Last Friday at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, CA, two undefeated middleweights put it all on the line in the main event of Thompson Boxing’s “Locked ‘N Loaded” undercard. Joeshon James (7-0, 4 KO) remained unbeaten when he knocked out Richard Brewart Jr. (12-1, 4 KO) in the seventh round of their scheduled 8-round bout.
James, who has a significant reach advantage, used his long jab to set up all of his power shots. After both fighters felt each other out in the first round, James picked up the pace in the second round when he landed a left hook to the temple that hurt Brewart Jr. The fight was close after the fourth, but James landed a strong hand. right on the head. from Brewart Jr. in the fifth round, sending him to the canvas. Brewart Jr. showed a lot of heart as he got up and went through another round on wobbly legs. In the seventh round, James landed another powerful right hand to the head, sending Brewart Jr. to the canvas for the second time. This time, Brewart Jr. was too hurt to continue, and the corner of him threw in the towel, ending the fight at the 2:37 mark of the seventh round.
“I made all the sacrifices necessary to get into this fight and I knew I was going to come out on top,” said Joeshon James. “I didn’t want to leave any doubt with the judges fighting in his hometown, so I was determined to get the knockout. Once I hurt him early in the right, I knew it was only a matter of time before I stopped him. I want to thank my family, my trainers for always being there for me and Thompson Boxing for the opportunity.”
In the co-main event, featherweight Isaac Avelar (18-5, 10 KOs) scored a minor upset when he defeated Robert Meza Jr. (15-3-1, 8 KOs) via unanimous decision. Avelar outboxed Meza for most of the fight as he was landing more power shots. Meza showed a lot of heart but couldn’t shake Avelar off as the fight went chest to chest. Both fighters put on a great fight for the fans, but Avelar came out on top with a gutsy performance. Scorecards 77-75 twice, and 78-74 all in favor of Avelar.
The third bout of the night showcased another all-out war as hometown fan favorite Rubén Islas (6-1) suffered his first loss as a pro and was upset, losing every round to Erick García Benítez (3-3, 1). K.O.). Islas did not expect the fight to be so grueling as Benitez, who made the fight rough and rough, was landing wild right hands throughout the fight. When all was said and done, Benitez won 60-54 on all scorecards, handing Islas his first loss.
In the second fight of the night, scheduled for 6 rounds in the welterweight division, Esteban “Stone Hands” Muñoz (6-3, 4 KOs) and Miguel Ángel Barajas (3-2, 2 KOs) went to war. Both fighters began throwing hard punches and went toe-to-toe from the opening bell. Barajas, coming into the fight in great form, weathered the initial storm from Munoz, who took an early lead by landing the cleanest shots. Munoz started to fade towards the later rounds and that’s when Barajas took over. Barajas kept landing his overhand right hand and it finally caught up with Munoz. Barajas landed a solid combination in the final round and the fight was stopped at the 2:37 mark of round six. The fight was even on the scorecards going into the final round.
The opening bout of the night saw super bantamweight prospect David “The Hitman” Salinas (3-0-1, 2 KOs) of Rialto, CA destroy Alexis Salido (2-4, 1 KO) of Phoenix , AZ in the first round. of their scheduled 4-round bout. Both fighters were battling it out on the inside and Salinas caught Salido with an overhand right hand, dropping him to the canvas. Salido was unable to make the 8 count and the fight was stopped. The time was 0.50 seconds for the first round.
