On Friday, February 17, 2017, Roberto Manzanarez (34-1, 28 KOs) scored a fourth-round knockout victory against Gamaliel Diaz (40-16-3, 19 KOs) at the Belasco Theater in Downtown, Los Angeles, California.
The scheduled eight-round Lightweight fight headlined a three-fight telecast on Estrella T.V.
Manzanerez is a 22-year-old native of Phoenix, Arizona who looked to continue his rise in the Super Lightweight rankings after a slight setback in a TKO loss to Alejandro Barrera in 2012.
Diaz, 36, is a former Super Featherweight world titlist who has struggled to reach championship gold again after losing the WBC title in his first defense against Takashi Miura.
Unfortunately for Diaz, tonight was yet another night of disappointment as struggled to deal with the awkward southpaw style of Manzanarez.
After a few rounds in which he punched off of his back foot, Manzanrez landed a hard shot that promptly backed Diaz to the ropes.
Then, with a hard shot to the body, Diaz was down, and he did not get back up to his feet to fight.
“I am very happy with this win, and I’m glad I stopped him early,” said Manzanarez.
“I know I have to go back into the gym to work on everything, and I need to be in better form physically and mentally.
“There’s a big difference between fighting in the US and in Mexico, and fighting here was a dream come true of mine, and I hope I get more opportunities to do so,” said Manzanarez.
In the co-main event, Genaro Gamez scored a tough six-round unanimous decision victory against Alejandro Ochoa, a tough journeyman who has taken on the likes of Christian Gonzalez and has even upset one prospect in Kevin Rivers Jr.
Gamez was too much for Ochoa, landed hard shots to the body in head in each round, though he was unable to stop Ochoa.
Gamez showed problems with his defense, which will have to be corrected as he rises in the rankings.
“This was the first time going all six rounds, which was a great experience for me,” said Gamez.
“He took a lot of hard punches from me and I took a lot from him. I wanted another knock out, but considering that this is my first fight in a couple of months, I’ll take this win. I am ready for another fight soon, so you will certainly see me back in action.”
Also televised was Luis Feliciano’s six-round unanimous decision victory against Angel Rodriguez.
In what was his professional debut, Feliciano faced a tough opponent in Rodriguez, and looked impressive against a proven journeyman.
Check out the results of the entire fight here.
