By Ricardo Ibarra
Photos by Carsen Maciag

By Fightnews.com

In front of a raucous southern Oregon fight crowd, unbeaten cruiserweight Mike “White Delight” Wilson (17-0, 8 KOs) claimed his seventeenth win on Saturday night at the Jackson County Expo in his hometown of Central Point, stopping Corpus Christi, Texas’ Ernest Reyna (8-4, 4 KOs) in the main event of the White Delight Promotions card. Wilson hurt Reyna early in the first and went on to drop him twice before the referee stepped in and called it.

From the start of the bout, Wilson began working aggressively behind his jab, pushing the shorter Reyna back and slowly positioning himself to land his power shots. A minute into the round Wilson landed the first big shot of the fight, snapping Reyna back with a heavy right hand, leaving him visibly wobbly. Wilson quickly followed up with another right, sending Reyna crumbling to the canvas. Reyna made it up, but moments after the action was allowed to resume, Wilson stepped in and again landed with a debilitating right hand, putting Reyna on his back once more. Reyna managed his way to his feet, but seeing him wobble badly, referee Joel Scobie wisely made the call to stop the bout before he suffered any further damage. The end came at 2:27 of the first round.

After the bout when asked if he was looking for the knockout early, Wilson replied, “no, not really. I was just trying to measure him out. I was a little taller. I had the length and the range on him so I just wanted to keep him at the end of my jab. I noticed the right hand was there right away. I threw it and we caught him. It was one of those things, if you hurt him try to take him out of there. I tried to be patient with it. I didn’t want to jump right on him and blow my wad, but once that second right hand landed that was it. I could see it in his eyes.”

“I’m happy with the performance,” Wilson continued. “I wish we could’ve gotten a few more rounds in, but it is what it is. If you flip the script, he gets you hurt he’s going to take you out. We’ll have an early night and go get ourselves a couple beers.”

With the win Wilson, who’s maintained a busy schedule since coming back from a two year hiatus in 2015, adds his second win of the year and now looks to continue the consistent schedule he’s set for himself, fighting three times a year. “We’ve got to keep this train rolling,” said Wilson. “We’re full steam ahead right now. We just take it one shot at a time. Next fight is all up to my team, but I’m ready for whatever. If the right offer steps up, we’re definitely going to take it.”

Five fights featuring Pacific Northwest fighters filled the remainder of the card. In the five round lightweight semi-main event, Vancouver, Washington’s Victor Morales, Jr. (5-0, 2 KOs), who is quickly growing in popularity in the region, drawing a vocal cheering section whenever he fights, put his quick hands and slick footwork on display, pitching a shutout over game journeyman Corben Page (5-14-1), of Eugene, Oregon. Morales set the tempo early, working behind his jab and stepping in and out of the pocket with slick combinations. For most of the first four rounds Morales constantly outworked his opponent, landing in flurries and avoiding most of what was thrown his way. Page remained determined to land and kept moving forward, though, landing an occasional counter right hand as Morales threw his left. In the last round Page mounted a small rally early, closing the distance and unloading with looping shots. Morales countered effectively, though, and by the end of the round was unloading with accurate hooks in the center of the ring. All three judges scored the bout for the promising young fighter with scores of 50-45 all round.

Bend, Oregon’s Alberto Rivas (3-0, 1 KOs) worked his way to a four round unanimous decision win over Carlos Villanueva (2-1), of Yakima, Washington in a cruiserweight contest. Rivas took control of the range early in the fight, working out of his southpaw stance and landing lead lefts and right hooks as Villanueva tried to work his way into the pocket. The stance seemed to give the Yakima fighter trouble as he consistently left himself open for Rivas’ left hand and found himself out of position to land his right. Villanueva remained undeterred and had his moments in the first three rounds, but Rivas was busier and landed the harder shots. In the last round Villanueva pressed the fight and forced Rivas into exchanges, giving the crowd some solid spurts of action. In the end, though, Rivas did enough to take a clear-cut victory. Scores were 40-35 all around.

Medford’s own Ricky Gallegos (7-5-1, 2 KOs) entertained his hometown fans with a wild one round stoppage of Paterson, Washington’s Josh Solis (0-3). The fight quickly erupted into a back and forth slugfest as Solis rushed into the pocket and engaged, prompting Gallegos to oblige and return fire. After a few tense moments, Gallegos landed a hard left hook, backing off his aggressive opponent. Another left hook stunned Solis and moments later a barrage sent him to the matt. After the action was allowed to continue, Gallegos unloaded, battering his foe before he fell to another flurry. Gallegos would drop Solis for a third and final time after a series of body shots hurt him. Referee Joel Scobie waved if off during the count as Solis grimaced in pain, giving Gallegos the TKO victory at 2:50 of the first round. The bout was contested in the super middleweight division.

Fatlum Zhuta (4-0-1, 3 KOs) claimed a split decision win over local fighter Rafael Valencia (3-7-1, 2 KOs) in a four round super middleweight bout. Zhuta was the more accurate fighter throughout the bout, landing the right hand particularly well. Valencia made the rounds close, but his output was not as consistent as his opponent’s. Two judges agreed, scoring the bout 40-36 for Zhuta, while the third saw it for Valencia 39-37.

In the heavyweight opener, Umatilla, Oregon’s Elvis Garcia (1-0, 1 KO) scored a first round stoppage of DJ Linderman (2-3, 1 KO). Linderman, of Yreka, California, began the bout moving and working off his jab while Garcia stalked, patiently looking for an opening. That opening came quickly and Garcia jumped on it, firing off a hard overhand right to the chin, getting Linderman’s attention. Moments later Garcia let loose once again with a vicious right, sending Linderman crashing to the canvass. After the count, the Californian moved around the ring and tried avoid taking any more damaging blows, but Garcia closed in and cornered Linderman, unloading with a barrage that prompted referee Joel Scobie to step in and stop it at 1:19 of the first round, giving Garcia his first win as a pro.

The seventh “Rogue Valley Rumble” drew another large crowd as the support for boxing continues to grow in the area. “I thought it was a great turn out,” said promoter Jenifer Wilson after the show. “They always come out and support in southern Oregon.”

The entire card was taped for broadcast at a later date by the LATV network. The next “Rogue Valley Rumble” is scheduled for September 23rd.