AJAGBA DOMINATES GOODALL IN TAHOE!

By: Simon Ruvalcaba
Editor

Top Rank/ESPN Boxing in association with Lou Dibella and Lets Get It On Promotions broke in the new Tahoe Blue Events Center in South Shore Lake Tahoe Saturday evening with a Heavyweight Main Event in a town that has hosted Heavyweight history in the past. A loaded 11 bout, globally televised ESPN plus card excited the atmosphere.

In the 10 round Heavyweight Main Event WBC Silver Champion and 2016 Nigerian Olympian Efe Ajagba put his belt on the line as he looked to avenge an amateur loss in the Commonwealth games years back versus Australia’s Joe Goodall. The feeling out process lasted 3 rounds as both fighters tried to find openings. The bout was controlled by the long jab of Ajagba and in round 4 he added to the attack with a barrage that Goodall had no answer for. Referee Tony Weeks stopped the bout at 50 seconds into the 4th round. With the victory Ajagba now sets his sights on bigger fights four fights removed from his lone defeat and improving to 19-1 (14). Goodall who could not caitalize on his big win over Stephan Shaw falls to 10-2-1 (9).

In the Co-Main Event Fontana, CA’s Raymond Muratalla defended his NABF and WBO Global Lightweight belts against Mexico’s Diego Torres. In a battle of two heavy hitters in the scheduled ten round contest, it was the speed of Muratalla that took control of the bout early as he unloading impressive combos on Torres who looked to counter but found Muratalla to be quite elusive defensively. The pattern of the fight set in early and Torres could never find another gear to stop the momentum. Muratalla did have another gear in his bag of tricks and came out in round 7 looking to end the show, Torres survived the onslaught but was caught with a crushing Left hook at 1:45 of the 8th round.

Local area fighter from Carson City, NV Christian Avalos got the crowd jumping as he entered the ring for his 4 round Lightweight contest against Merced, CA’s Estevan Partida. Avalos started slow and seemed to give the first two rounds away before picking up the pace and outhustling Partida in round 3. With the outcome in the balance heading into the final round, both fighters gave it their all. A cut developed above the right eye of Avalos who opened up offensively toward the end of the round to finish with momentum. In a tale of two halves kind of fight, Punchline scored the bout a draw (38-38). Official scorecards read a majority decision 38-38, 39-37 and 40-36 for Christian Avalos who gets his first Professional victory to improve to 1-1-2. The tough Partida falls to 1-2-1.

On paper, the 10 round Jr. Lightweight contest of two unbeatens between East Haven, CT’s William Foster and Henry Lebron of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico looked like it was going to be the fight of the night and strategically the fight didn’t disappoint as the first five rounds went back and forth with the lengthy Foster initiating the attacks while the southpaw Lebron countered effectively. Round 6 saw Foster land a good barrage of combos midround, Lebron had some moments after he weathered the storm. Lebron bounced back to get back into the fight in round 7. It was a “How do you like it?” kind of fight. Momentum swings from round to round and the crowd anxiously awaited the decision Punchline scored it a draw (95-95). Official cards read, 95-95, 96-94 and a preposterous 99-91 for the winner by majority decision… Henry Lebron. Neither fighter’s stock drops. Lebron improves to 19-0 (10), the disappointed Foster falls to 16-1 (10).

In a scheduled 8 round Jr. Welterweight bout, Puerto Rican Omar Rosario took on Los Angeles’s Angel Rebollar. It was a workmanlike effort for Rosario who put punches together and stalked Revollar for most of the bout. Rebollar would put punches together in spurts but never threatened to shift momentum. After 8 rounds Punchline scored the bout 79-73 for Rosario as it felt like he had done enough from this scribe’s viewpoint. Official scores were reversed though as ringside judges felt that Rebollar outworked Rosario and voted unanimously for Rebollar 78-74. who improves to 8-3 (3), Rosario suffers his first defeat and is now 11-1 (3).

Robert Garcia’s latest Jr. Welterweight prospect Lindolfo Delgado scored a spectacular fourth round knockout over the tough Luis Hernandez who had been pressing the action up until getting caught. In the scheduled 8 round contest, Delgado was landing solid shots throughout, but Hernandez kept coming in the Mexican showdown. A crushing Half hook, half uppercut from Delgado ended the fight at 1:53 of round 4. Delgado is now 19-0 (14), the game Hernandez falls to 23-4 (20).

In a Heavyweight contest for the vacant Jr. NABF title. Lakeland, FL’s Brandon Moore made his Top Rank debut against Saginaw, Michigan’s Robert Simms. It was a strategic fight for three rounds as Moore stayed on his toes looking to box while the shorter Simms looked for openings. Towards the end of the fourth round Moore put some punches together, although from press row it looked like it might have been a shove, Moore got credit for a knockdown and finished the round strong after Simms got back up. Moore came out strong for the final round looking to end the show. The game Simms survived and weathered able to go the distance. Punchline scored the contest 79-72 for Moore. Official scores were 80-71 unanimously for Moore who takes home a belt and improves to 13-0 (8) while Simms falls to 12-4-1 (3).

The first of 3 Heavyweight bouts on the card saw 6′ 9″ Antonio Mireles of Des Moines, Iowa Vs. Indianapolis, Indiana’s Skylar Lacy in a scheduled 6 rounder. There was nothing initially to report in this bout of two counter punchers waiting for the other fighter to do something first. It was a tough fight to score early because you had to decide which of the two fighters did more. Those are the kinds of fights that open the door for the underdog as you could see Lacy gain confidence as each round ended. Towards the end of the fifth round Lacy scored well with a straight right but Mireles countered with a left from his Southpaw stance that likely swung the round his way. In the end it wasn’t the best matched fight and both fighters have better displays of their real talents, but tonight just wasn’t the case. After six rounds Punchline scored the bout 58-56 for Mireles. Official scores were 58-56 for Lacy but overruled by the other two judges that scored id 57-57 for a majority draw. Both fighters remain unbeaten. Mireles now 8-0-1 (7). Lacy is now 7-0-1 (5).

In a scheduled 6 round Lightweight bout, Brisbane, CA’s Charlie Sheehy continued his rise up the rankings staying unbeaten as he dominated Denver, CO’s Jesus Vasquez, JR. Much to the delight of his many fans that made the trip from the Bay Area. Displaying and working behind his solid Jab, Sheehy established himself early and often hurting Vasquez throughout the first three rounds. Vasquez hung tough but was in survival mode for the final stanzas. In the end it was the next step for Sheehy and another step up the ladder rungs of the division for what looks like a bigger and brighter future to come. It was a shutout 60-54 decision for Sheehy now 8-0 (5). The game Vasquez, JR. falls to 10-2 (2).

In a scheduled 6 round Jr. Lightweight bout upstart Gabriel Garcia from Pittsburgh, CA had to work against San Antonio, TX’s Joshua Montoya. It was a workman like effort. After six rugged rounds of aggressive body work from Garcia and the counter efforts of Montoya, Punchline scored the bout 59-55, Official scores 59-55 (twice) and 60-54 for Garcia who stays unbeaten, now 10-0 (6). Montoya goes back home 6-4-2 (0).

In the opening bout to officially break in the Events Center with Boxing, It was an 8 round Middleweight bout between Philadelphia’s Isaiah Wise and Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s Javier Martinez. A short right hook seconds in from Martinez, dropped wise and a follow up barrage saw Wise on the canvas for a second time. Martinez kept up the attack and a third knockdown ended the fight at the 2:02 mark. It was an impressive performance for Martinez who improves to 9-0-1 (3) while Wise falls to 11-3-2 (6).

Hopefully, the doors are open for future Boxing events in this once proud Boxing City. The Arena is going to be home to Tim Tebow’s Minor League Hockey team and has already hosted Pitbull, WWE and Adam Sandler. There isn’t a bad seat in the house in this well located and well-built Events Center.

About the Editor

Simon Ruvalcaba

Army Veteran and former Professional Boxer Simon Ruvalcaba started boxing at the age of ten and Had a 71 fight amateur career which featured a 139 lbs. 1998 8th U.S. Army Boxing Championship out of Camp Casey, Korea and a spot on the prestigious Army Boxing Team at Fort Hood, TX. After a journeyman pro career of 18 fights, which included sparring sessions with many champions and contenders including Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker, Simon started writing and has contributed to many publications and websites including fighthype.com, pound4pound.com, Tahoe Daily Tribune (South Lake Tahoe, CA), Nevada Appeal (Carson City, NV). He has also been the Boxing Instructor for Ken Shamrock and The Lions Den and was MMA and Bareknuckle star Paige VanZant’s first boxing coach!
Born and Raised in South Lake Tahoe, California he now resides in Sun Valley, Nevada and spends as much time as possible with his Sons Gabriel and Oscar! Beyond boxing, Simon is an all around sports fanatic and is passionate about the teams that he roots for. Simon also works as a Sportsbook Supervisor for Caesars Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe.