By Francisco Salazar

Back in March ‘06, Rustam Nugaev was brought in as an opponent for then-undefeated Adrian Mora. Within five rounds, Nugaev put on a boxing clinic at the expense of Mora, eventually stopping him. 

Fast forward seven years later and Nugaev found himself in a familiar situation: To be an opponent for unbeaten, yet untested Jonathan Maicelo.

After withstanding Maicelo’s offense in the first round or two, Nugaev came on to take another “0” away from an unbeaten fighter.

Nugaev scored a spectacular one-punch stoppage victory over Maicelo before a boisterous crowd at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA. 

The bout headlined an eight-bout card, presented by Gary Shaw Productions. The fight was elevated to main event status after the original main event between Ameth Diaz and Marvin Quintero was postponed due to Quintero suffering a broken nose in training camp.

Maicelo, who originally hails from Callao, Peru and now resides in North Bergen, NJ, built up an unbeaten record against less than modest opposition prior to facing Nugaev. The Russian-born Nugaev had not fought since July of 2011.

Both fighters started out strong in the opening round. Maicelo aggressively went on the attack, landing right hands to the head of Nugaev. 

As the bout progressed, Nugaev was able to counter effectively with right hands to the head and body. Nugaev found a rhythm as he would at times make Maicelo miss and follow up with an occasional left hook.

Maicelo’s punch output began to drop during the middle rounds. He also began backing up, which allowed Nugaev to come on aggressively, especially to the body. 

Both had their moments in the seventh round, but it was evident that Maicelo was throwing arm punches, with little effect on them. During an action-filled eighth round, Nugaev dropped Maicelo with a vicious counter right hand to the head. Referee Jack Reiss began to administer an eight-count to Maicelo, but wisely waved the fight over at 2:03.

Nugaev improves to 23-6, 12 KOs, while Maicelo drops to 19-1, 11 KOs.

Tolmajyan dominates Maysonet Jr.
Lightweight Gabriel Tolmajyan dominated Jorge Maysonet Jr. throughout eight rounds in winning a unanimous decision. Tolmajyan (14-3-2, 3 KOs) took the fight to the hard-hitting Maysonet, countering effectively on the inside. Maysonet swung wildly with his punches, leaving himself open to getting countered, especially in the first round when a counter left cross by Tolmajyan dropped even dropping the Puerto-Rican.  

After the second round, Maysonet (11-1, 10 KOs) looked as if he did not want to engage with Tolmajyan, who stalked him around the ring. From the third round on, Maysonet had difficulties biting down on his mouthpiece, which probably occurred from a freak accidental head butt between the two fighters. 

In the second half of the fight, Tolmajyan continued to stalk Maysonet, but only looked to throw one punch at a time. It would have been best served for Tolmajyan to attack the body or cut off the ring much better.

Maysonet, who is the son of former world title challenger Jorge Maysonet, Sr., attempted to go for broke in the final round, but was rocked twice by left crosses by Tolmajyan.

All three judges scored the bout in favor of Tolmajyan, 80-71, 80-71, and 77-75. Boxingscene.com scored the bout 80-71 for Tolmajyan.

Luna wins swing bout
Lightweight Alejandro Luna won a four round unanimous decision over Mario Hermosillo. Luna (13-0, 9 KOs) was the more effective fighter from the outset of the fight, getting his timing down more fluidly by beating Hermosillo to the punch with hooks and crosses to the head.

As the bout progressed, Hermosillo (11-10-3, 2 KOs) attempted to fight more on the inside, hoping to get inside of Luna’s guard. He did find success with a lead right hand to the head, but Luna was able to land significantly more.

All three judges and Boxingscene.com scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Luna.

Theran defeats Lopez 
Middleweight Alex Theran (12-0, 8 KOs) won a one-sided six round unanimous decision over tough David Lopez. Theran landed the harder punches in the battle of the dueling southpaws. Theran consistently landed counter right hooks to the head of Lopez, whose face reddened as the bout progressed. 

Not to be outdone, Lopez (4-9-3, 1 KO) would occasionally land a counter left cross to the head of Theran. However, Theran was busier when it counted, especially on the inside. In the final round, Theran stunned Lopez in the final moments of the sixth round, but was not able to drop him to the canvas. Theran was announced the winner by unanimous decision, but no scores were announced.

Prado wins close decision over Cruz
In an all-out war, junior middleweight Eric Prado won a four round majority decision over Julian Cruz. 

Prado (2-2-1) was the more effective fighter in the beginning of the fight. However, Cruz, who was making his professional debut, was able to counter Prado effectively in the final two rounds. Both men had their moments in the final round, even though it looked as though Prado was tired and was taking more punishment.

One judge, along with Boxingscene.com, scored the bout 38-38, while the other two judges scored the bout 39-37 in favor of Prado. 

Suarez outpoints Cervantes
Flyweight Maria Suarez won a six round unanimous decision over Elizabeth Cervantes. Suarez (4-0-1) dropped Cervantes with a counter right hand to the head in the first round.

Suarez was mostly in control of the fight, landing the more telling blows in the fight. Cervantes (3-10, 1 KO) would counter with an occasional right hand to the head, but Suarez outlanded her significantly throughout the fight.

All three judges scored the bout 60-53 in favor of Suarez. 

Solis wins split-decision over Lopez
Lopez started out effectively, dictating the pace as he moved around the ring with Solis in pursuit. Solis at times would chase Lopez around the ring rather than cutting off the ring in half, which would have made it easier for him to exchange with Lopez.

Solis (5-2-1, 3 KOs) was effective in the second half of the fight, aggressively pursuing Lopez around the ring. His aggression paid off as he began to land repeatedly with right hands to the head. Lopez (9-2-1, 4 KOs) looked tired as he would back up and attempted to counter.

Both fighters had their moments in the sixth and final round, as Lopez attempted to counter with right hands to the head.

One judge scored the bout 58-56 in favor of Lopez, while the other two judges scored the bout 59-55 and 58-56 for Solis. Boxingscene.com scored the bout 57-57.

Gibson stops Sarellano
Heavyweight Avery Gibson stopped Makani Sarellano in the first round of a scheduled four round bout. 

Referee Dr. Lou Moret ruled that Sarellano was cut over the right eye by a punch thrown by Gibson. After time was called by Moret, the ringside physician ruled that Sarellano would not be able to continue due to the cut, thus declaring Gibson the winner at 1:39.

Sarellano was making his professional debut, while Gibson improves to 2-2-2.

Notes:
- MMA champion Ronda Rousey, super welterweight Jesus Soto-Karass, and featherweight Rufino Serrano watched the action from ringside.

- Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas called the action from ringside for ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights” telecast.

- Ring announcer was Marc Lichtenfeld. 

Francisco A. Salazar has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County Star newspaper. Contact Francisco at santio89@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter: @Salazar_soccer