Gucci and Chavez Draw

Gucci and Chavez Draw at Fantasy Springs

(Photos by Golden Boy Promotions)

By Lauren Rodriguez

INDIO, Ca. - Golden Boy Promotions hosted a sold-out fight card at the Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino. The stacked bout sheet included 8 fights, with 6 broadcasted on DAZN.

The main event was a 10-round bout for the WBA Continental Americas super bantamweight title. Manuel “Gucci” Flores (20-1-1, 16 KOs) of Coachella entered the ring against Jorge Chavez (14-0-1, 8 KOs) of Tijuana.

Flores began the first round with a right jab before exploding and sending Chavez into the corner from where he countered. Both fighters were quick, simultaneously throwing punches before the bell rang.

Chavez led the second round with his left hand. Flores used his right jab to keep Chavez at bay. Chavez moved around, switching up his footwork before using several right jabs to end the round.

By the third round, Chavez picked up his speed, spinning around Flores before throwing hard right and left overhand punches.

Flores inched Chavez toward a corner with jabs before the 25-year-old fired back. Chavez threw quick combinations, and Flores followed with a straight jab to the stomach.

The Tijuana-born fighter threw a quick overhand as Flores tried to find an opening.

In the fourth round, Flores amped up his speed, stunning Chavez with a quick combination. The 26-year-old began working against his opponent, who then countered with an uppercut.

Chavez was quick around the ring, circling Flores as he threw combinations. Flores threw power shots in order to slow his speedy opponent.

In the sixth round, Chavez snapped quickly with a right overhand as Flores struggled to get in. Chavez continued berating Flores as he went unanswered. Flores remained stiff when releasing his jabs while an explosive Chavez waited for the next moment to snap.

The Coachella native found a moment to stun Chavez, causing him to momentarily lose his footing. Flores began retaliating against Chavez’s combinations before Chavez started throwing left and right hands that prevented Flores from countering.

In the ninth round, Chavez began to tire out as he leaned forward; Flores focused on body shots. Chavez’s punches became slower, and Flores landed a heavy left to the body.

Flores landed a hook to the face before finishing with combinations in the final seconds of the round.

In the final round, Chavez circled the ring, but Flores landed heavy combinations that threw him off. Flores threw heavy shots to the body as Chavez struggled to stay upright and began missing shots.

The bout was scored 97-93 for Chavez and 95-95 x2, resulting in a majority draw.

“I did well enough. I'll do a rematch as soon as possible. Let's get it. I don't respect the judges. I feel like I showed aggression every round. I feel like I won every round. Manny won maybe one or two rounds tops. I was smiling and laughing the whole time. I wasn't really taking it seriously,” said Chavez.

Flores differed in opinion.

“It takes two to tango. We didn't come here to play cat and mouse. I thought we were gonna come here to fight... I was making adjustments as time went on, but it's hard to hit someone who keeps running. If he's running all night, how do you expect me to win? I was hearing the comments he was making… we can do a rematch, we can set it up… It's always a blessing to be here at home in front of the hometown crowd. If he wants to run all day that's him, but I came to fight,” said Flores.

Co Main

The co-main event of the night was a fight for the WBA Continental Americas Gold super welterweight title. Jordan Panthen of Cold Spring, NY went up against Farid “Shogun” Ngoga for 10 rounds that kept the crowd on their toes.

Shogun's lengthy arms immediately found their way to Panthen. The New Yorker quickly crouched under as he landed left uppercuts to the body. Ngoga countered while Panthen began attacking with several uppercuts to the ribs before Ngoga fired back with a right hand that sent Panthen flying before the bell rang.

In the second round, the two went blow for blow, as they exchanged combinations. It was only a matter of who would tire first.

Ngoga’s right hand led at the beginning of the 4th round before Panthen threw an explosion of punches. Ngoga remained patient as he kept his distance with his lengthy arms. While Shogun went high, Panthen went under, attacking from below.

Shogun led the 5th round as Panthen struggled to connect with heavy hitters. Ngoga continued to work quickly from every angle. Panthen threw a right overhand in the seventh round, and as Ngoga appeared to be slowing down, Panthen picked up speed, sending him to the ropes. 

The two exchanged combinations in the final seconds before the bell rang. By the 8th round, Panthen moved swifter around the ring as he hurled combinations up and down his opponent's body. Ngoga attempted to counter, but Panthen was quick to move in and out without getting caught. Despite a gash near his eye, Panthen continued into the final round. 

The bout was scored 95-95, 96-94, 97-93 in favor of Ngoga as the winner. Ngoga improves to (11-1, 6 KOs). 

Other bouts

In the super welterweight division, Coachella native Grant Flores (10-0, 8 KOs) and Louisiana native Todd Manuel (23-23-1, 7 KOs) took the ring for a scheduled 8 rounds. Flores used his left jab before using a right straight followed by an uppercut as Manuel struggled to engage with him. 

Flores countered an attempt with a left hook. The Coachella native was quick, stunning his opponent with combinations as he tried to shake it off. 

Before the second round could begin, referee Rudy Barragin determined that the fighter could not continue due to an injury to his right hand. The bout was called at 2 minutes of the 2nd round, marking a TKO victory for Flores.

In the welterweight division, Cayden Griffith (6-0, 6 KOs) took the ring against Costa Rican fighter David Ramirez (18-6, 13 KOs). 

Indio native Griffith stunned Ramirez with a left hook and right jab before the bell rang in the 1st round. In the 2nd round, Griffith kept his hands moving, using six jabs and a right overhand. Griffith made sure to attack any open space, targeting Ramirez’s body immediately after any attempt by Ramirez. In the 3rd round, Ramirez slowed down. 

In the 4th round, it was a left hand to the body that dropped Ramirez at 1:54 of the round. Griffith remains undefeated with 6 victories and 6 knockouts.

In the lightweight division, Leonardo Sanchez (9-0, 7 KOs) and Abraham Valdez (14-2, 9 KOs) took the ring for a scheduled 6-round bout. By the 4th round, Sanchez dominated as Valdez moved from corner to corner. Valdez was stunned by several left hooks that had the crowd roaring. After Valdez became unresponsive to several blows from Sanchez, referee Ray Corona brought the fight to a halt at 2:16 of the 4th round by way of knockout. Sanchez remains undefeated with 9 victories and 6 knockouts. 

The DAZN opener of the night was a middleweight division fight between Fabian Guzman (8-0, 7 KOs) and Brian Arregui (11-6, 7 KOs). The fighters went 8 rounds as they fought for victory. The bout was scored 79-73, 80-72, 78-74 in favor of Guzman. Guzman remains undefeated with 8 victories, 7 by way of knockout. 

Bryan Lua (10-0-1, 5 KOs) and Kevin Piedrahita (10-3-1, 9 KOs) went toe to toe in the lightweight division. After 8 rounds, the bout was scored 76-76, 76-76, and 78-74, resulting in a draw.

The first fight of the night was between Javier Meza (4-0, 2 KOs) and Cesar Villarraga (11-13-1, 5 KOs). The two welterweights fought 6 rounds. The bout was scored 59-54, 60-54, in favor of Meza. Meza remains undefeated.