The “Pride of Riverside” Maurico Herrera (15-1, 6 KOs) took another step  toward regaining his contender status with a one-sided unanimous decision win over rugged journeyman Hector A la Torre (16-10, 5 KOs) after eight rounds Friday night at the Omega Products international in Corona Ca.

Herrera controlled the action from the opening bell, throwing 3-4 punch combination and landing at will to the head and body of A laTorre who was clearly outclassed but made it entertaining as he made time to clown around while taking punishment. Herrera, who's punches were cleaner and crisper than I've seen in a while, looked relaxed and threw with more ease than Victor Ortiz who seemed to have a bit of trouble with A la Torre earlier this year. Herrera made it look easy as he cruised to the 80-72 decision on all three cards.

In the co-feature, Jr. welterweight Christopher Rizo (5-0-1, 3 KOs) remained unbeaten with a first round KO over  Luis Alfredo Lugo (11-13-1, 5 KOs) who has become the “tough test” for young, up and coming fighters from the Southern California area.  At 1:21 into the first round Rizo landed a left hook to the body that dropped Lugo to the canvas, leaving him unable to continue. Referee David Denkin would reach the count of ten with Lugo still on the canvas trying to catch his breathe.

On the undercard,

Unbeaten Jessie “The KO Kid” Roman (4-0, 3 KOs) was unable to live up to his nickname, taking a four round unanimous decision over an awkward Manuel Delcid (4-2, 1 KO) who continually ran in head first and held on. Despite minimal action by Roman, all three judges would see the bout the same, turning in 39-35 cards. Delcid was penalized twice in the fight for excessive holding.

Unbeaten flyweight Miguel Diaz (2-0, 1 KO) scored a first round KO over previously  unbeaten Malcolm Franklin (2-1) at the 2:52 mark. Diaz was the aggressor, seemingly looking for the KO from the opening bell. The quicker, slicker Franklin was unable to hold off Diaz as he was caught with a big right hand that sent him to the canvas for the first of two knockdowns. Franklin would beat the count on both occasions only to find himself against the ropes taking punishment on already shaky legs. Referee David Denkin would finally step in and call a halt to the action after a few more head snapping shots by Diaz.  

Jr. welterweight Jhon Ortega (1-0, 1 KO) scored a first round KO over Akeem Akinbode (1-4-1, 1 KO) at the 57 second mark of the first round. Ortega, who was in his first fight as a professional dominated from the start, landing at will and rocking Akinbode  several times before referee Ray Corona  would step in and call a halt to the beating. Akibode did not go down but could no longer effectively defend himself.  

East L.A welterweight Emanuel Medina (1-0, 1KO) was successful in his pro debut, stopping over matched John Dunham (1-8-1) at 1:57 of the first round. Dunham walked into a counter right hook that sent him face first into the canvas. Though he was able to beat the count, referee David Denkin did not allow a shaky Dunham to continue.

Quick notes: Jose Reynoso and Hector Serrano who will meet on September 17 at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario Ca. were also in attendance and joined by Josesito Lopez, off his Friday Night Fights win over Marvin Cordova Jr. Also making an appearance was Kaleisha West, Efrain Esquivias, Kazim Ouma and Julio Diaz.

It's not official until Bobby Chacon steps into the ring and gives the crowd a flurry!