Maureen Shea, Yulihan Luna battle to draw on Molsey-Mayorga undercard
INGLEWOOD, California – Maureen Shea and Yulihan Luna put on a show prior to the Shane Mosley-Leo Santa Cruz main event at The Forum on Saturday, fighting 10 fast-paced rounds to a split draw.
Shea (24-2-1, 12 knockouts), the 24-year-old IFBA 122-pound titleholder from Oxnard by way of the Bronx, was the aggressor, pressing the taller, rangier fighter throughout the entertaining bout. However, Luna, the 21-year old IBF female champ from Durango, Mexico, was the ring general, sticking and moving and picking her spots to settle down and exchange with her game opponent.
The official judges couldn’t decide what they appreciated more, Shea’s aggression or Luna’s boxing. Luna (12-2-1, 1 KO) won by a score of 97-93, Shea won by a 98-92 tally and the third judge scored it even, 95-95.
In the opening bout of the Integrated Sports PPV broadcast, lightweight prospect Joel Diaz Jr. remained unbeaten with a fourth-round stoppage of game Luis Acero. Diaz (20-0, 16 KOs), a 23-year-old boxer-puncher from Palmdale, California, dominated the first two rounds with accurate power punches that opened up scar tissue around both eyes of the 36-year-old former gatekeeper from Tijuana.
However, Acero (28-14-4, 18 KOs) fought back in Round 3, landing jabs, hooks and right crosses that opened a nasty cut by Diaz’s right eye. The younger man answered back with heavy combinations that busted the nose of the battle-worn veteran, who was twice staggered in the round. Referee David Denkin had the ringside doctor take a look at Acero’s blood mess of a face before the start of Round 4 but he vet was allowed to continue.
Diaz ended matters a minute and a half later by dropping Acero with a one-two combination, prompting Denkin to wave the fight off.
Ronald Ellis Jr., a 25-year-old middleweight prospect from Lynn, Massachusetts (but now training at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood), improved to 12-0 (10 KOs) after he dropped cagey New Orleans journeyman Jas Phipps in Round 2 of their scheduled six rounder. Phipps (5-6-2, 2 KOs) hurt his left shoulder when he went down and wasn’t able to continue fighting.
In the opening about of the card, Chicago-based cruiserweight Dimar Ortuz was lucky to remain unbeaten after suffering two knockdowns against pudgy but gutsy Victor Barragan. Ortuz, a 30-year-old southpaw from Uruguay, was the busier fighter and the aggressor for most of the eight rounder but Barragan, of Oxnard, California,