IRVINE - Michaelangelo Lynks of L.A. is known on the Southern California boxing scene for being one of those tough fighters that will put in a solid effort and give it his all in victory or defeat.
But Lynks, 31, found himself outclassed against lightweight prospect Luis Ramos, 19, of Santa Ana in the “Battle in the Ballroom” on Thursday night in front of 1,412 at the Irvine Marriott.
Ramos wobbled Lynks on numerous occassions and had him on the verge of being knocked out a couple of times, but Lynks survival instincts kept him upright and he lasted the distance with the young southpaw.
Ramos had to settle for a four-round unanimous decision. He swept every round on all the judges’ scorecards, winning by scores of 40-36.
“I think I did alright,” Ramos said. “I could have done better. I could have stopped him, but it didn’t go the way I wanted. I just have to work harder in the gym.”
Ramos (4-0, 2 KOs) had Lynks (6-6-2, 2 KOs) in serious danger after landing a right hook in the opening round. It was a right hook that shook Lynks again in the second round. Both times Lynks survived Ramos’ follow-up barrages.
“I wish he would have stayed in there,” Ramos’ trainer, Hector Lopez, said. “I think once we hurt him a couple of times Luis kind of pulled back. I think he saw this guy taking a shot, and, I mean, this guy can take a shot and he stays in there.”
Ramos opened a cut above Lynks’ left eye with a right hook in the third. Lynks landed some of his best shots in the fourth, but Ramos still controlled the round.
“I don’t know? That guy has like eight lives,” Lopez said of Lynks. “Luis hit him with some good shots. We knew this guy had gone six and eight rounds before, so we knew he was a tough fight. I’ve seen him fight here.”
Light-heavyweight Paul Vasquez (8-2-1, 2 KOs) of Martinez and Alex Virgen (4-6-2, 3 KOs) of Mexico slugged it out for six rounds, but it was Vasquez coming away with a six-round unanimous decision. Two judges scored it 59-54, while the third judge had it 60-53.
Featherweight Jennifer “The Razor” Barber (6-0, 3 KOs) of Northridge used her slicker technical skills to pitch a shutout against Elizabeth Villareal (5-6-2) of San Antonio, Tex., winning a four-round unanimous decision.
All three judges had Barber winning by the same score, 40-36.
A wild heavyweight brawl between Takalesi “Doug” Fifita (1-1, 1 KO) of Huntington Beach and Jim Collins (0-2) of Mission Viejo came to an end when Collins was unable to continue after the second round after injuring his left hand.
Both fighters got in their licks in the opening round, but Fifita turned things in his favor after leveling Collins with an overhand right late in the second round. Collins beat the count, but he had to eat three more wild rights before getting saved by the bell to end the second round.
Fifita was awarded the TKO victory when Collins was unable to continue.
Unbeaten welterweight Aaron Martinez (8-0-1, 3 KOs) of East L.A. didn’t show any ill effects from an eight-month layoff, stopping Christian Valverde (10-2-3, 4 KOs) of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, at 1:29 of the sixth round.
Martinez, who dropped 35 pounds in the past four months to make the 147-pound weight limit, almost ended things in the first round with a ferocious onslaught, but Valverde was able to come back and make things competitive. Martinez had the edge throughout because of his higher work rate.
Both fighters went toe-to-toe, exchanging at close range from the start of the sixth round. Martinez got in a series of head-snapping rights along the ropes. Valverde never went down, but referee Pat Russell stepped in to stop it at the 1:29 mark.
Super-flyweight prospect David Gaspar (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Wilmington had to settle for a four-round majority draw against Constancio Alvarado (2-1-4) of Salinas.
Alvarado proved to be much tougher than his record would indicate, but Gaspar appeared to land the more damaging blows. Gaspar landed good right crosses to the head and left hooks to the body throughout the contest.
Alvarado bloodied Gaspar’s nose with a wild right in the third, but Gaspar closed strong in the fourth by opening a nasty gash above Alvarado’s left eye with a right cross.
One judge scored the fight 40-36 for Gaspar, who reached the quarterfinals in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials before turning pro earlier this month, while the other two judges scored it 38-38.
The “Battle in the Ballroom” was sold out for the 20th consecutive time. Tickets remain for the June 19 card at the Irvine Marriott, which is expected to have lightweight prospect John Molina (11-0, 8 KOs) of Covina in the main event. Go online at battleintheballroom.com for tickets ($30-$60).
CARLOS ARIAS/The Register
