Beltran Decisions Kim In Slugfest At Mirage

The main event from the Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas wasn’t billed as the 10-Round Thursday night war but it definitely should have. Lightweights Ji-Hoon Kim and Raymundo Beltran went to work in a closely fought, heavy leather trading fight that thrilled fans from round to round for the NABF lightweight belt. Both men saw the floor in the 1st round; Kim caught Beltran flush with a left hook bending in that dropped him and towards the end of the round, Beltran caught Kim with a left hook of his own that sent Kim to the canvas. From then on, Beltran attacked Kim using overhand rights and left hooks to the body and combinations. Eventually finding enough success to jab, then double up on the left hooks. Kim absorbed the punishment showing tremendous heart and just when it seemed like he didn’t have another haymaker left, he would throw a right hand from the hip that would land on Beltran’s face or temple, snapping his foe’s head back.

The spirited affair continued in its violent pace until finally slowing down around the 8th round. Nonetheless, Beltran looked for that big left hand while Kim patiently waited to load up on his right hand. Beltran looked the fresher of the two fighters, closing the show by rolling with Kim’s punches then asserting his offense by landing the cleaner shots before the final bell sounded. Once the judge’s score cards where read, two of them saw it (98-92) while one had it (97-94) for the winner by unanimous decision, Raymundo Beltran who retained his NABF lightweight title. The loss drops Ji-Hoon Kim to (24-8) while the successful title defense elevates Raymundo Beltran’s record to (27-6)

Leonardo Chavez (1-0) vs. Felix Verdejo (0-0)

(4 Rounds, Super Featherweights)

Verdejo popped his jab, used allot of movement and kept Chavez guessing for the majority of the 4 rounds of their featherweight tilt. Usually a defensive fighter, Verdejo opened up his bag of tricks to put on a show for his professional debut. It paid dividends as he cruised to a one sided decision once the bout ended.

Result: The judges see it (39-37) and (40-36) twice for the winner by unanimous decision, Felix Verdejo.

Jonathan Arellano (13-1-1) vs. Jessie Magdaleno (12-0)

(8 Rounds, NABO Youth Super Bantamweight Bout)

The first round was more of a feeling out process for both combatants. In the 2nd round, Magdaleno perfectly timed a right hand counter over Arrellano’s left, sending his opponent to the canvas. Later in the round, a left hook from Arellano caught Jessie flush but Magdaleno took the punch well. The 4th round saw Arrellano find a rhythm and successfully time his foe with left hands as Jessie got a little lazy bringing back his right hand. In the 6th, Magdaleno sent Arellano to the canvas following a left hook that landed off of a combination.  Jessie landed a few more clean left hands the next couple of rounds to close out strong in another solid performance.

Result: One judge sees it (80-69) while the last two both have it (80-70) for the winner who remains undefeated, Jessie Magdaleno.

Robert Osiobe (13-5-4) vs. Jose Roman (14-0-1)

(8 Rounds, Lightweight Bout)

In the 2nd match of the night Osiobe started as the aggressor early, landing on the inside. He rushed in with hard punches down the middle pressuring his opponent. Roman had his moments towards the middle of the fight sticking his jab and landing hooks from the outside. In the final round both fighters went for a power punch and landed but Roman’s had more force, sending Osiobe to the canvas. He popped back up to question the knockdown but referee Jay Nadee had already started to give him the count. The two men looked for one final blow to close out strong but neither found it as the round came to an end.

Results. One judge sees it (77-74) for Roman, while the other 2 both have it (76-75) for the winner by split decision, Robert Osiobe.

William Villanueva (10-4-1) vs. Evgeny Gradovich (14-0)

(8 Rounds, Featherweight Bout)

For the first fight of the evening Gradovich worked the body and head of his opponent using faster hands and combinations. Gradovich started landing flush on his man with right hands in the 2nd round making him stumble back at one point and snapping his head backwards with that same shot in the 3rd round. In the 4th, the two fighters traded along the ropes and a perfect counter hook to the body from Gradovich dropped Villanueva. In the 6th a clean Gradovich right hand wobbled Villanueva, making him stumble backwards along the ropes prompting the referee to give him a standing 8 count. Things went from bad to really bad for Villanueva as Gradovich stepped up the pressure and began walking him down, landing at will. Referee Robert Byrd had seen enough and jumped in to call a halt to the bout.

Result: Evgeny Gradovich remains unbeaten via TKO at (2:03) of the 7th round.

Swing Bouts:

Mike Maldonado (6-0) vs. Jesus Gutierrez (6-0-0-1)

(6 Rounds, Lightweight Bout)

Once cameras stopped rolling an even more festive atmosphere took over the Mirage for a battle between two unbeaten fighters. The two warriors exchanged good shot, but Gutierrez showed the better hand speed and movement. In the 3rd, Gutierrez caught Maldonado flush with a perfect  left hook, right hand combination.

Result: Two judges have it (59-55) while the last sees it (58-56) for the winner by unanimous decision, Jesus Gutierrez.

Jesus Garza (2-2-1) vs. Toka Kahn-Clary (2-0-0-1)

(4 Rounds, Super Featherweight Bout)

Clary used his jab and 5-inch reach advantage to negate Garza’s attempt to fight on the inside. Once the distance was closed, Clary spun him around and unloaded an uppercut or hook before sliding out of the pocket using some nice footwork.

Result: One judge sees it (39-37) while the other 2 see it (40-36) for the winner and still undefeated, Toka Kahn-Clary