INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Alejandro Perez started out his career underneath the Top Rank umbrella, but it ultimately didn’t work out, resulting in Perez going on his own for a long stretch.

Perez fared pretty well given the circumstances, scoring some credible victories over a range of contenders. Yet, Perez was unable to parlay those victories into a major fight, likely due to not having a powerful promoter at his disposal.

Earlier this year, Perez signed on again with Top Rank, believing they could navigate him up the ladder the correct way. Saturday night in Inglewood, Calif., their second run began with a showcase bout in the 10-round main event of Solo Boxeo against Edgar Riovalle.

It might have been the first showcase bout of Perez’s career, and he didn’t disappoint. In Riovalle, he had an opponent willing to exchange with him. Though Riovalle’s nickname is “Basura,” which is Spanish for “garbage,” he gave Perez an opportunity to showcase his action-style in a fight that wasn’t unappealing.

Perez (18-4-1, 12 KOs) was aggressive, landing a number of quality left hooks that had Riovalle in trouble throughout the bout. Riovalle managed to recover, though he was unable to be very effective against Perez.

Perez kept moving forward, forcing Riovalle (35-15-2, 25 KOs) to fight mostly off his back foot. Every so often, Perez would land clean punches inside that would force Riovalle to think twice about exchanging.

The fight came to a head in the seventh, when Perez landed a deadly left hook to the body, dropping Riovalle for the finish.

Japan’s former two-division titleholder Takahiro Ao (24-3-1, 11 KOs) returned to the win column in a tune-up bout at lightweight, stopping Chilean Hardy Paredes (16-12, 10 KOs) in the second round.

Up and coming light heavyweight Trevor McCumby, of Chicago, Ill., scored a quick stoppage of Providence, Rhode Island’s Reynaldo Rodriguez in an odd finish. McCumby went right after Rodriguez, buckling him against the ropes, seemingly scoring a knockdown. The referee didn’t intervene, and McCumby cut down his opponent with a series of unanswered blows that brought the fight to a finish before the first round was over.

Junior lightweight prospect Saul Rodriguez (10-0-1, 7 KOs), of Riverside, Calif., scored a third-round stoppage of Dominic Coca (8-4, 2 KOs), of Lynwood, Calif., when Coca didn’t come out following the end of the round. Rodriguez staggered Coca multiple times, though Coca managed to stay upright.

Paramount, Calif., featherweight Pedro Duran (2-0, 2 KOs) notched a highlight-reel knockout of Hemet, Calif.’s Anthony Briones (0-2) in the first round. Duran landed a brutal right-hook, dropping Ruiz face first. The fight was stopped without a count.

Photos / Naoki Fukuda