By Rich Lopez
Golden Boy Promotions started off the New Year with a bang. They held their first Thursday night card of 2020 at The Hangarin Costa Mesa, California. The card was streamed on Facebook and on DAZN. Quick stoppages was the theme of the night which was headlined by Irish brawler Jason Quigley.
In the main event, Jason “El Animal” Quigley (18-1, 14 KO’s) of Ireland, scored a 3rd round stoppage over Fernando “El Cacho” Marin (16-5-3, 12 KO’s) of Mexico, in a ten round middleweight contest. This was Quigley’s second straight win since his defeat to Tureano Johnson last year. It was a quick start for Quigley in the 1st round. He started to land good combinations on Marin. Quigley then stunned Marin with a right hand which backed Marin against the ropes. Quigley landed hook shots to the head and body of Marin to finish the round. In round two, Quigley started to box and he let Marin come forward. Marin put the pressure but was ineffective. Quigleydecided to get busy again and he landed good combinations again. A hard right hand hurt Marin but the tough Mexican hung in there to finish the round. In round three, Marin started the round coming forward while it seemed Quigley was catching a breather. As Quigley was going back, he landed a hard right hand on the cheek bone of Marin. Marin dropped to the canvas slowly. The ref called the fight off as Marin showed no signs of getting up. The time of the stoppage was at 1:47.
Quigley, who is now trained by former world middleweight champion Andy Lee, called out Jaime Munguia in the post-fight interview. It will be too soon to fight Munguia at this stage but let’s see him climb up the ladder again. Quigley does bring excitement to the ring and we look forward to his next fight.
The co-feature was an eight round super welterweight attraction. Ferdinand “Lucky Boy” Kerobyan (14-1, 9 KO’s) of Armenia,scored a 2nd round stoppage over Azael “Turbo” Cosio (21-8-2, 18 KO’s) of Panama. Kerobyan’s only blemish came early last year when he lost to undefeated prospect Blair Cobbs. Since then Kerobyan finished 2019 with two stoppages and added another stoppage victory to start the year. In the first round, Kerobyan started the round well stalking Cosio. He landedstraight punches to the body and head of Cosio. A hard left jab from Kerobyan dropped Cosio. Cosio got up but Kerobyanmanaged to drop him gain with another stiff left jab. As Cosiogot up, he complained the knockdown was a slip. Kerobyancame out fast in round two, landing punches to the body and head. Cosio kept slipping in the ring and it seemed his shoes were causing him issues. Kerobyan continued his onslaught by landing hooks to the body and head of Cosio. A straight right cross from Kerobyan dropped Cosio which prompted the ref to stop the fight. The stoppage came at 2:07.
Kerobyan will continue to stay busy and will serve as a sparring partner for Jessie Vargas for his upcoming fight with Mikey Garcia. Soon after that, we should see Kerobyan back in action again.
The opening bout of the telecast was an eight round heavyweight fight. Mihai Nistor (2-0, 2 KO’s) of Romania,blasted out Jaime Solorio (12-4-2, 9 KO’s) of Mexico, in the 1stround. Nistor was an outstanding amateur with a 138-19 record and fought some of the best heavyweights in the amateur ranks. Nistor won his pro debut by stoppage last month and his secondfight did not last long. In the opening round, Nistor put the pressure on Solorio. Solorio was fighting way out of his weight class and it was apparent he was out of shape. Nistor landed a straight right hand that dropped Solorio immediately. Solorio got up and Nistor went for the finish. Nistor backed up Solorio in the corner and Solorio covered up. Nistor went to the body and then a right hook dropped Solorio for the second time after Solorio threw a wild right hand. Solorio fell to his knees and could not continue. The ref waved the fight and the stoppagecame at 2:24.
It was a quick night’s work for Nistor and we should expect him back very soon.
