COMMERCE, Calif. – Omar Trinidad continues to win and assert himself as a legit prospect in the featherweight division.

Trinidad overcame a strong start by Jose Perez, dropping him twice en route to a knockout win in round eight before a boisterous sellout crowd at the Commerce Casino. Trinidad, who resides in nearby Boyle Heights, improved to 15-0-1, 12 KOs.

From the opening bell, Perez chose to box from distance, as Trinidad attempted to walk him down. Towards the end of Round 2, Perez connected with a lead right cross that landed to the head of Trinidad. Moments later, Trinidad landed a left-right combination to the head prior to the end of the round.

Throughout the fight, Perez would switch to southpaw, then back to a conventional stance to throw off Trinidad or keep him at bay. From a conventional stance, Perez was able to move in and out of Trinidad’s, throwing and landing a lead right hand or winging left hook to the head.

Early in round five, a lead right cross thrown by Perez connected, snapping back the head of Trinidad. Undaunted, Trinidad looked to equalize with a hook or cross of his own, but would, at times, smother himself as he walked in to land a punch.

During the sixth round, Trinidad began to vary his offense, aiming his attack to the body after not finding a lot of success to the head of Perez. He began throwing more jabs, allow him to connect with straight right hands behind them.

Both Trinidad and Perez scored with hooks and crosses that brought the crowd to their feet. Later in the round, Trinidad connected with a check hook, dropping Perez to the canvas. Perez was able to beat the count and make it out of the round.

Moments into round eight, Trinidad backed Perez into a corner. He would throw and land a series of right hands to the head, dropping Perez to the canvas. Perez beat the count, but turned his back to referee Gerard White, prompting him to stop the fight at 1:07.

“Jose is a warrior,” said Trinidad after the fight. “He’s strong. I got a little ahead of myself early. Once I put the pressure on, I was able to get him.”

The 28-year-old won a WBC regional title belt with the victory over Perez.

Perez, who resides in nearby Gardena, falls to 11-3-2, 5 KOs. In his previous fight on October 14, Nunez lost by split-decision to top prospect Duke Ragan.

In the co-featured bout, Eduardo Diaz of Inglewood defeated Jose Manuel Gomez by split-decision in an action fight. One judge scored the bout 58-56, while the other two judges had Diaz winning 58-56.

Diaz improved to 8-3, 2 KOs.

Both fighters had their moments in the back-and-forth fight, producing solid exchanges. As one scored with a combination or counter, the other fighter would connect with a hook or cross of their own.

Gomez, who resides in Livermore, California, falls to 4-4-1, 4 KOs.

Featherweight Adan Ochoa (13-4, 6 KOs) of nearby Compton won by knockout after the second round after John Mark Alimane was not able to continue.

The shorter Alimane was game in spurts, but Ochoa was the more-effective fighter, outboxing Alimane throughout much of the fight. After the end of the fourth round, Alimane complained of an injury to referee Thomas Taylor, who on the advice of the Alimane corner, waved the fight off.

Alimane, who resides in Manila in the Philippines, falls to 8-6-1, 4 KOs.

Junior welterweight David Romero of Los Angeles defeated Argentina’s Luciano Ramos by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 60-51 in favor of Romero, who improved to 5-0-1, 1 KO.

Ramos (2-4) was deducted a point in round five and in round six for excessive holding.

In flyweight action, Brook Sibrian stopped Nikkia Williams (0-2) at 1:29 of the third round. Sibrian, who resides in Coachella, California, goes to 2-0, 1 KO.

Amateur standout and junior lightweight Abel Mejia improved to 3-0, 2 KOs, defeating Tijuana’s Luis Montellano (3-13-3, 3 KOs) by unanimous decision. Scores were 39-37, 39-37, and 40-36 for Mejia, who resides in Santa Ana, California.

In the opening bout of the 360 Boxing Promotions card, which streamed live on UFC Fight Pass, junior flyweight Guadalupe Medina of nearby Maywood won by majority decision, defeating Lilian Almaraz by majority decision. One judge scored the bout 38-38, while the other two judges scored the bout 40-36 for Medina, who improved to 5-0, 2 KOs.

Almarez, who resides in Lawrenceville, Georgia, falls to 0-4.

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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