COMMERCE, Calif. – Omar Trinidad asserted himself as a contender at 126 pounds.

Trinidad outboxed Argentina’s Hector Sosa en route to a unanimous decision in front of a partisan and sold-out crowd Saturday at the Commerce Casino. Scores were 119-108, 119-108, and 118-109 for Los Angeles’ Trinidad.

The shorter Sosa was the aggressor from the opening bell, attempting to walk down Trinidad and land looping hooks and crosses. A series of right crosses connected to the head of Trinidad to end the round.

Midway through round two, a left hook to the head stunned Trinidad. Moments later, Trinidad landed a left hook of his own, which dropped Sosa flat onto the canvas. Sosa was able to beat the count and continued to press the action.

Sosa found some success in round four, setting up punches behind a consistent jab. Both stood in the pocket durind round six, exchanging combinations that Trinidad got the better of.

By round nine, Sosa looked tired, as he was losing steam and effectiveness on his punches. He had also suffered a cut over his left eye, producing blood down the side of his face.

Sensing he was down on the scorecards, Sosa threw winging hooks and crosses, but rarely was he able to connect on anything flush to the head. Trinidad maintained a disciplined game-plan that saw him fight from distance, utilizing a jab, and countering with right hands to the head.

Saturday night was a good learning experience for Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 knockouts), who went twelve rounds for the first time.

Sosa (17-3, 9 KOs) was the most accomplished fighter he had faced thus far. The win over Sosa also secured a No. 2 ranking by the IBF.

In his previous fight on July 26, Trinidad knocked out Viktor Slavinskyi in the 10th round. The 28-year-old Trinidad is promoted by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions.

In the co-feature, flyweight Daniel Barrera (8-0-1, 4 KOs) of Eastvale, California defeated Tijuana’s Angel Meza Morales (8-2-3, 6 KOs) by unanimous decision. Scores were 77-75, 77-75, and 78-74 for Barrera.

Midway through round three, the taller Barrera was momentarily stunned by a punch to the head. Ensenada’s Morales attempted to follow up, but Barrera was ring-savvy enough to clench or fight from distance.

Barrera was at his best by creating space during the second half of the fight. He was able to outbox Morales, keeping him at bay with a consistent jab and following that up with straight rights or hooks to the head or body.

Both fighters had their moments during the final round. Barrera started strong, but Morales was able to get on the inside and connect an array of hooks and crosses. Both Barrera and Morales continued to land punches and produced solid exchanges until the final bell sounded.

Strawweight Guadalupe Medina (8-0, 2 KOs) of nearby Maywood defeated Katherine Lindenmuth (6-3, 2 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico by majority decision. One judge scored the bout 57-57, while the other two judges scored the bout 58-56 for Medica.

Welterweight Gor Yeritsyan (19-1, 15 KOs) dropped late-sub Jonathan Romero in round two once en route to a knockout win at 32 seconds of round five.

Yeritsyan, a Los Angeles-based Armenian, was originally scheduled to fight Mylik Birdsong in a compelling clash of once-beaten welterweights. Birdsong was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts on September 29.

Romero (35-6, 19 KOs) took the fight on less than a week’s notice after Oliver Quintana of Mexico backed out of the fight. Romero, a former world titleholder at 122 pounds from Las Vegas via Colombia, suffered his fifth straight defeat.

In lightweight action, Abel Mejia (6-0, 5 KOs) of nearby Orange won by knockout over Chicago’s Kevin Mangune (6-2, 5 KOs) at 2:48 of round 6. The fight was stopped on the advice of the ringside physician due to a cut over the eye of Mangune, reportedly from a punch.

Light heavyweight Umar Dzambekov (10-0, 7 KOs), stopped Tijuana’s Eric Robles (10-5, 9 KOs) in round one. Dzambekov scored three knockdowns to force the stoppage at just 2:14 into the bout. Dzambekov grew up in Vienna, Austria and now resides in Los Angeles. He trains at the Wild Card Gym in nearby Hollywood.

San Diego’s Adan Palma (10-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Venezuela’s Carlos Mujica at 47 seconds of round 4. A right cross dropped Mujica (8-8, 2 KOs) to the canvas. Referee Ray Corona to immediately stopped the junior featherweight fight.

In the opening bout, Colombia’s Cesar Villarraga overcame a knockdown to defeat Oxnard’s Sebastian Gutierrez by split decision. One judge scored the bout 57-56 for Gutierrez, while the other two judges scored the bout 57-56 for Villarraga (11-10-1, 5 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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