opener. Hoskins, 129.8, caught Torres, 128.6, with a vicious short right at the bell to end round one. While it was not ruled an official knockdown, Torres still felt the effects and was not all the way back by the start of round two. At 58 seconds of the second, Hoskins landed a left that put the finishing touches on Torres and netted him the victory.

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.

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