RENO, NEVADA — Northern California-based prospects Brandon Gonzales and Karim Mayfield passed perhaps the toughest tests of their professional careers thus far, notching decision victories over tough journeyman opponents before a standing room only crowd at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino on Friday night.
Rising middleweight Gonzales (11-0, 9 KOs) of Sacramento, California outboxed rugged gatekeeper Darnell Boone (16-15-2, 6 KOs) of Atlanta, Georgia, topping the veteran via eight-round unanimous decision. Boone, 163, has been in with just about everyone from 154- to 168-pounds, but Gonzales, 163, proved to be the more complete fighter.
Gonzales flashed power early on, landing a clean left, right, left hook combination that rocked Boone late in the first. Luckily for the Atlanta resident, the bell came seconds later, before Gonzales could really follow up. Gonzales landed well in the second, but was in no rush to try and force a knockout. Boone woke up a bit in the third, but he could not match the varied attack Gonzales threw at him.
Boone changed up his approach in the fourth, bouncing on his toes at a distance and leaping in with the occasional well-timed punch. The pace of the fight slowed in the fifth, which made it easier for Gonzales to settle in and control the fight with his superior boxing skills. Outside of the two-way action that closed the fight, Boone was content to stay in a defensive posture for the final few rounds. Gonzales took what he could get and cruised to the decision. Scores read 80-71, 78-74, 79-73 for the undefeated “Flawless” Gonzales.
When Gonzales buzzed Boone late in the first, it looked as though the Sacramento prospect may become only the second fighter to stop the durable journeyman. “You have got to give credit to his experience,” said Gonzales after the fight. “I got him hurt, dug down to the body, but he dipped down low and survived those final seconds in the round. I couldn’t get him out of there, he survived, and you have to give him credit for that.”
While a knockout win would have been an eye-opener, Gonzales seemed satisfied with the decision victory. “I think we made the adjustments, and maybe if we had a ten or twelve-rounder, we possibly could have got him out of there,” said Gonzales. “He is an experienced guy, we got the rounds in, and I think I passed the test.” Gonzales is slated for a May 22nd card back at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno.
Unbeaten light middleweight prospect Karim Mayfield (12-0-1, 7 KOs) of Daly City, California edged Mario Jose Ramos (17-7-1, 3 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona to win a six-round majority decision. Mayfield, 150, had trouble with the awkward style the southpaw journeyman Ramos, 150, employed throughout the fight. It was mostly one at a time for Mayfield, but he still landed the clean, more telling blows each round. Scores read 59-55, 58-56 for Mayfield, with one even score at 57-57.
Perhaps some of Mayfield’s difficulties with Ramos could be explained with the brief amount of time he had to prepare for the southpaw, after originally scheduled orthodox fighter Jason Davis withdrew two weeks ago. “He had an awkward style,” admitted Mayfield. “We had a southpaw switched to us within the last two weeks. With the change of opponents, we had to make a different transition. I only had two sparring sessions with a southpaw, so combinations weren’t rolling the same way. Nevertheless, he was real durable opponent, and it was a learning experience.”
Very few fighters have ever looked good against Ramos, but Mayfield was hoping for a more decisive conclusion to impress those watching ringside. “I wanted to make a statement and get him out of there, but he was real durable guy and been in with some top guys,” said Mayfield. “I hit him with some good shots, but we will go back to the drawing board. It was my first fight against a southpaw as a professional and we came out with the victory, so I am happy about that.” Mayfield hopes to land a fight by May, but is slated to fight in June in San Francisco on a card promoted by his brother LaRon’s Mo’ Betta Entertainment.
Rounding out the boxing portion of the card, debuting Omar Zaldivar (1-0) of Reno scored a four-round unanimous decision over Tom Peterson (0-1) of Modesto, California. A mixed martial artist by trade, Peterson, 154, displayed a raw fighting style that was likely better suited for that combat sport. The hard-charging, more technically sound Zaldivar, 154, pressed the fight from the outset and had Peterson in trouble for much of the fourth. Peterson lasted the distance, but lost the fight by scores of 40-36 three times.
MMA
In a quickie, Adam Albright (4-1, 3 Submissions) of San Francisco, California disappointed the home crowd as he submitted popular local attraction Josh Turner (2-2, 2 Submissions) of Reno in the opening round in the night’s main MMA attraction. Albright, 175, quickly gained control of Turner, 175, eventually cinching in with a guillotine choke hold. Seconds later Turner asked the referee for relief at 1:30 of the round.
In the highly-anticipated female MMA bout, Nicole Johnson (2-1) of Roseville scored a three-round unanimous decision over Jenny Trujillo (1-1) of San Jose, California.
After a brutal, back-and-forth first-round, the pace slowed and Johnson, 140, gradually took control of the fight. Trujillo, 145, was determined and had her moments in the fight. However, all three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Johnson.
Rick Randolph (5-3, 3 KOs, 2 Submissions) of Roseville, California scored a first-round submission win over Ryan Wong (1-2, 1 KO) of San Jose in the opener. Randolph, 205, took Wong, 205, to the mat early in the first and held positioning control through nearly the entire round. At 4:05 of the round, Randolph locked in a triangle choke to secure the submission victory.
“Reno Xtreme Fights IV” is scheduled for May 22nd at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, with Reno native Joey Gilbert slated for the main event. Let’s Get It On Promotions also holds a July 3rd date at the Reno Events Center to commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of the Jack Johnson-James J. Jeffries fight.
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
