Corona (CA)- In a battle of fighters on the comeback trail, Juan Carlos Rubio defeated Raul Franco by TKO
in the tenth round. Rubio took the fight right to Franco breaking down Franco until he eventually stopped him in the 10th round.
Both fighters were coming off losses, and were looking to get their careers back on track. Franco came to the ring with former trainer of the year
Freddie Roach in his corner, but it was not enough for Franco. Both fighters came out tentatively in the first round, with Rubio landing a few good left
hooks. Rubio also used the left hook, which was his most consistent punch of the fight to his advantage in the second round.
In round three, Franco showed some offense, by
landing a few overhand rights, but Rubio flurried with
his hooks to end the round. The right hands by Franco
caused Rubio to bleed over the bridge of his nose, and
also brought on a small cut over the right eye of
Rubio. Rounds 4-6 were action packed with many solid
exchanges, Rubio landed his hooks and Franco landed his
overhand rights. Rubio seemed to outwork Franco, and
seemed to just do a little more then Franco.
In Round seven, Rubio started to make the fight
one sided. Rubio stunned Franco with a left hook in
the round, and controlled the whole round. Franco
changed his strategy in Round 8, and had his best
round of the fight. Franco started to stick and move,
instead of trading with Rubio. Franco was able to
potshot Rubio with right hands to win the round. In
Round 9, Rubio changed his strategy, as he started to
stalk Franco. Rubio negated Franco's stick and move
tactics by cornering him and launching away.
In Round 10, Rubio continued to stalk Franco, who
appeared to be tiring. In a close exchange, Rubio
caught Franco with a right uppercut on the chin which
sent Franco down to one knee. As Franco took a knee
the referee stopped the fight. It was a good
performance by Rubio who hopes this win can spur his
career upward again.
After the fight, Rubio said that Franco hit hard,
but that experiences in prior fights helped him cope
with it. He also stated that he felt strong going into
the fight and was ready for a true fight. He said he
felt he was going to knockout Franco during the fight,
and that it was just a matter of time before it
happened. When asked who he would like to fight next,
Rubio stated that he would like a to fight for a title
or have a rematch with Panchito Bojado or move down in
weight to fight Arturo Gatti. Rubio, of Guadalajara Mexico,
moved to 30-7-2 with the win and Franco of Anaheim, California fell to 22-6.
In the semi-main Event, Jose "Josesito" Lopez
looked very impressive in stopping Mauricio Borquez.
Lopez came out like a madman from the opening bell,
assaulting Borquez with combinations. Eventually,
Lopez cornered Borquez and pounded away till the
referee stopped it. Lopez forced a stoppage of the
fight at 1:46 of the first round. Lopez continues to
impress fans with his all out action style. Lopez
simply overwhelmed Borquez, never giving him a chance
to breath. Lopez of Riverside, California improved to
10-1 with the win, while Mauricio Borquez of Lakeside,
California fell to 11-12-4.
In a special heavyweight attraction, Chris "The
Nightmare" Arreola of Riverside, California scored a
first round knockout over Eddie James Mosley. Arreola
caught Mosley with a vicious left hook, which sent
Mosley down. Mosley got up and got leveled again, and
was sent stumbling into the referee. At this point the
referee stopped the fight at 59 seconds into the first
round. Arreola continues to make a name for himself
improving to 7-0 with 7 KOs. Arreola is also scheduled
to fight on the James Toney-Rydell Booker undercard in
September. Mosley of Miami, fell to 3-7 with the loss.
In other action, Danny "the Bear" Garcia won his
pro debut over Terry Smith in a Super Middleweight
bout. Garcia of Pomona, California is trained by Jack
Mosley (Shane's Dad), and won a unanimous shutout
decision over Smith of San Bernardino, California. The
other fight of the evening involved two
Jr. Welterweights making their pro debuts. Timothy Ray
Bradley of Coachella, California TKOed Francisco
"Pancho" Martinez of Pomona, California in the 2nd
round.
Thompson Boxing Promotions put on this promotion
from the Omega Products International. Their next
fight card will be September 17th at the same venue in
Friday's fight included famous cutman Chuck Bodak, the
Diaz brothers (Julio and Antonio), former world
champion Bobby Chacon, Light heavyweight Julio
Gonzalez, and Zach Padilla.
