Lindolfo Delgado remains unbeaten, defeats Jair Valtierra by unanimous decision
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado remained unbeaten Saturday night, defeating Jair Valtierra by unanimous decision.
Scores were 99-91, 99-91, and 98-92 for Delgado, who improved to 18-0, 13 knockouts.
The pace of the fight was slow during most of the first five rounds of the fight, even drawing boos from the crowd at the Desert Diamond Arena. At times, there were spurts of action, but not enough for the restless crowd, who were anxiously awaiting the Emanuel Navarrete-Oscar Valdez world title fight.
Delgado was the more-polished fighter of the two, utilizing solid ring generalship to move in and out of Valtierra’s range. Delgado connected with lead and counter left hooks to the head, but would not follow up most of the time he connected.
Valtierra rarely initiated exchanges, content to counter Delgado. Valtierra did well when he initiated exchanges behind a jab, sometimes firing a right hand, but continued to wait for Delgado to mount an offense.
Nothing changed during the second half of the fight. More boos rained down from the crowd, as neither fighter took any risks or real initiative. When both did exchange, Delgado continued to outbox Valtierra.
Delgado, who resides in Monterrey, Mexico, is a 2016 Mexican Olympian and is trained by Robert Garcia. In his previous fight on February 3, the 28-year-old Delgado defeated Clarence Booth by unanimous decision.
Valtierra (16-2 1 ND, 8 KOs), who resides in Leon, Mexico, is winless in his last three fights.
The Delgado-Valtierra fight was elevated to co-main event status after the fight between Raymond Muratalla and Oscar Torres was canceled after Muratalla was hurt during training camp.
Heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez, Jr. dropped Willie Jake, Jr. twice en route to a first round knockout victory.
Torrez, who resides in Tulare, California, improves to 6-0, 6 knockouts.
Both fighters were on the attack from the opening bell. Torrez backed into a corner, and as Jake lunged forward, Torrez connected with a counter right cross, dropping him to the canvas. Jake beat the count, but was getting battered against the ropes, prompting referee Robert Hoyle to stop the fight at 1:22.
The 24-year-old was scheduled to fight on the March 25 Top Rank card in Fresno, California, but had to withdraw after suffering an injury during training camp. Torrez won the silver medal at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, losing to Bakhodir Jalolov in the final. Ironically, Top Rank, which promotes Torrez, recently signed Jalolov to a promotional deal.
Jake, who resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, falls to 11-4-2, 3 KOs. The 40-year-old was unbeaten in his previous four bouts.
Preliminary action
Lightweight Emiliano Vargas stopped Jorge Luis Marquez Alvarado in the second round.
Both fighters verbally got into it during Friday’s weigh-in, and the intensity transferred over to the fight. Despite Alvarado going on the attack from the opening bell, Vargas remained composed, countering to the head and body of Alvarado.
SALUTE 🫡
💫 @EmilianoFVargas just put on like a veteran of the game.#NavarreteValdez | 10PM ET | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/t99Bd99d4a
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 13, 2023
About a minute into the second round, a right hand dropped Marquez to the canvas. Alvarado (3-6-1, 2 KOs), who resides in Angleton, Texas, was able to beat the count, but began to take punishment to the head. Later in the round, a two-punch combination again dropped Alvarado to the canvas. Alvarado beat the count, but the fight was waved off at 2:17.
Vargas, who improved to 6-0, 5 KOs, is the son of former two-time world junior middleweight titleholder Fernando Vargas.
Heavyweight Antonio Mireles (8-0, 7 KOs) of Des Moines, Iowa broke down Cleveland’s Dajuan Calloway, stopping him in the sixth round.
Calloway (7-3, 7 KOs) was the aggressor from the opening bell, connecting with hard shots to the head of Mireles. Calloway looked gassed by the fourth round, but Mireles had already connected a barrage of punches. Mireles continued his assault, and during the sixth round, pinned Calloway in a corner, battering him until the fight was stopped at 1:38.
In a clash of middleweights who reside in the Phoenix area, Sergio Rodriguez (8-0-1, 7 KOs) dropped Eduardo Ayala twice en route to a second round knockout victory. The fight was stopped after Ayala got up after the second knockdown at 1:02. Ayala falls to 9-4-1, 3 KOs.
In the opening bout of the Top Rank card, junior welterweight Ricardo Ruvalcaba of Ventura, California dropped Hungary’s Adrian Orban (6-4, 4 KOs) three times en route to a knockout victory. Time of the knockout was 1:11 of round two. Ruvalcaba, who is managed by Frank Espinoza, improved to 10-0-1, 9 KOs.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]
