Valdez Defeats Coria Over Eight Rounds

By Ron Valderrama: Thomas Valdez (18-3-2, 7 KOs) defeated a crafty Luis Coria (9-1, 4 Kos) on Saturday night at the Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. The seesaw super featherweight battle went the entire scheduled 8 rounds. In the opening round, Coria kept the fight in the center of the ring, forcing Valdez to work for his punches. In round 2, Valdez began landing some crisp shots and defended the incoming punches thrown by Coria. Going into the later rounds the fight was close, Coria stayed busy and displayed amazing speed, but Valdez countered well. In the final round, the fight was still very close, Valdez had the edge though with his defined and on point punches. As the round was coming to an end, both fighters unloaded in a barrage of punches. The judges scored the bout 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75 in favor of Valdez. The event was presented by Raging Babe Events in association with Peltz Boxing

In the co-main event, Christopher Gonzalez (3-0-1) faced Judas Estrada (1-1-1, 1 KO) in a 4 round welterweight bout that would go the distance. This fight was pure action from the first bell. In round 2, Gonzalez was cut over his left eye, it looked bad, but his corner did a great job keeping him in the fight. The fight would go the distance and would end in a majority draw. The judges see it 38-38 X 2 and 39-37.

The Undercards: It was a short night for Super welterweight, Sebastian Fundora (11-0, 7 KOs) as he drops Jeremiah Wiggins (10-7-1, 5 KOs) with a brutal right in the first round for the knockout win. Official time was :31 of round 1.

Hometown boxer, Arturo Resendiz (2-0, 2 KOs) defeated Brandon Trujillo (0-5) by TKO in a middleweight bout that was scheduled for 4 rounds. Resendiz wasted no time, landing a left that dropped Trujillo in round 1. Surviving the count and still in round 1, Resendiz continues his assault with a barrage of punches that Trujillo couldn’t answer. Referee Rocky Burke stops the bout at 1:38 of round 1.

Edgar Medina (1-0) defeated David Damore (1-5) by unanimous decision in a 4 round heavyweight bout that would go the distance. Medina moved forward on Damore the entire fight, landing some precision punches that had Damore’s face marked up early. Damore wouldn’t fade though, he kept battling back and landed a few punches on Medina that caught his attention.

Making his pro debut, Edriech Rosa (1-0) defeated Richard Martinez (1-2, 1 KO) by TKO in a scheduled 4 round super flyweight war. Both fighters had some wild punches in the opening round. In the final round, Rosa seemed comfortable and displayed some speedy punches, one of which, caused a heavy flow of blood from the nose of Martinez. After the ring doctor was called to the ring to assess the situation, a wise Rocky Burke waved off the fight in the final round.

Emmanuel Nieves (5-0, 2 KOs) won by TKO over Jose Barrera (2-1, 1 KO) in the first round of a scheduled 4 round lightweight bout. The speed and power of Nieves was just too much for Barrera. The official time of stoppage was 1:51 or round 1.

Emmanuel Guajardo (4-0) wasted no time in the first round, dropping Daniel Garcia-Flores (0-2) for a count. Garcia-Flores would survive the round but was punished for the remainder of the round. Guajardo would continue to punish Garcia-Flores the remainder of the fight, but Garcia-Flores refused to give up, showing tremendous heart. Even in the closing moments of the fight, Garcia-Flores continued to throw punches. In the end, all three judges score the bout 40-35 in favor of Guajardo. Despite Garcia-Flores being 0-2, he has skill and had a solid chin.

Alfonso Olvera (11-5, 4 KOs) defeated Virgil Green (11-6, 4 KOs) in a 6 round welterweight battle. The two exchanged blows the entire fight, Olvera landing the better punches. In the end, the judges score the bout 60-54 X 2 and 59-55.

In an absolute war, Nicholas Rhoads (5-0, 2 KOs) defeated a tough Hamilton Ash (0-2) in a 4 round super welterweight bout. Rhoads landed a crushing blow that sent Ash to the canvas for a count in round 2. Ash beat the count and survived the round only to come out in round 3 and own it. In the end, the judges score the bout 39-36 X 2 and 40-35.

Michelle Rosado, known as “The Raging Babe,” is no stranger to promoting. When boxing in Arizona was in a slump, partly due to the SB 1070 legislative Act, and at the time, was the strictest anti-illegal immigration bill passed in the United States, Rosado went out on a limb and promoted her first show on her own in Phoenix back in 2011. Rosado quickly gained the respect in the boxing community and now works with some of the biggest names in boxing. Besides working with Peltz Boxing and Top Rank, Rosado also plays host to a radio show. Her knowledge of boxing is deep, the passion she brings and brought her where she is today.