Photo by Tristan Belisimo/Golden Boy Promotions
On Friday, April 1, 2016, Manuel Avila (20-0, 8 KOs) outboxed veteran Rene Alvarado (23-7, 16 KOs) en route to a unanimous decision victory at the Belasco Theater in Downtown, Los Angeles, California.
The 12-round fight headlined a night of Golden Boy action that was televised on Estrella TV and live streamed via RingTVLive.com in the U.S.
Avila, a resident of Fairfield, California, used his jab, his footwork and his counter-punching abilities to outbox the always-tough Rene Alvarado.
Alvarado, a native of Nicaragua, came forward and landed the occasional power shot, but it was not enough to make any significant change in the fight.
Avila won with scores of 97-93, 100-90 and 97-93.
“I felt that the fight went in different stages in which he would win or I would win,” said a modest Avila.
“I know I needed to work on my inside game and stick to the game plan. I’m excited to get back in the gym and hopefully 2016 will bring more action inside the ring for me,” said Avila.
“I felt that this decision was fair,” said Alvarado.
“We are obviously in his house, but I felt that throughout the fight it was a very close match. I’m excited to go back to Nicaragua, and work on my technique. Hopefully, if given the opportunity I will come back and fight in Los Angeles,” said Alvarado.
Gilberto Gonzalez stops Luis Arceo on #LAFightClub pic.twitter.com/6y9neEn7Iq
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) April 2, 2016
In the co-main event, Gilberto Gonzalez Gilberto Gonzalez (25-3, 21 KOs) fought for a tough five rounds with Luis “El Vampiro” Arceo (28-14-4, 19 KOs) before stopping his opponent in sixth round of a scheduled 10-round Super Lightweight fight.
The battle featured two Mexican-born fighters who fought at close range for most of the fight, though the upset-minded Arceo boxed calmly for the entire fight and landed good combinations on Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, who was bloodied from punches beginning in Round 1, made a few adjustments in the fight: switching to southpaw and becoming more aggressive.
Indeed, it was a left hand from the southpaw position that dropped Arceo in Round 6, forcing Arceo’s corner to stop the fight immediately.
“I knew I was of him the entire fight, however there were moments in which I felt like he had me,” said Gonzalez.
“It’s my first fight of the year and I feel some ring rust, so my timing off at times. Fortunately, I was able to break free in those moments and was able to land the punches that gave me the victory,” said Gonzalez.
“I am looking forward to this year and hopefully a world title will be in my midst soon.”
Photo by Tristan Belisimo/Golden Boy Promotions
In the opening fight of the telecast, Marquis Taylor (4-1) scored an upset, six-round split-decision victory against Oscar Torres (8-1, 4 KOs).
In a battle between two Welterweights, Torres could not deal with Taylor’s awkward style and was hit with the cleaner punches throughout the fight.
The judges scored the fight 58-56 for Torres, while two judges scored it 59-55 and 59-for Taylor.
“Honestly, this is one of my biggest wins. I am so thankful, and only God could have made this happen. After my loss in Vegas, I was willing to take any fight offered to me, knowing that even meant going into enemy territory,” said Taylor.
