Heriberto Flores Takes Out Dante Jardon Over Eight Rounds in Puebla, Mexico
Heriberto Flores (left) was shot by Dante Jardon in his unanimous decision win on October 18 in Puebla, Mexico. Photo credit: JesKat Agencia Fotográfica
Heriberto Flores overcame the dullness and questionable tactics of Dante Jardon to pick up another win.
The rising prospect remained undefeated after an eight-round unanimous decision over the former title contender on Friday evening at the Arena BUAP in Puebla, Mexico. The scores were 79-73, 78-73 and 76-75 for Flores of Guadalajara, who recently appeared in. ‘Fresh Face’ Ring Series.
It wasn’t an easy night for Flores, 23, who was forced to struggle with his foot early on. Mexico City native Jardon, 36, advanced in the first and second rounds, among the few drafts where he made an impact.
Flores was able to settle in the trenches for the third time. He scored with counter left hooks and the occasional straight right to Jardon’s head.
Jardon was disqualified on two separate occasions for hitting Flores in the back of the head. The second incident happened after he was rocked by a left hook from Flores. Only one deduction is shown on the scorecards, however.
The violation did not dampen Jardon’s reckless enthusiasm. He was still trying to take Flores down, but his punch output decreased during the second half of the fight. Flores continued to land left hooks to the head and mixed in a double combo to Jardon’s head and body.
The win was the third of the year for Flores (14-0, 11 knockouts). It came after his best performance to date, a decision on May 24, 2016 by Mexican Olympian Juan Pablo Romero on May 24.
Flores’ decision win over Romero and now Jardon is coming off a five-fight winning streak. That run included a stunning eighth-round stoppage of Ve Shawn Owens that ended Dec. 2 in Mexico City.
The 23-year-old picked up his best win to date as a champion on December 2nd, stopping long-awaited Ve Shawn Owens of Minneapolis in the 8th round.
Jardon (36-11, 26 KOs) is now 2-4 in his six starts. The 18-year-old champion is still a serviceable player who can shake off the occasional upset. On this particular night, he fulfilled his role of forcing Flores to go eight grueling rounds.
Also on the card, flyweight Gabriela Sanchez of Puebla defeated Japan’s Tomoku Okuda (8-7-2, 2 KOs) by decision in 10 one-sided rounds. All three judges scored it 100-89 for Sanchez (11-6, 1 KO), who has won his last three fights.
The show was broadcast live on Televisa and presented by Latin KO, hosted by Oswaldo Kuchle.
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]
