On Saturday night, some impressive boxing took place in Carson, California’s Dignity Health Sports Park. Erickson “The Hammer” Lubin (20-1, 15 KOs) made a comeback after suffering his first loss the last time out by 1st Round KO in his first bid for a world title against Jermell Charlo (31-1, 15 KOs). It was a mismatch from the start this time when he took on former champion and journeyman Ishe Smith (29-10, 12 KOs). Lubin dropped Smith three times in the 1st Round while Ishe struggled to regain his balance after receiving a devastating equilibrium shot to the right ear. The fight continued beyond that round but Smith was in no condition to keep on going into Round 3. It seems as if Lubin is right back in contention in the Jr. Middleweight Division.
Mario “El Azteca” Barrios (23-0, 15 KOs) put on an amazing display of his skills en route to a 4th Round stoppage of Richard “Diamanté” Zamora (19-2, 12 KOs). Barrios threw several flurries of multiple-punch combinations in the 4th Round with a final one, which proved to be just too much for Zamora. Referee Ray Corona had seen enough and called a halt to the bout late in the round.
In the main event, a seasoned, former champion decided to try his hand at current Super Featherweight champ Gervonta Davis as a late replacement, but it just didn’t work out for him. Former Super Bantamweight Champion, Hugo Ruiz (39-4, 33 KOs), had just come off an impressive win on January 19th when he got the call to replace Abner Mares (31-3, 15 KOs) after Mares suffered a detached retina late into training camp. Gervonta Davis, who naturally outweighs Ruiz by about 15 pounds, made quick work of his new opponent. With a superb three-punch combination, Davis not only broke the spirit of his overmatched opponent but also broke Ruiz’ nose midway through Round 1. After what this reporter can only imagine were stars being seen by Ruiz, he went down on one knee to stop the onslaught and collect himself. When referee, Jack Rees, asked Ruiz if he would like to continue after Hugo stood back up, he was never answered. With that – and with no complaint on Ruiz’ part – the fight was waived off. So, Gervonta Davis now moves to 21-0 (20 KOs), which is a pretty impressive KO record, especially for a Jr. Lightweight!
-Mike Feinberg
TFN Reporter
SHOWTIME VIDEO OF THE KNOCK DOWN
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