Adames outpoints Day, dedicates fight to Ortiz

Junior middleweight contender Carlos Adames defeated Patrick Day by unanimous decision Friday night on the undercard of the Richard Commey-Raymundo Beltran lightweight bout in Temecula, California.

It was a courageous effort from Day, but at the end he was simply overwhelmed by the power and strength of the heavy-handed Adames, who pulled away in the late stages of their 10-round bout to earn scorecards of 98-91 and 97-93 (twice).

In the first half of the fight, it was the quickness and boxing ability of Day (17-3-1, 6 KOs) that troubled the strong but oftentimes plodding Adames (18-0, 14 KOs), who landed his thudding punches only sporadically as Day employed intelligent movement.

But in the ninth round, Adames, 25, began to catch Day more often with his right hand, and for the first time, you could see Day beginning to wear down as Adames brought more pressure.

“Tonight was about getting work in,” Adames, a native of the Dominican Republic, said afterward. “I listened to my coach, Robert Garcia. This was my second fight with him, and it was about getting good rounds, and we did that. In the 10th round he told me [Day] was ready to go. If I had one more minute, I think I would’ve finished him, but in the end, I think it was a very good performance on my behalf.”

He said he dedicated the bout to countryman David Ortiz, the former Boston Red Sox star who was recently the victim of an attack in the nation’s capital, Santo Domingo.

“He’s Dominican. We love each other. No matter what happens, if there’s violence, we stand together,” Adames said. “I represent the Dominican Republic with a lot of pride. Anybody who steps into the ring with this Dominican fighter is going to go out.”

Gonzalez stops Rodriguez

Junior lightweight Miguel Angel Gonzalez handed Saul Rodriguez his first professional loss by knocking him out in Round 3 in a sizable upset. Gonzalez (25-4, 22 KOs) started quickly, sending Rodriguez to the canvas with a left hook just seconds into the fight, and proceeded to hurt him a few more times in the opening frame.

To his credit, Rodriguez (23-1-1, 17 KOs) was able to stabilize things in the second, landing a few right hands that seemed to affect Gonzalez. In the third round, it was Rodriguez who seemed to have settled things down, perhaps even turning the tide of the fight. After stunning Gonzalez, Rodriguez rushed in, seeming to believe he had gained the upper hand, but he was hit once again by a powerful left hook he never saw coming.

As Rodriguez hit the canvas, referee Thomas Taylor waved off the fight at 1 minute, 23 seconds of the round.

More undercard results

• Lightweight Raymond Muratalla made quick work of Agustine Mauras, displaying an impressive blend of speed and power and scoring a first-round TKO. Muratalla (8-0, 6 KOs) floored Mauras (6-6-3, 3 KOs) in the middle of the round with a two-punch combination that was punctuated by a left hook to the head. Though Mauras survived the round, he was hurt a few more times by Muratalla, who displayed the ability to throw fast, hard punches from both the orthodox and southpaw stances. As Mauras went back to the corner, his handlers decided to stop the fight on his behalf.

• A junior welterweight bout between Elvis Rodriguez and Joaquin Chavez was ruled a first-round technical draw after a clash of heads caused a cut on the left side of Chavez’s forehead. This came after Rodriguez (2-0-1, 2 KOs), a hard-hitting southpaw from the Dominican Republic, had hurt Chavez (9-18-4, 2 KOs) with a body shot, and as he went for the attack their heads collided, causing the injury to Chavez.

• In a super featherweight matchup, Christopher Zavala (5-0, 2 KOs) remained undefeated by outpointing Prisco Marquez (4-1-1, 1 KOs) by the scores of 60-54 across the board. The 5-foot-7 Zavala enjoyed a 3-inch height advantage over Marquez, and his attack was keyed by a series of overhand rights set up with the left jab.

• Lightweight Dmitry Yun made a successful pro debut by defeating Jose Antonio Meza by decision. Yun, who hails from Uzbekistan, set a brisk pace, and from the very onset outworked Meza with a two-fisted attack. Yun (1-0) exhibited quickness and hand speed throughout this contest against the durable Meza (6-4, 1 KOs) who has never been stopped in a professional bout. Despite seeing a point deducted in the final round for punching behind the head, Yun coasted to a unanimous decision victory by scores of 39-36 on all three scorecards.

• Middleweight hopeful David Kaminsky (5-0, 2 KOs), 18, pounded out a four-round decision over Osbaldo Gonzalez (6-5, 4 KOs). The southpaw’s attack was steady and he began to wear down Gonzalez in the third round with a consistent body attack; Kaminsky later landed a few straight left hands to Gonzalez’s head. It was a clear-cut victory for Kaminsky, who won on all three scorecards 40-36.