‘RUTHLESS’ ROMERO DUNO CAPTURES NABO LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE WITH VICTORY AGAINST JUAN ANTONIO ‘MOZO’ RODRIGUEZ
MANNY ‘CHATO’ ROBLES III RETAINS NABF FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE AGAINST RIGOBERTO HERMOSILLO IN CO-MAIN EVENT
THURSDAY, MAY 16 AT FANTASY SPRINGS RESORT CASINO
INDIO, CALIF. (May 16, 2019): Filipino contender “Ruthless” Romero Duno (20-1, 15 KOs) of Cotabato, Philippines defeated Juan Antonio “Mozo” Rodriguez (30-8, 26 KOs) of Puebla, Mexico to capture the vacant NABO Lightweight Title via ninth-round technical split decision in the scheduled 10-round main event of the May 16 edition of the Golden Boy DAZN Thursday Night Fights at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Duno won with scores of 85-84 and 86-83, while one judge scored the fight 85-84 for Rodriguez. The fights were streamed live on RingTV.com and on Facebook Watch via the Golden Boy Fight Night Page. The series is also available on regional sports networks around the nation.
“I feel good. Thank you so much to everyone who came,” said Romero Duno. “I want to thank my opponent and his team. This was a great fight. I don’t know why, but when Mexicans and Filipinos fight, we always fight hard and strong. We fight tough. In my next fight, I would fight anyone. It all depends on my promoters.”
“The referee asked me if I could see,” said Juan Antonio Rodriguez. “I said that it was hard for me to see, so they stopped the fight. I didn’t have enough time to prepare, but that doesn’t effect what happened. The better man won tonight. After all the head-butts and low blows, I guess the better man won.”
In the co-main event, Manny “Chato” Robles III (18-0, 8 KOs) of Los Angeles, Calif. defeated Rigoberto Hermosillo (11-1-1, 8 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico via majority decision in a 10-round slugfest for the NABF Featherweight Title. Robles won with scores of 97-92 and 96-93, while one judge scored it 95-94 for Hermosillo.
“Rigoberto Hermosillo was a tough opponent,” said Manny Robles III. “I take my hat off to him. But I felt I got the victory. I landed harder shots, and I landed more throughout the fight. I was smarter in there than he was.”
Genaro “El Conde” Gamez (9-0, 6 KOs) of San Diego, Calif. beat Daniel Evangelista (20-10-2, 16 KOs) of Mexico City, Mexico in the first round of an eight-round super lightweight fight. Gamez won via knockout with time 2:43 of the aforementioned round.
“I feel happy, said Genaro Gamez. “I feel excited. I got the knockout. We don’t usually go for it but we got it. Of course I can still make 135 if there’s a championship fight. There were personal things in the past, and that’s why I was inactivate. But that’s behind me, and I’m coming back stronger.”
Carlos “The Solution” Morales (18-4-3, 7 KOs) of Los Angeles, Calif. defeated Pedro Navarrete (30-24-3, 19 KOs) of San Diego, Calif. via knockout in a scheduled eight-round lightweight bout. Morales stopped Navarrete at 2:02 of the fifth round.
Sean “Sugar Rush” Garcia (4-0, 2 KOs) of Victorville, Calif. scored a second-round technical knockout victory against Martin Cardona (26-20, 18 KOs) of Tucson, Arizona in a scheduled four-round featherweight battle. The fight was stopped at the end of the aforementioned round after Cardona refused to leave his stool to continue.
“This is great. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said Sean Garcia. “I’m ready for a promoter to take my career to the next level.”
Dihul Olguin (14-12-3 9 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico beat Tenochtitlan “T-Dog” Nava (7-2, 1 KOs) of Los Angeles, Calif. via majority decision in a six-round super featherweight fight. Olguin won with scores of 56-58 and 55-59, while one judge scored it a 57-57 draw.
“I’m proud for having scored a victory,” said Dihul Olguin. “I won this fight with a broken hand. I’m proud that I could get the win with just one hand.”
Kevin Anton (1-0, 1 KOs) of Palmdale, Calif. defeated Lashawn Alcocks (1-6) of Queens, New York via knockout in the second round of a welterweight fight originally scheduled for four rounds. Anton won with a time of :53 seconds of the aforementioned round.
“It feels amazing to make my pro debut,” said Kevin Anton. “It’s been a long time coming. We’re finally here, and we’re going to make some noise.”
