Vargas Decisions Gasparyan In 10-Rounds At Texas Station

On the eve of the biggest match of December between 147-pound fighters, fellow welterweights Jessie Vargas and Vito Gasparyan took care of the main event honors at the Texas Station Hotel and Casino in Vegas giving fans an early Christmas gift to be grateful for. For the first half of the fight, Vargas’ main objective was a body attack as he threw multiple right and left hooks to his opponent’s mid section in hopes of slowing down Gasparyan early. As his foe reacted to the offense and watched his body, Vargas then used right uppercuts to have success up the middle. Gasparyan changed his tune from a defensive fighter to a pressure cooker with his head in Vargas’ chest for the 4th round and up however, due to the punishing assault by Vargas. The approach worked well as he had his moments, smothering his foe and landing uppercuts of his own on the inside drawing cheers from the crowd.
During a close exchange in the 8th, a Vargas punch strayed and caught Gasparyan low which resulted in a point deduction being taken. Even with the temporary shift in momentum, the undefeated fighter stepped on the gas, throwing various shots at close range to the game Gasparyan who stood his ground. An array of double hooks and combinations from Vargas really got the crowd out of their seats in support of the Vegas resident for the last round of the fight. Once the action concluded, two judges saw it (98-91) and (98-90) for Vargas who remains unbeaten to end the year. The loss drops Vito Gasparyan to (14-3-5) while the win elevates Jessie Vargas to (21-0) as he looks onward to 2013 in what he hopes will be his breakout year and shot at a major title.

Corben Page (4-4-1) vs. Oscar Valdez
(2-0)

(4 Rounds, Featherweight Bout)

Valdez made short work of Page in less than 2 rounds with use of a very powerful and accurate right hand. In the 1st round, he caught him with a right to the temple that sent Page to the canvas. In the 2nd, off of a barrage of punches, Valdez again hurt Page who was stunned and held up by the ropes, given a standing count by the referee. Valdez didn’t let him off the hook this time and quickly unloaded power shots in succession.  The corner had seen enough and waived the towel at referee Kenny Bayless requesting the stop.

Result: As a result of the corner stoppage, Oscar Valdez  wins by TKO at (2:24) of the 2nd round.

Raul Hirales (16-2-1) vs. Oscar Gonzalez (17-1)

(10 Rounds, Featherweight Bout )

A clean right hand from Hirales sent Gonzalez to the canvas early in the 1st round. From then on, both fighters had their moments before Gonzalez gradually faded in the 8th round. In that round, Hirales went to work ripping at him with 5-punch combinations, coming pretty close to finishing his man as referee Tony Weeks kept a close eye on things. For the last two rounds, Hirales continued to apply pressure behind rights hands and left hooks that had Gonzalez’ left eye almost completely closed.

Result: One judge has it (96-94), the next (95-94) and the final judge (97-92) for the winner by unanimous decision, Raul Hirales.

Elijah McCall (11-1-1) vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. (16-0)

Ruiz put on a serious display of power shots for 9 minutes as he battered McCall with left hooks and overhand rights. The left hooks landed at will as Ruiz threw them non stop and when his opponent would circle away, big overhand rights landed rocking McCalls head, testing his durable chin. In the 3rd round, Ruiz walked his man down and rattled of right hands without much resistance from his foe, referee Kenny Bayless had seen enough and stepped in to call a halt to the bout.

Result: The winner by TKO at (2:59) of the 3rd and still undefeated, Andy Ruiz jr.

Irving Garcia (17-8-3) vs. Lucky Boy Omotoso (23-0)

(10 Rounds, Welterweight Bout )

The pace started slow as both 147-pounders picked their spots carefully in the first two frames. In the 3rd round, Garcia caught his man with a great counter that sent Omotoso stumbling back, using the canvas to stay on his feet by pushing off of his glove. The referee noticed the slip and gave him a count. The two fighters continued the action but clashed heads in an exchange. The bout was stopped due to the seriousness of the headbutt.

Result: Since 4 rounds where not completed, the bout is ruled a No Contest under Nevada regulation.

Eric Watkins (7-3) vs. Trevor McCumby (8-0)

(6 Rounds, Light Heavyweight Bout)

McCumby canceled out all of Watkins’ pressure with a crisp 1-2 combination that landed in almost every round. Whether McCumby caught him bull rushing in or just on the outside from the proper range, Watkins had no answer for the clean-landing combo. Occasionally McCumby mixed in an uppercut or two to snap his opponent’s head back but the resilient Watkins marched forward round after round looking to land that game changer, but to no luck.

Result: Two judges see it (59-55) with one having it (60-54) for the winner by unanimous decision and still undefeated, Trevor McCumby.

Kenny Abril (13-5-1) vs. Dennis Laurente (40-3-4)

(8 Rounds, Welterweight Bout)

Laurente and Abril kicked off the night at Texas Station in a spirited 147-pound affair that got the crowd going. Both men came forward trading at close range from round to round.
The only knockdown came in the 3rd round when Abril connected on his opponent flush and after a slight lag in time, referee Robert Byrd gave Laurente the standing 8 count.
Both men exchanged hard left hooks and by the 4th round, swelling developed under the right eye of both fighters. The pace continued strong as the two warriors maintained a phonebooth type fight for the remainder of the bout.

Result: One judge has it (77-74) Laurente, the next (77-74) for Abril, while the final judge see it (76-75) for the winner by split decision, Kenny Abril.