Stockton’s Flores Jr. stays undefeated with dominating win
Against his most accomplished opponent to date, Gabe Flores Jr. put on a dominating performance.
Flores, the up-and-coming Stockton lightweight, knocked down tough veteran Josec Ruiz in the second round and won every round in his unanimous decision victory in the 10-round main event on Thursday at the MGM Grand Conference Center’s Grand Ballroom in Las Vegas. The undefeated Flores improved to 18-0 in the fight, which was televised on ESPN.
It was the first main event of Flores’ career, but was not originally intended to be the featured bout. The original main event between junior welterweights Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPierre was canceled after LesPierre’s manager, Jose Taveras tested positive for coronavirus, according to ESPN.
Honduras’ Ruiz (21-3-3) had won seven consecutive fights, and seemed poised to give Flores a tussle. But the bout was one sided from the beginning.
In the second round, the quicker Flores scored the only knockdown of the fight. He blasted Ruiz with a hard left hand and followed with right which put him down on his hands and knees with 1 minute, 16 seconds left in the round.
“He was a tough guy, but he was not on my level. Going 10 rounds for the first time in my career was a valuable learning experience,” Flores said in a statement released by Top Rank Boxing. “I see a world title in the next 12 months. That’s my goal, but we have to see what’s out there first. I’m training in Vegas now, and the sparring and training out here has helped elevate my game.”
Every judge scored the fight 100-89.