Diaz
proved to be too much for Sanchez who, despite a longer reach, was susceptible
to Diaz's quick shots, which caught the long-necked Puerto Rican as he pulled
back in the early part of the first round. Past the halfway mark, a three-punch
combo punctuated by a hard right hand to the head sent Sanchez down face first
to the canvas. On very unsteady legs, Sanchez managed to survive the round.
Diaz
would get caught by some good, hard shots from then on but shook them off,
frequently working Sanchez’s body in return. Clearly ahead on points into the
fifth round of the scheduled 10-rounder, Diaz staggered Sanchez badly once more
during an exchange.
Diaz
jumped in with a barrage of punches as Sanchez reeled against the ropes, unable
to properly defend himself. Referee Tom Taylor opted to stop the fight, handing
the TKO victory to Diaz at the 2:03 mark of the round.
The
co-featured bout saw skilled, hard-luck super featherweight Roger “Speedy” Gonzalez
pulling off the upset as he outboxed, stood and traded with heavier punching, local
favorite Andrew Cancio via majority decision at the end of 10 fast-paced,
grueling rounds.
Gonzalez
used his hand speed and legs very well, moving side to side, making Cancio
follow and reel off punches in bunches, particularly a pesky left cross.
Gonzalez’s left found a home all night as he stopped and pivoted the opposite
way as Cancio unsuccessfully tried to cut off the ring.
Gonzalez
sported a bruised right eye and a small knick past the third round although it
never became an issue in the fight. Cancio never stopped trying to cut off the
ring, having some success in spots during the first half of the fight. Stepping
on the gas after a left hook set up by a heavy body attack, Cancio hurt
Gonzalez in the eighth round.
Bleeding
from the nose with a bruised face and cut over his right eye, Cancio pressed on
hard to the body and head with a tiring Gonzalez managing to survive a hard
ninth round. Gonzalez recovered his legs enough to box, trade and do more than
enough to finish the 10th and final round.
After
a lengthy break, the decision for Gonzalez, 28-6 (18), was rendered with scores
of 95-95 and 96-94 (twice). Blythe, California's Cancio tasted his first pro
defeat, with his record moving to 14-2-2 (11).
In
undercard action, featherweight Manuel Robles Jr. looked solid in winning his
pro debut, sweeping the cards against Tijuana's Victor Serrano, who saw his
record drop to 0-3.
Heavyweight
Gerald Washington, 3-0 (2), dropped Terrance Perro, 1-1 (1), in the first round
of their scheduled four-rounder with a right hand. Unfortunately, that seemed to
be the highlight of Washington’s repertoire as he clinched often throughout the
bout.
Perro
worked well in spots with his jab from the second round on, bloodying Washington’s
nose. It would not be enough as Perro dropped a unanimous decision via scores
of 40-34 and 39-35 (twice).
Super
welterweight Giovanni Santillan, 5-0 (3), dropped an overmatched Juan Zuniga,
3-19-2 (1), with a debilitating left hand to the body in the second round of their scheduled four-rounder.
Santillan rode his own momentum and forced Zuniga to quit at 2:57 into the
round.
The
walkout bout of the evening saw Riverside, California's Daniel Franco, 4-0-1 (2),
drop Jesus Sandoval, 2-1-1, in the third round by a left hand to the head with
the fight stopped moments later by referee David Denkin as Sandoval found
himself under heavy artillery. Time of the stoppage was 2:51 of the third
frame.