Indio, Ca.– Love him or hate him, the fighting pride of Victorville has your attention. The Fantasy Springs Casino crowd witnessed yet another spectacular knockout win by “The Flash” as he outclassed Puerto Rican lightweight Jose “Wonder Boy” Lopez who took the “No Mas” route after Garcia knocked him down with a tremendous right uppercut in the second round.
In the first round, the Golden Boy prospect came out sporting the “No Boxing, No Life” gloves, cool, calm and collected as he looked for openings to land against the Puerto Rican contender. As usual, Garcia’s hand speed proved to be a major key, troubling the more-experienced Lopez early on. In the last seconds of the round, Garcia landed a series of shots which had the crowd on its feet as he nearly sent Lopez to the canvas.
The 19-year-old appeared more comfortable in the second round, making Lopez’ face a home for his crisp right hand. Overwhelmed and unable to come up with answers, Lopez kissed the canvas after Garcia unleashed a monstrous right uppercut to his chin. Seconds later, Lopez was saved by the bell… or so we thought.
After the 60-second break prior to the third round, Lopez’s cornered motioned to the referee they were choosing to stop the fight. The crowd roared once again as the referee waved off the match and Garcia celebrated in his corner. In his post-fight interview, Garcia assured he was ready for a world title shot this year.
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“I’m showing everybody that I need to put up the competition,” said Garcia. “The more I get better, the opposition has to get better. Do I think I’m ready for a world title this year? Hell yes! And I also want to say something to the Mayweather camp that keeps running their mouth. Don’t worry, you get your fights up, and I will whoop your ass anywhere, let’s do it. I ain’t intimidated by Mayweather, nobody can intimidate me.”
The co-main event featured Puerto Rican WBO Light Flyweight World Champion Angel “Tito” Acosta making his third title defense against 37-year-old Ganigan Lopez of Mexico City. Though his record is tainted by a single defeat, Acosta’s knockout record remains intact with all of his 20 victories coming via knockout.
Acosta delivered brutal punches throughout the fight which hurt Lopez, but the tough-chinned Mexican refused to touch the canvas until minute 1:55 of the eighth round. The oldest fighter in the division rated in Boxrec’s top 100, Lopez proved to be a serious opponent for the current Puerto Rican champion.
Aware of his knockout power, Acosta assured he’d be able to hang with a heavier division should he not obtain a unification bout in his current weight.
“I want to unify but I also want to get the big purses,” said Acosta. “I’ve shown that I can knock people out just like the people in the bigger divisions. I’ve had 21 fights and 20 of them have ended by knockout, so I want the big money.”
Undefeated Mexican super featherweight Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez made easy work of his Tanzanian opponent Ibrahim “King” Class defeating him by under two rounds by way of knockout.
Hernandez (28-0-3, 25KOs_ became the aggressor since the starting bell, timing his punches as he stalked Class around the ring. Hernandez dropped Class early in the second round, and though he got up, Hernandez finished him in minute 1:58 with another right-hook-left hook combination. Failing to get up after the count, the referee waved off the fight and Hernandez continued his knockout streak of 23 consecutive knockouts.
“I showed my ability in there,” said Hernandez. “This year I plan to show everyone the Mexican style we all love. I also want the world to know who Rocky Hernandez is, hopefully I can get a world title shot by the end of the year.
In the DAZN opener, undefeated Irish welterweight prospect Aaron “The Silencer” McKenna defeated Mexican prospect Loretto Olivas by way of unanimous decision 60-53 in all judges scorecards.
In the first round, the 19-year old delivered a one-two combination which sent Olivas to the canvas for the first time in his career. Tough the Sinaloa native showed persistence in his attack, McKenna capitalized on his size and reach advantage by working effectively behind his jab to remain one step ahead.
As the fight developed, McKenna worked well defensively while targetting the body of Olivas maintaining complete dominance. After six rounds of McKenna out-landing Olivas, he improved to 7-0, with 4 KOs to remain undefeated.
Valentin Romero
“I’m only 19, so it’s great fighting someone of that caliber,” McKenna told Xicana Boxing post-fight. “To get the six rounds was very important as well; even though I like to get the knockouts, it was a great experience to get the six rounds. I learned a lot.”
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