In front of a lively crowd in Los Mochis, Mexico, junior lightweight Adrian Estrella kept his world-title hopes on track with an impressive 10th-round stoppage over the tough Adones Aguelo on Saturday.

Estrella (21-0, 19 knockouts) controlled the action through out, snapping out a consistent jab. Aguelo used a high-held guard to take the sting out of many of Estrella’s punches, though the Filipino appeared to be momentarily buzzed in the third round.

Throughout the middle rounds Aguelo (23-11-2, 15 KOs) showed his experience, tying up his much more hyper opponent.

The fight appeared destined for the scorecards until the 10th round when Estrella finally broke through with a barrage of shots that forced Aguelo to cover up. “Diamante” pressed the hurt Filipino into his own corner and continued to unload. Aguelo’s resistance was broken and he took a knee, wincing from the heavy fire that had just come his way. The referee intervened, calling and end to the action at 0:59.

Bigger things now appear on the horizon for “Diamante” after becoming just the second man to stop Aguelo.

Hardnosed Miguel Roman won the 60th bout of his career in unsatisfactory conditions when Adrian Verdugo was disqualified in the sixth round because of constantly using his head.

Roman (49-11, 37 KOs) was the aggressor throughout, forcing Verdugo (22-10-2, 19 KOs) on the back foot and slowly breaking the Los Mochis fighter down. Looking to spoil, in the sixth round Verdugo initially had a point deducted for a headbutt before constant use forced the referee to disqualify him.

Verdugo trains out of the Kochul gym famed for being the home gym of three-weight world champion Fernando Montiel.

Well-respected junior featherweight prospect Aaron “El Fantasma” Alameda went the distance for the first time, winning a unanimous eight-round decision against Juan Tovar. Alameda (9-0, 8 KOs) controlled the action using good defense to fend off Tovar (7-2-2, 3 KOs).

In a junior lightweight contest, Edgar Monarrez (19-2-1, 13 KOs) stopped Carlos Jacobo (20-8, 16 KOs) at 0:52 of the third round with a combination of punches that left the fighter from nearby Guamuchil on his knees where he was counted out.

Rodolfo Flores (8-0, 4 KOs) fought through a cut over his left eye to win a hard-fought unanimous (no scores were announced) eight-round decision over Abel Cruz Mendoza (4-2, 2 KOs) in junior lightweight action.

Abel Acosta (6-0, 4 KOs) prevailed in a battle of unbeaten fighters, defeating Jorge Martinez (8-1, 2 KOs), stopping the Monterrey fighter in the seventh round. Both fighters traded shots early in a fast-paced junior flyweight bout. As the fight reached the later stages Martinez initiated the action, but grew tired and touched down in his own corner. He rose and the referee asked the ringside physician to look at Martinez’s swollen face. This gave Martinez time to recover, but it wasn’t enough and Acosta jumped on him, throwing a barrage of punches that left Martinez sagging into the ropes and to the canvas. The referee called a halt to the action at 1:02.

Junior featherweight journeyman Luis Lugo (16-5-3, 12 KOs) gave his hometown fans something to cheer about, causing something of a surprise by snapping Pedro Gallegos’ unbeaten record. The two fought on equal terms in the early going but Lugo wouldn’t be denied, finally dropping Gallegos (5-1, 2 KOs) along the ropes with a fusillade of punches, “Japo” struggled to his feet but the referee waved the action over at 2.43 of the fourth round.

At welterweight, Fernando Paliza advanced to (2-0, 2 KOs) by stopping a game but tired Edgar Pina (2-1-1, 2 KOs) at 0:39 of the fourth round. Paliza also trains at the Kochul gym.

Jesus Soto won a battle of debutants, stopping Jaime Vargas in the third round at lightweight. Soto, from Durango, dropped Vargas center ring with a short left hook. To his credit Vargas rose from the knockdown but the fight was called off at 0:57.

Jorge Arce’s nephew, Oscar (15-2, 12 KOs), made short work of Antonio Pereda (6-3-1, 2 KOs), stopping his rival in the opening round.

The always-popular Jorge Arce and Ricardo Lopez were in attendance working the TV broadcast for Televisa.

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