Omar Figueroa (14-0-1), trained by Coachella’s Joel Diaz, overcame a slow start and overwhelmed Michael Perez (15-1-1) before the fight was stopped by the corner after the sixth round for a TKO victory.
Figueroa claimed the vacant WBO intercontinental youth title in the lightweight division.
Perez controlled the fight during the first two rounds, moving on the outside and sticking Figueroa at will.
Midway through the second, Perez slowed down, and Figueroa began to turn it on.
“It was my legs. I didn’t have any legs after the second round. I had no power,” Perez said. “I’m really disappointed. I thought it was even, but I had no power.”
And apparently Perez had no endurance either.
Figueroa, who was two pounds overweight at Thursday’s weigh-in, looked fresher despite having to lose two pounds at the last minute.
After the second, Figueroa controlled each round and finished each round strongly. By the fourth, Figueroa had Perez hurt and on the ropes before the bell.
“I was a little disappointed,” Figueroa said. “I hit him with my best shot, but he didn’t go down. But I was confident. I didn’t think I would lose.”
In the fifth, Perez hurt Figueroa with a body shot, but Figueroa shook it off and finished strong again. In the sixth round, it was more of the same.
After the sixth, Perez’s corner indicated he had enough and the fight was stopped.