LOS ANGELES (Feb. 3, 2017) With his talents on full display for the entire Belasco Theater to witness, San Antonio, TX native Joshua "The Professor" Franco (8-0, 4 KOs) gave opponent Victor Pasillas (8-6-2, 5 KOs) of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico a lesson in their super flyweight main event fight with a technical knockout in the third round before a roaring crowd.
"I was definitely expecting a tougher fight," said Franco. "I had watched a lot of his fights online, and I expected the knockout later in the fight."
"I felt like I could have continued to fight," said Pasillas. "It's been two years since I've been in the ring, so this was the first step to rebuilding my career."
The fans arrived in droves for the first LA FIGHT CLUB of 2017 to cheer on their hometown favorites and enjoy a night of action-packed fights. VIPs for the night included Golden Boy fighters Jesus "Renuente" Soto Karass, Oscar "Jaguar" Negrete, Jason "El Animal" Quigley, Roy "Pitbull" Tapia, Hector Tanajara, Jr., Roberto "Tito" Manzanarez, Miguel Gonzalez and Carlos "The Solution" Morales all sitting ringside cheering on the fighters.
Fighting on the co-main event, East L.A. local Jonathan "Thunder" Navarro (8-0, 5 KOs) worked opponent Houston, TX's Angel Rodriguez (5-7-3, 4 KOs) in a scheduled six-round super lightweight bout. During the fight, Navarro threw series of combinations gradually putting more pressure on his opponent displaying his strength and stamina. In the final round, both fighters put on a show for the fans with aggressive shots to the body and face, ending with Navarro adding another victory via unanimous decision to his record.
"This fight shows that I can rumble with tough opponents," said Navarro. "My opponent fought against Diego Magdaleno and Adrien Broner, so I knew he had to be tough, and he was. I came into the ring slowly, trying to figure him out, and Rodriguez came forward aggressively. He was a tough opponent, and I am definitely thankful for the experience. I'll be back in the ring soon, hopefully increasing my rounds."
As the televised opener on Estrella TV's Boxeo Estelar, Ryan "Kingry" Garcia (8-0, 7 KOs) of Victorville, CA went straight to work utilizing his long reach and heavy-handed hits to knock down Alexandria, Louisiana's Devon Jones (2-2, 1 KO) twice in the first round. In the second round, "Kingry" knocked Jones down again, and at the: 55 second mark Garcia sent his opponent straight to the mat with a thud earning him his fifth consecutive knockout win.
"You heard the crowd tonight, I think they enjoyed the fight," said Garcia. "I give myself a B- for my performance since I got cobbled in my head a couple of times. I had to adjust because I didn't know that my opponent was a southpaw. But we got the knockout and that's what makes champions."
On the RingTV livestream and opening up the first LA FIGHT CLUB of 2017, David "Junebug" Mijares (5-0, 3 KOs) represented Santa Monica, CA in a six round super lightweight bout against Lancaster, Pennsylvania's Evincii Dixon (7-16-2, 2 KOs). During round one, Mijares had Dixon up against the ropes exchanging a series of hits and jabs. Throughout the next rounds, both fighters kept at it throwing blocks and blows with Mijares suffering a nosebleed in round four by way of uppercut. In round six, Mijares stumbled backward but rebounded with a vengeance throwing enough punches to capture the unanimous decision victory.
"This was a great learning experience for me. It was the first time I went all six rounds with someone who has the experience and patience inside the ring," said David Mijares. "I definitely want to work on being more aware throughout the fight - he got me with a couple of punches high up on the head that threw me off. I want to pursue more experienced opponents like this and build myself up as a fighter for this year, and get used to fighting at six rounds."
Joshua Franco vs. Victor Pasillas was an eight-round super flyweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Tecate Cerveza "BORN BOLD" and Casa Mexico Tequila. The Boxeo Estelar broadcast aired live on Estrella TV at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT. Mark your calendars and buy your tickets for the upcoming shows on February 17, March 10, April 14, June 2, and July 14.
CONTACTS:
Ramiro Gonzalez, Golden Boy Promotions: (213) 489-5631
Stefan Friedman/Kristen Rockwell Caloca, Mercury: (424) 202-1671
Marco Antonio Gonzalez, Estrella TV: (818) 729-5334
Preston Gaspar, The Belasco Theater: (213) 746-1606