Thompson Boxing Promotions and Banner Promotions presented a total of 7 boxing matches, three of which were carried live on Showtime, as part of their regular SHOWBOX*The New Generation* on May 10, at the Omega Products Events Center. A near “full-house” of lively and boisterous fans were on hand to enjoy all of the action.

he Ontario Doubletree Hotel.

The show opened with a scheduled 8 Round contest in the Super Lightweight Division between 2 “ring veterans”, Petr “El Zar” Petrov (137 lbs., Madrid, Spain, 39-6-2, 19 KOs) and Ruben “Kanelito” Tamayo (135.7 lbs., Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, 27-12-4, 18 KOs). The two combatants went right to work from the opening bell with a lot of “leather” flying, though Petrov appeared to get the best of it. This pace continued into the 2^nd Round, however Petrov continued his domination. Just past the halfway point in the round, a left to the body of Tamayo made him take a seat on the canvas. Just before the 10 second warning for the end of the round, Tamayo took another trip to the canvas, and took yet another trip to the canvas, just before the bell ending the round sounded. At this point, Referee, Tom Taylor had seen enough, and called a halt to the contest at 2:59 of the round. Petrov won by KO.

A 4 Round Super Flyweight Battle followed between Steven “Canelo” Acosta (113.9 lbs., Dallas, Texas, Pro Debut) and Jose Emmanuel “Kobe” Lopez (115 lbs., Ensenada, Mexico, o-3-1). These two went right to work from the opening bell, though as the round progressed, Acosta appeared to be landing the better shots, in spite of a very game effort by Lopez. Acosta unleashed a wicked body attacked in Round 2 that appeared to this writer to be “target-practice” for this fighter. In the 3^rd Round, the pace slowed somewhat, but Acosta still continued to land the better shots, yet there was no “quit” in Lopez. Lopez finally came to life in Round 4, but it was too late. All 3 judges scored the contest the same, 39-37, in favor of Acosta, giving Acosta a Victory by Unanimous Decision in his debut.

Next on the card were the three bouts that were televised live on Showtime, as part of SHOWBOX*The New Generation*. The first of the three televised bouts was a scheduled 10 Round Battle for the vacant WBO Latino Bantamweight Championship between Saul “The Beast” Sanchez (118 lbs., Pacoima, California, 11-0, 6KOs) and Brandon “El Leoncito” Benitez (117 lbs., Queretaro, Mexico, 14-1, 6 KOs). The momentum of the fight went back-and- forth between the two fighters in Rounds 1 & 2. Both started at a fast pace with very little feeling out taking place. Round 3 was a continuation of the first two rounds and the first half of Round 4, as well, but Sanchez exploded upon Benitez in the last 45 seconds, leaving Benitez a bit bewildered. The pace of the fight slowed some in the fifth round. Both landed some punches, but not as many as in the first four rounds. In Round 6, it was much the same story, though Sanchez did unleash a flurry right before the bell rang to end the round. In Round 7, it became a toe-to-toe battle with both having their moments, though it appeared to this writer that Benitez was more the “worse for wear”. Eighteen seconds into Round 8, Sanchez landed a right hand to the side of Benitez’s head, which made his legs buckle slightly. Referee Raul Caiz, Jr. had seen enough and called a halt to the contest. Sanchez won the Championship belt by a Knockout.

The second bout of the 3 that were to be shown on Showtime was a scheduled 8 Round Super Lightweight contest between Michael “The West Texas Warrior” Dutchover (138 lbs., Midland, Texas, 12-0, 9 KOs) and Rosekie “Little Giant” Cristobal (137.8 lbs., The Philippines, 15-3, 11 KOs). Even though Cristobal took the fight with only Three days notice, from the opening bell he showed no fear or intimidation from Dutchover, a powerful KO artist, as his record indicates. The two went right at each other from the opening bell. Dutchover utilized a body attack from when the bell rang to start contest, and at 1:46 of the opening round, a left to the body spelled the end. Victory 13 for Dutchover came by a Knockout.

The third and final bout of the 3 Showtime bouts, the Main Event of the evening, was a 10 Round WBO International Featherweight Championship. It featured the current WBO International Featherweight Champion, Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez (125.4 lbs., Mexicali, Mexico, 17-1, 8 KOs) against Ruben “RV4” Villa (125.1 lbs., Salinas, California, 15-0, 5 KOs). After a brief feeling out process, the two began to let the gloves fly. It became apparent almost immediately, that Lopez had a very awkward style, while Villa chose to remain in the center of the ring, and pivot on one foot at a time. In the second round, Lopez continued his awkward style and he had his moments, but Villa continued his style as well, and as a result he landed the better punches. This was the story of the third round as well, but in the fourth round, Villa Opened it up a bit, taking a more aggressive attack upon Lopez. Both continued their respective styles in Round 5, and the result was that while Lopez threw far more punches than Villa, more of Villa’s landed. Rounds 6 & 7 were more of the same, Lopez throwing countless wild punches that did not land, while Villa landed about everything he threw, and he even trapped Lopez on the ropes for a brief moment at the end of Round 7. Lopez continued his wild, awkward style in Round 8, and result was the same, Villa landed more punches. Lopez settled down somewhat in the 9^th, and actually landed some decent shots, but Villa still did enough to take the round. In the 10^th, the desperation of Lopez was obvious. The Judges scored the bout, 97-93, 98-92, and 96-94, all in favor of Villa, the Winner and New IBO International Featherweight Champion by a Unanimous Decision. This concluded the Showtime segment of the evening, but two more “Off-TV” bouts followed.

The first “Off-TV” bout that followed the Showtime part of the night, was a scheduled 6 Round Welterweight contest between Angel “Relampago” Ruiz (143 lbs., Los Angeles, California, 4-0, 10 KOs) and Luis Gerardo Avila (142.1 lbs., Mexicali, Mexico, 8-17-3, 5 KOs). The opening round was more of a feeling out process, though both landed a couple good shots. As the second round opened, Ruiz landed a left to the body of Avila, and the fight was over. The end came at :26 of the 2^nd round. Ruiz was the Winner by KO.

The final bout of the evening was 6 Round Super Lightweight contest between George “El Yuyu” Acosta (135.6 lbs., South Whittier, California, 7-0, 1 KO) and Ruben “Ace” Torres (135.8 lbs., South Central Los Angeles, California, 8-0, 7 KOs). Though they started at a somewhat slower pace than some of the earlier fights, both landed good shots in the opening, and it became readily apparent from the opening bell, that both had brought a loud cheering section. Round 2 was pretty much like the opening round except that the pace got faster at the end of the round. The third round was pretty much like the 2^nd round. In Rounds 4 & 5, the momentum went back and forth between the two contestants. In the 6^th round, Torres had a couple of moments, but otherwise, the 6^th round was a carbon copy of the previous rounds. In this writer’s opinion, it was an exciting closing bout. All three judges scored the contest 59-55 in favor of Ruben Torres, the Winner by a Unanimous Decision.

And the May 2019 Co-promotion of Thompson Boxing Promotions and Banner Promotions came to an end. Thompson Boxing Promotions next show will be on June 14, at t

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