Lightweight Omar Salcido was able to get back in the win column against a worthy opponent.

Salcido defeated Luis Coria by unanimous decision Friday night at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston, Texas. All three judges scored the bout 78-74 in favor of Salcido, who improved to 18-1, 12 knockouts.

The 23-year-old Salcido, who is originally from Hermosillo, Mexico and now resides in Lakeside, California, was the more-effective fighter from the opening bell, outboxing Coria throughout the first half of the fight. 

Salcido continued to outbox Coria during the middle rounds, connecting with hooks and crosses to the head.

Sensing he was down in the fight, and being implored to increase his aggression and punch output by trainer Robert Garica, Coria was successful by initiating exchanges to the head. Coria continued to connect often during rounds seven and eight, but Salcido had won enough rounds to be victorious. 

In his previous fight on October 4, Salcido lost by unanimous decision to Jose Nunez in a clash of unbeaten lightweight prospects. Salcido is grateful for the win and has high expectations for 2024. 

“I feel good,” said Salcido. “I’ve had a great team (and) a great camp. I want to thank my promoters (Sampson Lewkowicz and Paco Damian), everyone who came out, (and) my hometown of Hermosillo. It was a war, but we got the win tonight.

“We’re going for more. We’re going for way more. As long as I have my great team behind me, there’s no stopping.”

Coria, who resides in Moreno Valley, California, falls to 15-6, 7 KOs. The 25-year-old had won his previous three fights after losing three fights to the likes of Adam Lopez, former world title challenger Robson Conceicao, and Enrique Vivas. 

In the co-feature bout, amateur standout and welterweight prospect Jalil Hackett of Washington, DC, stopped Adrian Gutierrez in the third round.

Hackett, who is signed to Mayweather Promotions, improved to 8-0, 7 KOs. 

Right before the end of round one, a left hook to the chin wobbled Gutierrez, who stumbled back to his corner. Gutierrez was able to recover, and was game, but Hackett rained down punches and combinations, including hooks and uppercuts in the second round. 

Jalil Major Hackett scores a knockdown then stops his opponent in the 3rd round!!#Boxing
🔥🔥🥊🥊🥊 pic.twitter.com/eDpxlLIFVg

— Danny (@dantheboxingman) December 2, 2023

Midway through the third round, left-right-left combination to the head stunned Gutierrez. Moments later, a left hook to the head dropped Gutierrez to the canvas. Gutierrez beat the count, but Hackett landed a barrage of punches until referee Alejandro Leon stepped in and stopped the bout at 2:23. 

Despite the victory, Hacket believed he could have done better, performance-wise. 

“It was a good performance,” said Hackett after the fight. “We got him out of there, of course. A whole lot to work on. A lot of mistakes I made, but that’s what we got the gym for. We’re gonna go back and work on those mistakes in the gym, but for tonight, we gonna celebrate the good win against a tough opponent. Back to the drawing board on Monday. 

Gutierrez, who resides in Chula Vista, California, falls to 12-2-1, 6 KOs. The 28-year-old had lost his previous fight by majority decision to Luis Lopez on November 18 of last year. 

In a fight contracted at 142 pounds, Giovanni Marquez of Houston defeated San Diego’s Joshua Rivera (8-4, 3 KOs) by decision over six one-sided rounds. 

All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Marquez, who improved to 8-0, 5 KOs. 

The 22-year-old Marquez is the son of former world junior middleweight Raul Marquez. 

Junior lightweight prospect Daniel Bailey rallied late to defeat Malik Warren (7-1, 6 KOs) of Baltimore, Maryland by majority decision. One judge scored the bout 57-57, while the other two judges scored the bout 59-55 and 58-56 for Bailey.

The 27-year-old, who resides Tampa, Florida, improved to 12-1, 5 KOs. 

In featherweight action, Angelica Rascon defeated Mia Ellis by majority decision. One judge scored the bout 76-76, while the other two judges scored the bout 77-75 and 78-74 for Rascon.

The 31-year-old Rascon, who grew up in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and now resides across the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, improved to 11-2, 2 KOs. Rascon challenged Yamileth Mercado for the WBC Female world junior featherweight titleholder, losing by unanimous decision.

Ellis, who resides in Baltimore, Maryland, falls to 7-2, 6 KOs. 

In the opening bout of the Red Owl Boxing card, bantamweight Fabian Arredondo of nearby Freeport improved to 3-0, 1 KO, stopping San Antonio’s Robert Ledesma (3-11, 2 KOs) at 1:56 of the second round. 

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]

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