Lara vs. Hurd From the Hard Rock Prelims Results Recap

Alfredo Angulo (24-7) vs. Sergio Mora (29-5-2)

(Super Middleweight Bout – 8 rounds)

The featured event of the preliminaries showcased a pair of fan favorites in former champions, Alfredo ‘El Perro’ Angulo, a fighter with many a war under his belt and, Sergio ‘The Latin Snake’ Mora ‎, the man known for winning The Contender series .

Both men brought with them a ton of fans as chants of Mora-Mora-Mora’ took over the arena and “Perro-Perro-Perro’ then wrestled away control of the atmosphere inside The Joint. Angulo also brought his patented pressure rarely letting Mora breathe for more than a few seconds. If he wasn’t smothering him along the ropes with some shots on the inside ‎and wild uppercuts he was launching straight blows. The best rounds Angulo had were the 1st and a few sprinkled in the middle, the constant onslaught at times caught Mora off guard and he was hit flush. Or, when Angulo faked high then went to the body, his liver shots had success.

Nonetheless, the equally seasoned Mora made the adjustments as he began to ‎punch then circle out to avoid return fire. His crisp jab picked up in the latter rounds and he timed Angulo coming very well, taking the bite out of El Perro’s assault. He also piveted then landed a short left that Angulo could never avoid, the athleticism of Mora was fully on display too. He jabbed and moved when needed, hit some angles, turned his man as well as switched stances in the blink of an eye really putting it all together towards the end. Angulo stayed in his face marching on but when he buried his head in his opponent’s chest he did himself a disservice coming up short by missing punches. Mora poured on the combos in the end, fought smart and picked up the points verdict.

Sergio Mora: “It was a close fight, but it was the right decision for sure.”

Alfredo Angulo: “I thought I clearly won. Mora was going backward so much and I would come forward. The problem here was the judges.”

RESULTS: ‎Sergio Mora defeats Alfredo Angulo via Split decision with scores of 77-75 Angulo and 78-74, 78-74

Emanuel Medina (14-0) vs. Saul Corral (27-11)

(Welterweight Bout – 8 Rounds)

Medina and Corral met in an action-packed 147-pound affair. To his credit, Corral kept coming forward all night long never letting up however, he did so lacking a jab to get into his man’s chest. ‎ On the other hand, Medina boxed beautifully keeping a tight guard then hitting angle after angle or popping his man in the face and head with looping right shots and hooks. Medina kept the battle at distance by landing from the outside as his man slumped over to lunge in. The Californian also connected with power shots seemingly at will from just outside range. Corral covered up before shooting something back but it was too slow and Medina was already out of the pocket to avoid any trouble.

The Los Angeles native’s angles troubled Corral even more in the second half of the fight. There, Medina jabbed away at his man then cracked him with a left hook to the body or a jab then right hook down stairs. Corral turtled up and moved forward but was getting picked off too often to even change the momentum of the fight. Medina cruised and remained in control behind clean punches from the outside successfully keeping his man at the end of his shots over the course of 24 minutes.

RESULTS: Los Angeles, California’s Emanuel Medina remains undefeated beating Saul Corral via Unanimous Decision with scores of 79-73, 80-72 , 80-72

Xavier Martinez (11-0) vs. Jairo Vargas (6-4)

Junior Lightweight Bout – 6 Rounds)

Sacramento, California’s Martinez put on a show tonight as he cruised past Virginia’s Jairo Vargas. Vargas made the mistake of keeping his chin straight in the air and head held high, rarely tucking it in which made for an easy target for Martinez. The hand speed and power were easily to his favor early as he rocked his man at close range with a solid right hook sending Vargas to the canvas with about 2 minutes into Round 1.‎ The proud Richmond fighter beat the count surviging the final few seconds left but was on very unsteady legs.

Going into Round 2 Martinez was in full control of the match, walking his man down and tagging him at will. Vargas’ corner could be heard pleading with him to, “jab and move & get out of there”‎. This was reference to Vargas throwing a 2-punch combination and then staying there for a moment before pulling away thus getting caught with counter after counter from Martinez who was now using mainly power punches. A stiff jab from Martinez snapped his foe’s head back prompting referee Jay Naydy to look soley at Vargas, eyeing his health.

Martinez marched towards him in the center of the ring unleashing a 6-7 punch combination and connecting with a massive, slapping left hook that sent his opponent unto his back on the canvas. Vargas beat the count along the red corner as Jay looked closely at him and luckily called it off to protect the fighter from himself.

RESULTS: Xavier Martinez remains unbeaten stopping Jairo Vargas via TKO at (1:22) of Round 2.

Ahmed Mahmood (7-1-1) vs. Sharone Carter (9-2)

(Featherweight Bout – 8 Rounds)

Carter and Mahmood kicked off the action from inside The Joint in the Hard Rock casino and resort in Las Vegas. For the first few rounds Carter carefully controlled distance perfectly with a stiff jab and picked his man off coming in with a sharp right hook. The solid jab and cross from Carter put his Michigan foe in a box for about 10 minutes; Carter was boxing very well. Not until late in Round 4 did Mahmood throw caution to the wind and start to pressure more as well as let his hands go. This resulted in Carter taking a more defensive stance as he shoulder rolled and sprung his upper body into action back and forth using a turtle shell defense. Mahmood came forward more and more from rounds 6 through 8, rushing in with a volley of straight shots that missed their mark as much as they got through. Carter was able to time him and counter with his over hand right in a stance and approach that woud’ve made Money Mayweather proud.

The 8th and final round was a blast as both men fought in a phone booth. They traded leather at close quarters and Mahmood put togther ‎some mean left hand-right uppercut combinations as Carter bent his knees for leverage and ripped away to his man’s body. They barely took much rest as those 3 minutes flew by with nothing but actions as both featherweight stood toe to toe to the crowd’s delight.

RESULTS: ‎ St Louis’ own, Sharone Carter defeats Ahmed Mahmood via unanimous decision with scores of 77-75, 78-74 and 79-73.