GLENDALE, Ariz. – Lindolfo Delgado continued his surge towards contender status at 140 pounds.

Mexico’s Delgado remained unbeaten Friday night after knocked out countryman Carlos Sanchez in the seventh round. Sanchez was down in round five and seven, the latter which ended their ESPN+ preliminary bout from Desert Diamond Arena.

After a feeling-out opening two rounds, both fighters began to throw more punches with conviction. Delgado worked behind a consistent jab, following up with straight right hands or right crosses to the head. One sweeping right cross to the head with about a minute left in round three caught Sanchez’s attention.

As the fight progressed, Delgado was effective landing one punch or two-punch combinations, then moving out of Sanchez’s range.
Sanchez was floored late in the fifth round from a right hand that landed behind his ear. He beat the count, but Delgado was not able to follow up as the round ended.

Delgado continued to outbox Sanchez during the middle rounds, continuing to work behind a consistent jab and landing two-punch combinations to the head and body.
Right to the chin dropped Sanchez to the canvas. Sanchez struggled to get up, and was counted out by referee Mark Nelson at 48 seconds.

Delgado (20-0, 15 knockouts), who is trained by Robert Garcia in Riverside, California, last fought on November 4, stopping former prospect Luis Hernandez Ramos in the fourth round. Delgado represented Mexico at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Sanchez, who resides in San Felipe, Mexico, falls to 25-3, 19 KOs. The 28-year-old has now split his last six fights.

Richard Torrez, Jr. stopped Donald Haynesworth (18-9-1, 16 KOs) of Greensboro, North Carolina at 2:19 of the opening round.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Silver medalist hurt Haynesworth early. He followed up with a barrage of punches before referee Raul Caiz, Jr. stepped in to stop the fight.
Torrez, who resides in Tulare, California, improved to 9-0, 9 KOs.

Emiliano Vargas of Las Vegas, Nevada defeated Nelson Hampton (10-9, 6 KOs) of McAllen, Texas by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Vargas, who improved to 9-0, 7 KOs.

After the fight, the 19-year-old Vargas, who is the son of former world junior middleweight titleholder Fernando Vargas, announced he is moving up in weight to fight at 140 pounds.

In his first fight under the Top Rank banner, Alan Garcia of Ulysses, Kansas stopped Chile’s Gonzalo Fuenzalida in the second round. Barrage of punches dropped Fuenzalida (12-4, 3 KOs) to the canvas, and although he beat the count, referee Chris Flores stopped the bout at 1:57. Garcia improved to 12-0, 10 KOs.

In middleweight action, Sergio Leon Rodriguez of Phoenix defeated Miami’s Sanny Duversonne (12-6-2, 9 KOs) by unanimous decision. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54 for Leon, who goes to 11-0-1, 8 KOs.

Art Barrera, Jr. of Lynwood, California improved to 4-0, 4 KOs, knocking out Keven Soto (5-2, 3 KOs) at 2:17 of the second round of their junior welterweight bout. A left hook dropped Soto flat onto his back, prompting referee Raul Caiz, Jr. to immediately stop the fight.

In the opening bout of the Top Rank card, junior welterweight prospect Ricardo Ruvalcaba of Ventura, California stopped Mexico City’s Avner Hernandez Molina (4-4) at 1:55 of the fourth round. Ruvalcaba is managed by Frank Espinoza.

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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