Jorge Chavez picked up his second win in three weeks.
This one went considerably longer than his 30-second blitzing on March 19 which allowed for the quick turnaround. The San Diego native was able to get in a few rounds in a fifth round of Puerto Rico’s Antonio Nieves. Chavez scored two knockdowns within seconds of each other, the latter of the two which prompted an instant stoppage at 1:34 into the fifth round of their Golden Boy Fight Night on DAZN co-feature Thursday evening from Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Chavez entered the fight on the heels of his quickest knockout to date when he knocked out chinny Nicaraguan opponent Bryan Perez on the March 19 Mercito Gesta-Joseph ‘JoJo’ Diaz in Long Beach, California. Nieves was able to show more resistance, though not much in the way of return fire. Neither fighter threw anything of note in the opening round, though a right uppercut late in round two appeared to permanently change the course of the bout.
Nieves showed a sturdy beard after tasting more power shots in round three. Frustration was clearly setting in, however, as the Puerto Rican featherweight all but quit fighting back. He was warned by referee Edward Hernandez for shoving Chavez from behind during a break in round four.
Chavez closed the show in style. Nieves (4-3-1, 2KOs) hit the deck in round five after taking a looping right hand the body. He beat the count but was felled once more by another body shot, at which point Hernandez waved off the contest.
Chavez advanced to 6-0 (5KOs) with the win
Grant Flores gave his hometown fans plenty of reason to cheer for the few seconds he was in the ring.
It was another quick hit for the 18-year-old Coachella native, who scored a first-round knockout of Terrance Jarmon in their junior middleweight belt. The Joel Diaz-trained Flores landed a series of power shots, including a right uppercut to cause a delayed reaction knockdown. Jarmon was counted out at 0:51 of round one.
Jarmon fell to 3-4 (3KOs) and suffered his fourth consecutive knockout defeat.
Flores improved to 2-0 (2KOs) with the win, which came on his father’s birthday. His cousin is Manny ‘Gucci Mane’ Flores, also a Golden Boy prospect who headlines a Golden Boy Fight Night On DAZN show in May.
Not even the sight of his latest knockout victory could bring a smile to the face of Leonardo Sanchez, who improved to 4-0 (3KOs) following a second-round stoppage of Mychaquell Shields. A pair of body shots forced the 33-year-old Shields (0-2, 0KOs) to the canvas, at which point referee Ray Armendariz brought a halt to the contest at just 2:33 into the second round.
Sanchez—also trained by Diaz-turned pro just last July but has quickly emerged a young prospect with potential. More spectacular showings will come, as Shields (0-2, 0KOs) shut down his offense early and was content to clinch whenever at close quarters. The tactic was shut down when Shields was deducted a point midway through round two. Sanchez applied heavy pressure from there, with enough body shots eventually wearing down his hapless foe to deliver the bout’s lone knockdown and eventually the stoppage.
Not to be outdone, Daniel ‘Junebug’ Garcia put on a clinic to produce his own second-round stoppage. The 21-year-old recent Golden Boy signed worked his jab—landing 31 in just more than five minutes—and body attack to break down Brazil’s Aldimar Silva (22-23, 14KOs) in the second round of their junior lightweight contest.
A left hook to the body forced Silva to the canvas. Referee Edward Hernandez ended his count midway through when he sensed that Silva was a finished fighter, halting the contest at 2:14 of round two.
Garcia, who hails from Westminster, Colorado, soars to 5-0 (4KOs) with his second win of the year.
Headlining the show, former WBO junior flyweight titlist Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta (23-3, 22KOs)—originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico who trains locally out of Diaz’s gym in Indio—faces Venezuela’s Angelino Cordova (17-0-1, 12KOs) in a scheduled 10-round flyweight contest.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox