Ruben Villa Shines in Front of Hometown Fans on Saturday Night

By Boxingnews24.com

Featherweight Ruben Villa (14-0, 5 KOs) returned to his hometown for the second time in his career and delivered a thrilling, one-sided performance against the game Miguel Carrizoza (10-4, 2 KOs) Saturday night from a sold-out Storm House in Salinas, Calif.

Villa, 21, used terrific footwork to find the angles against Carrizoza in route to a sweep of the scorecards in the 8-round main event. Throughout the fight, Villa hammered Carrizoza with a stiff jab, followed by a thundering left hand. It was an outstanding display of accuracy for the southpaw in his fifth fight of the year.

“I felt great tonight,” said Villa, who is promoted by Thompson Boxing and Banner Promotions. “Everything was clicking. The guy was tough. I landed a lot of good shots and he came coming back. I’m very happy with my performance. I put on a great show for my hometown fans.”

To watch a replay of Villa’s dominant performance, please click here for our YouTube channel: Thompson Boxing TV.

Villa, who has been as active as possible since joining the professional ranks in 2016, looked as comfortable as he ever has.

“I’m gaining more and more confidence with each win,” Villa said. “I like where I’m at right now.”

In the “New Blood” co-feature, lightweight Pedro Moreno (10-0, 6 KOs) of Sacramento knocked out the durable Erick Martinez (14-14-1, 8 KOs) of Mexico in the sixth round (2:07).

The fight, which was scheduled for six rounds, featured plenty of back-and-forth exchanges with Moreno getting the best of Martinez in nearly every one of them. The third round featured the most action, with both boxers throwing and landing strong shots.

Moreno, however, landed the heavier shots throughout the fight. He varied his punches and connected to the body on a far more frequent rate than Martinez.

Junior welterweight Max Becerra (16-2-2, 8 KOs) of Vacaville, Calif. thoroughly outpointed Argentina’s Juan Ramon Solis (25-13, 9 KOs) through eight lopsided rounds.

Becerra used a cautious and methodical approach to score points. He worked from the outside by throwing his jab and following it up with power shots. Too often, however, Becerra backed off the action and remained committed to working his distance.

Napa’s Brandon Trejo (4-1, 2 KOs) picked apart the still winless Mario Franco (0-4) of Mexico and did enough work to earn a stoppage win in the fourth and final round (1:56).

Trejo, who last lost in April from the very same venue, avenged his only defeat with an aggressive attack that stymied the awkward style of Franco. In the third round, Trejo rocked Franco with steady combinations and followed up with the same pressure in the fourth, so much so, that referee Ed Collantes stopped the fight.

Bantamweight prospect Eros Correa (3-0, 2 KOs) of San Jose, Calif. came out from the start with heavy pressure against Mexico’s Neri Garcia (1-7). The Northern California fighter backed up the less skilled Garcia with jabs and overhand rights.

In the second round, Correa began to pour it on, routinely splitting the guard of the lanky Garcia. Referee Ed Collantes had seen enough and put a stop to the contest at the 2:47 mark.

Junior lightweight Arnold Dinong (2-0, 1 KO) of Hawaii opened “New Blood” with a bang by knocking out the outmatched Josefat Vazquez (5-6, 3 KOs) of Mexico in the second round.

Dinong struck pay dirt in the first by landing a combination that put Vazquez on the floor. In the second, Dinong came out thinking knockout and landed a left hook to the chin that dropped Vazquez once again. Referee Gerard White put a stop to the fight after that at the :20 mark.

“New Blood” was presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions and Banner Promotions and sponsored by Everlast.