Uppercut Magazine.com - Canelo KOs Gomez

By Wendy Rodriguez

LOS ANGELES-Canelo Alvarez (38-0-1 28 KO’s) of Guadalajara, Mexico, retained the WBC title as he stops Alfonso Gomez (23-5-2 12 KO’s) of Guadalajara, Mexico in the sixth round on Saturday at the Staples Center.

Gomez came in using quick body movement, but he was not able to get in to reach to land his shots. Towards the end of the first round, Canelo landed a left hook that sent Gomez to the canvas.  Gomez quickly got up to show he was not hurt.

Canelo moved around and threw only a few punches. Gomez was able to get in closer and land a few shots to the head and body. Canelo continued to pick his punches. He was not fighting as he normally does.

When the fifth round came and Canelo finally let go and landed right uppercuts and straight punch combos. Gomez was hurt by a hard right uppercut. He wobbled all the way to the corner and Canelo unleashed his power shots. Gomez covered up and leaned in to clinch, but the referee stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:36 of the sixth round. Gomez signaled to show that he could of continued, and maybe he could, but after Canelo let go of his power, it would of wound up being stopped.

In the super welterweight division, Hugo Centeno (9-0 7 KO’s) of Oxnard, Ca. defeated Alfredo Rivera (1-9) of Los Angeles CA.  They both came to the center of the ring. Centeno’s first punch was a left hook that dropped Rivera. Rivera stood up and continued to fight. He was not able to get in and land his combinations. Centeno used his long reach and was able to land left hooks and straight punches. Rivera seemed to be frustrated and began to throw wild punches. That was the only way he was able to catch Centeno.  Wild overhand right were landing but Centeno kept his composure and continued to move and push him out to land his own combinations. Two judges scored the fight 39-36 and the third 40-35 declaring Centeno the winner by unanimous decision.

In the middleweight division Ray Rivera (1-0) of Los Angeles stopped Rudy Gonzalez (0-1) of Bakersfield, Ca. at 1:26 of the first round.  Gonzalez had a very wide stance. He seemed very green as he moved around and threw his punches. Rivera looked more experienced compared to Gonzalez. They were both making their pro debut.  Gonzalez was caught with a straight that ended the fight, declaring Rivera the winner by KO.

In the welterweight division Antonio Orozco (12-0 8 KO’s) of San Diego CA defeated Fernando Rodriguez (6-6 3 KO’s) of Dallas Texas with a unanimous decision. Orozco landed left uppercuts to the body followed by an uppercut up the middle. He dominated the fight with his left hooks, right uppercut combinations. All judges scored the fight 60-54 for Orozco.

In the featherweight division Mikayl Arreola (18-0 10 KO’s) of Guadalajara remained undefeated after scoring 58-55 on two score cards and 59-56 with a unanimous decision over Juan Sandoval (5-7-1 3 KO’s) of San Bernardino, Ca.