Last night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, CA, Thompson Boxing Promotions hosted their “New Blood” event with fans in attendance, a first since the beginning of the pandemic.
In the 8-round main event, lightweight slugger, Miguel “El Explosivo” Madueño (26-0, 24 KOs), defeated Jose Luis Rodriguez (25-15-1, 13 KOs), stopping him in the fifth round with a barrage of hooks to the head and body. The stoppage came after Madueño dropped him earlier in the round with the same type of punch combo. The referee ended the fight at the 2:46 mark of round five.
“I wanted to send a message to the rest of the lightweight division by stopping Rodriguez,” said Madueño. “He’s only been knocked out by a few guys, so it was very satisfying to get the victory by pounding him out of there. I’m grateful to my promoter Thompson Boxing for keeping me busy throughout this pandemic. When my name is called to fight for a world title, I’ll be more than ready, my time is coming.”
In the 8-round co-main event, two undefeated super bantamweight prospects collided, as Katsuma Akitsugi (7-0, 1 KO) and Eros Correa (10-1, 7 KOs), went to war, with Akitsugi wining a majority decision. In the early rounds, Correa was landing his over hand right, while Akitsugi was applying pressure. After an even first half of the fight, it was Akitsugi who made the adjustment, and flourished in the final rounds. Scorecards read 78-74 twice and 76-76.
“I knew Eros was going to be the toughest fight of my career, but I had confidence in myself that I would come out victorious,” stated Akitsugi. “This is the second undefeated fighter that I’ve defeated. I’m hoping with a few more fights, I’ll be able to get ranked or maybe fight for a regional title.”
In the second fight of the evening, Esteban Muñoz (5-1, 3 KOs), defeated Manuel Martinez (6-5-4, 3 KOs), by way of a first round knockout, in a super lightweight bout scheduled for 4-rounds. Muñoz landed a picture-perfect right hook to the midsection of Martinez’ body, sending him to the canvas. Martinez could not recover, and the bout was over at the 1:50 second of the opening round.
“I knew the fight was over when I landed that body shot,” said Esteban Muñoz. “There was a lot of power behind that punch and I was glad I got the knockout. I’m hoping I can get one more fight in by the end of the year, and finish 2021 off strong.”
In the opening 4-round super bantamweight bout, Lazaro Vargas of Coachella, Calif (4-0, 2 KO’s), defeated Ulises Rosales (0-5), of Tijuana MX, by way of a unanimous decision. Vargas was the aggressor throughout the fight as he landed a lot of power shots to the head and body. To Rosales credit, he withstood the pressure that Vargas was applying and held on to make it to the final bell in a spirited effort. Scorecards read 40-36 across the board.
“I’m happy that I got the win, and my opponent took a lot of punishment,” said Vargas. “I was hitting him with a lot of big shots, and he hung in there, so I give him a lot of respect for being a warrior. I got some good rounds in and now it’s back to the drawing board as I know I must improve in some areas of my game. I’m still learning and I’m getting better with each fight.”
