Undercard results from “Knockout Kings II”

SAN ANTONIO – The largest reaction of Saturday’s “Knockout Kings II” undercard came before its fourth and final off-television match, when lanky San Antonio junior welterweight Armando Cardenas (2-0, 2 KOs) entered the ring for his expected annihilation of designated opponent Stephen Salazar (0-1), a hopelessly overmatched fellow Texan from Laredo making his pro debut.

The hoped-for annihilation came quickly at 1:21 of round 1, with Salazar having been to the blue mat once but still on his feet. Cardenas had the second knockout of his career, and the local crowd, still sparse when the undercard completed, had its desired knockout.

The first knockout of “Knockout Kings II” came in its third fight, when Michigan light heavyweight Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell (26-0, 21 KOs) dropped reeling Ohioan Anthony Hanshaw (23-4-2, 14 KOs) with a right cross, and the match was waived off at 2:36 of round 3, despite Hanshaw’s being up by the count of 4. The match was an aesthetically displeasing affair, as Dirrell, whom Hanshaw flipped over his back in the first round, spent much of it flexing and posing and explaining, through his performance, why a fighter undefeated in 25 matches would be fighting off-television.

Before that, in a battle of San Antonio junior lightweights, it was clean punching against a good chin, as Joseph Rodriguez (4-0, 2 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Jesse Anguiano (1-3-2) by scores of 39-37, 40-36 and 40-36. Rodriguez landed right uppercuts and left hooks enough against the vulnerable Anguiano to raise questions about his power, going forward, while removing any doubt about the solidity of Anguiano’s chin.

Saturday’s card began with an upset, as California junior lightweight Andrew Cancio (15-2-2, 11 KOs) decisioned Corpus Christi’s Jerry Belmontes (18-2, 5 KOs) by unanimous scores of 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93. Over 10 evenly matched rounds, rounds in which neither man was able to imperil the other for a sustained period, Cancio got the better of most every exchange, winning a fair decision against a South Texan in South Texas, never a mean feat.

Opening bell rang on a sparsely populated AT&T Center at 5:03 PM local time.