Santillan gets win #12 after defeating Ganyk of the Ukraine
On Friday night, San Diego’s welterweight sensation Giovani Santillan got win #12 after defeating Daniyar Ganyk of the Ukraine in Ontario, CA. Photo: J. Wyatt
April 25, 2014
On Friday night, in the Co-featured event on the latest Thompson Boxing Promotions “Locked n Loaded” boxing card at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, CA., San Diego’s Giovani Santillan (12-0, 7 KOs), the power-punching welterweight sensation, remained undefeated and notched his twelfth professional victory by outpointing the crafty and previously unbeaten Daniyar Ganyk (10-1, 4 KOs) of the Ukraine. All three judges scored the bout 78-74 for the 22 year-old Santillan.
Santillan did his best work in round five when fighting in close. That’s when the San Diego southpaw caught Ganyk with a three-punch combination to the head and body that showered beads of sweat on those sitting at ringside.
The rangy Ukrainian, preferring to counterpunch and box from the outside, had his moments but Santillan was able to close the gap with overhand lefts and straight rights. Ganyk did catch Santillan with a stiff right hand in round two that bloodied his nose, but it never became an issue.
“I knew he was going to be a tough opponent because of his reach and our limited scouting reports on him,” said Santillan later. “He moves well and has a good chin, but that’s not enough to beat me. I was able to land quality shots in almost every round.”
Welterweight Giovani Santillan (r) lands his powerful right cross on the side of Daniyar Ganyk’s head. Photo: Carlos E. Baeza
This time from the crouched position, Giovani Santillan (r) lands another solid right cross to his opponent’s chin. Photo: Carlos E. Baeza
In what locals were calling a major upset, Ruben Tamayo (23-5-3, 15 KOs) from Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico defeated Efrain Esquivias (17-3-1, 10 KOs) from Carson, CA in the Thompson Boxing Promotions “Locked n Loaded” Main event.
On the scorecards, Tamayo earned his majority decision with scores of 78-74, 76-76, 77-75. Calling it a major upset is a stretch when you consider the less experienced, 30 year-old Esquivias (with his 21 fights, only 10 KOs) stands just 5’ 4” tall and has a reach of only 63 inches. His opponent, Tamayo, a southpaw, is four years younger, has had 33 fights with 17 KOs and his reach is a noticeable 6 inches longer.
Another indicator that all might not be right with Esquivias was the fact he couldn’t make weight. At Thursday’s weigh-in, he weighed a career high 136 pounds. When you’re overweight like this, the officials first ask your opponent if he still wants to accept the fight and if he is willing to fight, the California State Athletic Commission then deducts 20% from Esquivias’ purse. 10% of the fine goes to the other boxer and 10% goes to the California State Athletic Commission. People who don’t make the required weight are clearly not focused.
Esquivias’ big claim to fame was his ninth round knockout victory over 38 year-old Mexican legend Rafael Marquez in September of last year when many feel Marquez was a shell of his former self.
For the majority of Friday night’s contest, you had Esquivias coming forward with his usual in-your-face aggressive style, while the taller Tamayo made a bigger impression on the judges with his timely combinations, mostly off counters and his much better matador-like defense.
The taller Ruben Tamayo (l) is shown walloping Efrain Esquivias with one of his hard left hooks to the chin. Photo: Carlos E. Baeza
In his bout with Ruben Tamayo, Efrain Esquivias (l) had his moments. Here we him landing one of his powerful left hooks. Photo: Carlos E. Baeza
On the undercard, lightweight prospect Jose Roman (16-1-1, 12 KOs) of Garden Grove, CA added another knockout victory to his resume by taking down Lauro Alcantar (8-2, 1 KO) of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. This one ended early, 1:19 of the first round, after Roman floored Alcantar with a left hook to the body. In Alcantar’s previous match he lasted just 21 seconds against Felix Verdejo (9-0).
“It feels good to know that all the hard work in training camp is paying off,” said Roman, who is trained by Joel Diaz. “I’m improving with every fight and I’m looking forward to the next one.”
Note well, Alcantar’s eight winds have come against opponents who had a combined record of 8-68.
At the close of his bout against Lauro Alcantar, Jose Roman (r) has his arm raised in victory by referee Eddie Hernandez. Photo: Carlos E. Baeza
Super featherweight Erick Ituarte (6-0-1, 1 KO) of Santa Ana, CA cruised to a 4-round unanimous decision victory over Juan Jose Sandoval (7-14-1, 4 KOs) of San Bernardino, CA. Scores were 39-37 and 40-36 twice. Ituarte looked the part of a polished prospect fighting with equal ease on the outside, in close and against the ropes.
In this photo we see Erick Ituarte (l) hammering opponent Juan Jose Sandoval in the midsection before unloading the big overhand right. Photo: Carlos E. Baeza
In the opener, super bantamweights Fernando Samaniego (6-0-1, 3 KOs) of Phoenix and Francisco Camacho (2-4-1, 1 KO) of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico fought a competitive match that resulted in a majority draw. Samaniego landed the stronger punches, but Camacho proved to be the busier fighter. With neither boxer making a compelling case for the outright win, one judge scored the bout 39-37 for Samaniego, while the other two judges had it even at 38-38.
Here we see Fernando Samaniego (r) landing a solid right cross on the chin of his opponent Francisco Camacho. Photo; Carlos E. Baeza
Who’s the impostor? In all seven of Samaniego’s fights he has yet to fight anyone with a winning record. As a matter of fact, the combined record of his seven opponents is 6 wins and 34 losses. In Camacho’s case, a gent who had lost four of his last five bouts, the combined record of his opponents is 26 wins with two losses.
“Locked n’ Loaded” was presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions and sponsored by Lucas Oil, in association with KCAL 96.7 Rocks!, KOLA 99.9 and LATV Networks.
