Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions capped off another sensational year of Hollywood Fight Nights, The Best Monthly Series in Boxing, at the sold-out Chumash Casino Resort on Friday night. Undefeated Kazak middleweight contender Sadriddin Akhmedov and returning super lightweight Olympian ‘King’ Karlos Balderas along with the exciting pro debut of 19-year-old Perla Bazaldua in a women’s super flyweight bout.
“Thanks to all the fans for another sold-out show at Chumash Casino and those watching globally on UFC Fight Pass,” said Tom Loeffler. “This was a great night to cap off our run of ten incredible events this year including Madison Square Garden, the 3Arena in Dublin and our home base in Southern California.”
“Both Sadriddin Akhmedov and Karlos Balderas thrilled the fans with their knockout victories in addition to Perla Bazaldua’s sensational performance in her pro debut.”
“We have huge plans for 2025, it kicks off with ‘The King of L.A. Boxing, Omar Trinidad headlining again at Commerce Casino on January 17 and gets bigger and better in the coming year.”
Headlining the Hollywood Fight Night event, undefeated middleweight contender Sadriddin Akhmedov, (15-0-0, 13 KOs), of Almaty, Kazakhstan now residing in Santa Monica, CA stayed perfect with a seventh-round stoppage over Nigerian veteran Raphael ‘Trouble’ Igbokwe, (17-6, 7 KOs), of Houston, TX in the scheduled ten rounder.
Trained by the renowned Abel Sanchez, Akhmedov displayed a relentless body attack and a strong beard in the first half of the fight as he stayed aggressive despite Igbokwe’s counter punching from the southpaw stance.
Akhmedov earned the stoppage from a barrage of unanswered power punches to the head and body in the seventh stanza over the game Igbokwe who had previously fought in a distance fight against former world champion Israil Madrimov. Time was :56 as Akhmedov’s powerful performance stamped him as can’t miss in the future.
2016 U.S. Olympian ‘King’ Karlos Balderas (15-2, 13 KOs), of nearby Santa Maria, CA returned in style in front of a huge crowd of supporters with a sixth-round stoppage of Colombian veteran Cesar ‘Ras Tas Tas’ Villarraga, (11-11-1, 5 KOs) in a scheduled eight rounder.
Landing the more effective punches, the Robert Garcia trained Balderas displayed his world class skills, including a full arsenal from both hands against the aggressive Villarraga that had previously marked the fan favorite as a future world champion. Upping his output in the sixth round, Balderas dropped Villarraga in the sixth round with a brilliant right hand. Although beating the count, Villarraga was counted out shortly thereafter at :52 of the stanza.
In his post-fight comments, Balderas, fighting for the first time over five years in Southern California, dedicated the fight to the recently passed boxing legend Israel Vazquez.
19-year-old female amateur standout Perla Bazaldua, (1-0, 1 KO) of South Central, Los Angeles, CA wasted no time in her highly anticipated pro debut with a first-round stoppage (1:40) over Mollie Backowski, (0-4), of Golden, CO. Bazaldua dropped Backowski with a stunning left hook leading to the victory later in the round. Bazaldua is a 15-time national amateur champion trained by Manny Robles.
Welterweights Jorge Maravillo, (10-0-1, 8 KOs), of Salinas, CA and Damoni Cato-Cain, (8-1-2, 7 KOs), of Oakland, CA battled to an eight-round draw in an entertaining back and forth battle. Scores were 77-75 for Maravillo, 77-75 for Cato-Cain and 76.76. Cato-Cain was the more aggressive in the early rounds, however the Freddie Roach guided Maravillo took control in the fourth and seemed to control the action in the second half.
Fighting in the super featherweight division, Oxnard, CA native Angel ‘Apocalipto’ Carrillo, (4-0-1, 2 KOs), continued to impress as the 19-year-old scored a four-round shutout victory over a game Joshua Torres, (0-2-2). Scores were 40-36 on all three judge’s scorecards.
Rounding out the card in a four-round battle of undefeated featherweight newcomers, Fidencio Hernandez, (3-0, 2 KOs), of Oxnard, CA took a four-round decision over Josephat Navarro, (1-3-1), of Laguna Hills, CA. Scores at the end of the entertaining scrap were 40-36 twice and 40-35.
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