Alfonso Gomez (24-6-2, 12 KOs) scored a 10-round unanimous decision victory over Ed Paredes (35-4-1, 23 KOs) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The bout was the main event of a card presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Fox Sports.
Despite having a five-inch reach disadvantage, Gomez successfully boxed on the outside in the early rounds, landing jabs, overhand rights, and right hooks to the body.
The 33-year-old had not fought in almost two years after losing a ten-round unanimous decision to Shawn Porter in July of 2012, but did not show signs of ring rust.
He was more active and demonstrated his will to win in every round of the fight.
Paredes, on the other hand, failed to throw combinations behind his jab which, against an elusive Gomez, made it very difficult to land on him.
At the end of the fourth round, Gomez slipped after receiving a jab from Paredes. The slip was ruled a knockdown by referee Kenny Bayless, but it was actually caused by wild right hand that Gomez missed.
In the sixth round, Gomez slipped again and the slip was once again ruled a knockdown, putting his early lead in jeopardy due to over committing with his right hand.
Both knockdowns were clearly caused by Gomez’s over-committed punches, but the slips remind us that sometimes it is necessary to take a particular situation and one’s judgment into consideration when going by the rules–this is a lesson that applies to many aspects of life.
Luckily, Gomez was high enough on the scorecards for his knockdowns to have not mattered, with the judges scoring the bout 99-92, 98-92, and 96-93 for the Jalisco, Mexico native.
In the co-main event, 21-year-old Olympian Joseph Diaz Jr. (11-0. 7 KOs) won a hard-earned 10-round unanimous decision against Ramiro Robles (12-2-1, 7 KOs) in the Super Bantamweight division.
Diaz’s punches were crisper, stronger, and faster as he was forced to work at close range for the entire fight.
Robles’ punches were much slower but he was undaunted by Diaz’s speed, walking down Diaz in every round.
Diaz, who is from El Monte, California, fought the toughest fight of his career and walked away with scores of 99-91, 99-91 and 98-92 from the ringside judges.
In the first televised bout, Diego De La Hoya (6-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Miguel Tamayo (15-9-2, 13 KOs) in the fifth round of a scheduled six-round Super Bantamweight fight.
The 21-year-old southpaw won the fourth fight of this year and looks to fill big shoes by christening himself as “The Golden Kid” after his older cousin, Oscar.
