Lightweight prospect Ruben Torres knocked out gatekeeper Gabino Cota in four rounds on Friday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California.

Torres, who resides in nearby South-Central Los Angeles, improves to 12-0 (10 knockouts).

The 22-year-old has emerged as a legit prospect, improving under the tutelage of trainer Danny Zamora. His punching power has also earned him five stoppages in his last six outings.

Against Cota, the taller Torres worked behind a consistent jab from the opening bell and followed up with straight right hands. Towards the end of Round 1, a barrage of punches forced Cota to crouch down in a corner. Torres backed away, thinking referee Raul Caiz Jr. would administer an eight-round, but Cota hadn’t touched down and the action continued.

Cota was game, but Torres’ pedigree and aggression forced him to release one punch at a time. Conversely, Torres continued to throw combinations behind the jab and he also mixed in an effective body attack.

Torres finally ended matters with approximately a minute remaining in Round 4. He backed Cota up and landed a right hand to the body. Cota went down to one knee following a delayed reaction and referee Raul Caiz Jr. counted him out at 0:52

“I know I could’ve stopped him early, but he has experience,” said Torres after the fight. “He was tough. I thought he was going to get back up. He’s a warrior. He was reacting to my punches and I could sense he was getting hurt. I’m going to keep getting better.”

Cota, who resides in Navajoa, Mexico, drops to 19-11-2 (17 KOs). He is winless in his last six bouts.

Undercard

The co-feature was fight of the night as bantamweight prospect Saul Sanchez defeated Victor Trejo by eight-round unanimous decision. Scores were 78-74, 78-74, and 80-72 for Sanchez, who improves to 13-1 (7 KOs).

Sanchez, who suffered his first loss as a pro at the hands of Edwin Rodriguez on August 23, landed the more telling punches from the opening bell and put Trejo on the defensive. However, during the middle rounds, Trejo, a southpaw, found success by countering on the inside.

During the final two rounds, Sanchez, who is trained by Joel Diaz in Indio, California, increased his punch output and aggression. He unloaded combinations but was unable to drop or hurt Trejo.

Trejo, who resides in the Mexico City area, drops to 17-12-2 (8 KOs).

Lightweight George Acosta defeated Ivan Leon Benitez (14-4, 6 KOs) of Queretaro, Mexico by six-round unanimous decision.

Scores were 60-54, 59-55, and 58-56 for the taller Acosta, who was the more effective fighter. Acosta (9-1, 1 KO), who resides in nearby South Whittier, has won his last two bouts since a loss to Torres on May 10.

Featherweight Jose Sanchez of Cathedral City, California defeated Luis Montellano by four-round unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Sanchez, who improves to 6-0 (4 KOs). Montellano, who resides in Tijuana, Mexico, drops to 1-7-2 (1 KO).

In middleweight action, Richard Brewart Jr. (7-0, 3 KOs) of nearby Rancho Cucamonga knocked out Mexico’s Erick Martinez (14-16-1, 8 KOs) in the second round. A right uppercut dropped Martinez to one knee and he was counted out at 1:36.

In the opening bout of the Thompson Boxing Promotions card, junior featherweight Ivan Zarate of San Pedro, California defeated Tijuana’s Ulises Rosales (0-2) by four-round unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Zarate (2-0).

Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

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