The Hangar at the OC Fair Grounds put on a surprisingly great card for the over 1,500 plus fans in attendance. They were welcomed by a night full of game fighters and knockouts. Having his second bout in just under two weeks since a two year plus layover, James Kirkland notched yet another knock out victory over a very game Jhon Berrio. Berrio, from the un-fighting state of Colorado surprisingly came to fight. Many ringside expected Kirkland to finish this bout as early as his last; via a KO win in the first round. Kirkland found himself in a real scrap once the bell rang as Berrio connected with overhand rights on the face of Kirkland through out those initial first three minutes. Despite the landed shots Kirkland was dominate, pushing the pace and working Berrio against the ropes landing thudding shots.
Many were blocked by Berrio, but it left an impression with both fans and judges as if Kirkland was just beginning to warm up. Round two was night and day as if the first round was Berrio’s last hurrah. Surprisingly Kirkland leveled his pace not being overwhelmingly aggressive but rather calculated landing quality shots. It would eventually catch up to Berrio who seemingly had nothing to answer and adopted the strategy of a punching bag. He caught a stiff body shot and moments later a straight to the head that made him stumbled back and eventually take a knee. On the way down he caught a short left hook. Berrio took the high road and opted not to continue giving Kirkland the KO win in round two at 1:05.
Full Results:
James Kirkland def. Jhon Berrio via KO (body shot) in R2 (1:05)
Luis Ramos Jr. def. Jose Hernandez via unanimous decision (76-76,79-73,77-75)
Antonio Orozco def. Manuel Aguilar via KO in R1 (1:42)
Stephan Lugo def. J.J. Ambrose via KO in R3 (1:49)
Bobby Chavez def. Steven Rubalcava via TKO in R3 (1:14)
Francisco Contreras def. Adolfo Landeros via unanimous decision
Humberto Zatarain def. Jose Sanchez via majority decision
