COMMERCE, Calif. – Cain Sandoval overcame a strong start from Angel Rebollar to preserve his unbeaten record.

The rising junior welterweight prospect remained perfect as a pro with a unanimous decision victory. Scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 for Sandoval, who was met with a pro-Rebollar crowd Saturday evening at the Commerce Casino.

Rebollar aggressively came out of the corner at the opening bell, finding some success by connecting hooks and cross to the head. He was able to do the same during the opening moments of the second round.

Despite a bruise on his left cheekbone that appeared during the first round, Sandoval remained composed, working from the center of the ring. As both stood more in the pocket, Rebollar let his hands go with more assertiveness. Rebollar also attempted to connect with left or right uppercuts to the head.

Sandoval clearly won round three, landing the more-effective punches. Sandoval connected with a straight right hand, snapping Rebollar’s head back. Later in the round, a right uppercut also scored for Sandoval. By the end of the fourth round, Rebollar was breathing heavily, likely from exerting energy early in the fight, along with Sandoval also focusing his attack to the body, beginning in round three.

Sandoval was in control during the middle rounds, walking Rebollar down against the ropes or in a corner, where he connected with vicious hooks and crosses to the body. Rebollar was relegated to throwing one punch at a time, with those punches not having the impact as during the first two rounds of the fight.

Rebollar willed himself to a second wind in round eight. He was able to find success moving in and out of Sandoval’s range, landing a lead hook or straight right hand. Sandoval would time him coming in, connecting with right hands or left hooks to the body.

As Rebollar would scream at Sandoval or pound his gloves together, Sandoval remained stoic, rarely showing any emotion as he attempted to cut off the ring or walk Rebollar down. Sandoval remained calm as a cut opened on the bruise from a Rebollar punch. During the final round, Sandoval looked to set up and land a right cross, connecting twice, but never visibly hurting Rebollar as the final bell sounded.

The 21-year-old Sandoval (13-0, 10 knockouts) was coming off an impressive victory on February 23, defeating former prospect and U.S. Olympian Javier Molina by unanimous decision. Sandoval is promoted by Tom Loeffler.

Rebollar, who resides in the Los Angeles area, fell to 8-4, 3 KOs. The 20-year-old came off an upset victory over prospect Omar Rosario in his previous fight on November 4.

In the co-main event, flyweight prospect Daniel Barrera dropped Hector Valdes once en route to a one-sided victory. All three judges scored the bout 60-53 in favor of Barrera, who improved to 6-0-1, 4 KOs.

Barrera was the sharper fighter throughout much of the fight, outboxing the southpaw Valdes. Working behind a jab, Barrera connected with straight right hands and right crosses to the head. Barrera mixed his attack, walking Valdes down or using lateral movement to make Valdes in order to counter him with a hook or cross.

Early in round five, a left hook momentarily stunned the 18-year-old Valdes. To his credit, Valdes was able to back away, where he used ring generalship to regroup. Later in the round, Barrera connected with a two-punch combination that forced Valdes to clench onto Barrera.

Barrera closed the distance during the final round, looking to land a lead cross or hook. He did find success seconds before the bell sounded, as a barrage of punches sent Valdes against the ropes. A left hook to the body dropped Valdes to one knee, but he was able to beat the count. The bell sounded to end the round before Barrera could follow up.

The 22-year-old, who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Upland, previously fought on February 23, knocking out Jonathan Almacen in the second round. Barrera is a regular sparring partner of Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez.

Valdes, who resides in Tijuana, Mexico, falls to 4-2-2, 2 KOs.

Junior lightweight Jaybrio Pe Benito stopped Christian Lorenzo (3-7, 1 KO) of Los Angeles at 41 seconds of the second round. Pe Benito, who resides in Honolulu, Hawaii, is trained by Freddie Roach.

Strawweight Guadalupe Medina defeated Sabrina Persona (3-2, 1 KO) of San Ysidro, California by unanimous decision. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54 for Medina, who improved to 6-0, 2 KOs. Medina resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Maywood.

In lightweight action, Abel Mejia of Orange, California improved to 4-0, 3 KOs, stopping Hawaii’s Rodney Mondala (1-3, 1 KO) at 2:01 of the opening round.

Junior flyweight Brook Sibrian of Coachella, California defeated Tijuana’s Ashley Felix (4-2, 1 KO) by unanimous decision. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54 in favor of Sibrian, who improved to 3-0, 1 KO.

In junior middleweight action, amateur standout Rodrigo Mosquera of Las Vegas defeated Hawaii’s Ryan Mondala (0-2) by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Mosquera, who improved to 2-0, 1 KO.

In the opening bout of the 360 Boxing Promotions card, Eliezer Silva knocked out Jonathan Moskowitz (1-3, 1 KO) of Visalia, California in the second round. Silva, who resides in Los Angeles, improved to 3-0, 2 KOs.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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