Omar Trinidad Knocks Out Hector Sosa Over Twelve Rounds, Inches Closer To A Title Shot
COMMERCE, Calif. – Omar Trinidad asserted himself as a contender at 126 kilograms.
Trinidad knocked out Argentina’s Hector Sosa en route to a unanimous decision in front of a packed and sold-out crowd Saturday at Commerce Casino. The results were 119-108, 119-108, and 118-109 for Los Angeles’ Trinidad.
The short Sosa was a bully from the opening bell, trying to wear down Trinidad and landing hooks and crosses. A series of right crosses connected to Trinidad’s head to complete the round.
Midway through the second round, a left hook to the head stunned Trinidad. Moments later, Trinidad landed a left hook of his own, which dropped Sosa to the canvas. Sosa was able to hit the count and continued to press the action.
Sosa found success in the fourth round, landing punches after a steady jab. Both stopped in the pocket in the sixth round, exchanging combinations that Trinidad succeeded in.
By the ninth round, Sosa looked tired, as he was losing motivation and effectiveness in his punches. He also had a cut on his left eye, and blood flowed from the side of his face.
Realizing that he was down on the cards, Sosa threw hooks and crosses, but was rarely able to connect on anything that hit him to the head. Trinidad maintained a structured game-plan that saw him fight from the distance, use the jab, and counter with right hands to the head.
Saturday night was a good read for Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 knockouts), who went twelve rounds for the first time.
Sosa (17-3, 9 KOs) has been the most successful fighter he has faced thus far. Sosa’s victory also earned him the No. 2 ranking in the IBF.
In his last fight on July 26, Trinidad knocked out Viktor Slavinskii in the tenth round. The 28-year-old Trinidad is promoted by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions.
In the title fight, flyweight Daniel Barrera (8-0-1, 4 KOs) of Eastvale, California defeated Angel Meza Morales of Tijuana (8-2-3, 6 KOs) by unanimous decision. The scores were 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74 for Barrera.
Midway through the third round, the tall Barrera was momentarily stunned by a blow to the head. Ensenada’s Morales tried to follow up, but Barrera had enough experience to grapple or fight at a distance.
Barrera was at his best creating space during the second half of the fight. He was able to take Morales out, blocking him with a steady jab and following that up with straight rights or hooks to the head or body.
Both fighters had their moments in the final round. Barrera started strong, but Morales was able to get inside and connect with several hooks and crosses. Both Barrera and Morales continued to land punches and produced strong exchanges until the final bell sounded.
Strawweight Guadalupe Medina (8-0, 2 KOs) of nearby Maywood defeated Katherine Lindenmuth (6-3, 2 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico by majority decision. One judge scored it 57-57, while two other judges scored Medica 58-56.
Welterweight Gor Yeritsyan (19-1, 15 KOs) dropped Jonathan Romero late in the second round en route to a knockout victory at 32 seconds of the fifth round.
Yeritsyan, an Armenian based in Los Angeles, was originally slated to fight Mylik Birdsong in a grueling welterweight fight. Birdsong was tragically killed in a shooting incident in the Los Angeles area of Watts on September 29.
Romero (35-6, 19 KOs) took the fight on less than a week’s notice after Mexico’s Oliver Quintana pulled out of the fight. Romero, who once held the world title at 122 pounds from Las Vegas through Colombia, lost for the fifth time in a row.
In the lightweight match, Abel Mejia (6-0, 5 KOs) of nearby Orange won by knockout over Kevin Mangune of Chicago (6-2, 5 KOs) at 2:48 of the 6th round. The fight was stopped on the advice of the ring doctor because Mangune’s eye was cut, it was reported that he was punched.
Light heavyweight Umar Dzambekov (10-0, 7 KOs), stopped Tijuana’s Eric Robles (10-5, 9 KOs) in the first round. Dzambekov scored three knockdowns to force a stoppage just 2:14 into the match. Dzambekov grew up in Vienna, Austria and now lives in Los Angeles. He works out at the Wild Card Gym in nearby Hollywood.
Adan Palma of San Diego (10-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Carlos Mujica of Venezuela in 47 seconds of the 4th round. A right cross dropped Mujica (8-8, 2 KOs) to the canvas. Referee Ray Corona immediately stopped the junior featherweight fight.
In the first round, Cesar Villarraga of Colombia won a knockdown over Sebastian Gutierrez of Oxnard by split decision. One judge scored it 57-56 for Gutierrez, while the other two judges scored it 57-56 for Villarraga (11-10-1, 5 KOs).
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
