COMMERCE, Calif. – Omar Trinidad has established himself as a contender at 126 pounds.
Trinidad boxed out Argentina’s Hector Sosa en route to a unanimous decision in front of a partisan and sellout crowd at the Commerce Casino on Saturday. Scores were 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109 for Los Angeles’ Trinidad.
The shorter Sosa was the aggressor from the opening bell, trying to walk down Trinidad and landing hooks and crosses. A series of right crosses connected to the head of Trinidad to end the round.
Midway through round two, a left hook to the head stunned Trinidad. Moments later, Trinidad landed a left hook of his own, dropping Sosa flat on the canvas. Sosa was able to beat the count and continued to press the action.
Sosa found some success in the fourth round, landing punches behind a consistent jab. Both stood in the pocket throughout the sixth round and traded combinations that gave Trinidad the upper hand.
By round nine, Sosa looked tired as he lost steam and efficiency on his punches. He also suffered a cut over his left eye, which formed blood down the side of his face.
Feeling like he wasn’t on the scorecards, Sosa threw jabs and crosses, but rarely was he able to connect with anything even to the head. Trinidad maintained a disciplined game plan that saw him fight from distance, use a jab and counter with right hands to the head.
Saturday night was a good learning experience for Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 knockouts), who went twelve rounds for the first time.
Sosa (17-3, 9 KOs) has been the most skilled fighter he has faced thus far. The win over Sosa also earned a no. 2 ranking secured by the IBF.
In his previous fight on July 26, Trinidad knocked out Viktor Slavinskyi in the 10th round. The 28-year-old Trinidad is promoted by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions.
In the co-feature, flyweight Daniel Barrera (8-0-1, 4 KOs) of Eastvale, Calif. defeated Tijuana’s Angel Meza Morales (8-2-3, 6 KOs) by unanimous decision. The scores were 77-75, 77-75 and 78-74 for Barrera.
Midway through round three, the taller Barrera was momentarily stunned by a punch to the head. Ensenada’s Morales tried to follow up, but Barrera was ring-savvy enough to clinch or fight from a distance.
Barrera was at his best creating space during the second half of the fight. He was able to box Morales out, keep him at bay with a consistent jab and follow it up with straight rights or hooks to the head or body.
Both fighters had their moments during the final round. Barrera started strong, but Morales was able to get on the inside and connect with a variety of hooks and crosses. Both Barrera and Morales continued to land punches and produced solid exchanges until the final bell rang.
Strawweight Guadalupe Medina (8-0, 2 KOs) of nearby Maywood defeated Katherine Lindenmuth (6-3, 2 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico by majority decision. One judge scored the match 57-57, while the other two judges scored the match 58-56 for Medica.
Welterweight Gor Yeritsyan (19-1, 15 KOs) dropped late sub Jonathan Romero once in round two en route to a knockout victory in 32 seconds of round five.
Yeritsyan, a Los Angeles-based Armenian, was originally scheduled to fight Mylik Birdsong in a compelling clash of once-beaten welterweights. Birdsong was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts on September 29.
Romero (35-6, 19 KOs) took the fight on less than a week’s notice after Mexico’s Oliver Quintana pulled out of the fight. Romero, a former world titleholder at 122 pounds from Las Vegas via Colombia, suffered his fifth straight loss.
In lightweight action, Abel Mejia (6-0, 5 KOs) of nearby Orange won by knockout over Chicago’s Kevin Mangune (6-2, 5 KOs) at 2:48 of round 6. The fight was stopped on ringside advice. doctor due to a cut over the eye of Mangune, allegedly from a punch.
Lightweight Umar Dzambekov (10-0, 7 KOs) stopped Tijuana’s Eric Robles (10-5, 9 KOs) in the first round. Dzambekov scored three takedowns to force the stoppage just 2:14 into the bout. Dzambekov grew up in Vienna, Austria and now lives in Los Angeles. He trains at the Wild Card Gym in nearby Hollywood.
San Diego’s Adan Palma (10-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Venezuela’s Carlos Mujica at 47 seconds of round 4. A right cross dropped Mujica (8-8, 2 KOs) to the canvas. Referee Ray Corona stopped the junior featherweight fight immediately.
In the opener, Colombia’s Cesar Villarraga overcame a takedown to defeat Oxnard’s Sebastian Gutierrez by split decision. One judge scored the fight 57-56 for Gutierrez, while the other two judges scored the bout 57-56 for Villarraga (11-10-1, 5 KOs).
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at (email protected)
