Anthony Garnica Knocks Out, Stops Adan Ochoa in the First Round Saturday in Long Beach, California.

Anthony Garnica made a statement in the must-win battle to revive his professional career.

The undefeated featherweight picked up a first-round victory over veteran Adan Ochoa. Garnica knocked down Ochoa to finally score a stoppage at 2:59 of the first round Saturday night at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.

From the opening bell, Garnica crossed the lead and countered left hooks over the top. Ochoa spent most of the fight trying to take Garnica down. Garnica hit the barrage as both fighters tried to use the jab to get their punching range.

Towards the end of the round, Ochoa went to Garnica, who countered with a right cross and a left hook. This sequence produced one punch as Ochoa landed a hard punch. He hit the count, but liked his left foot, forcing him to grab the top rope to balance himself. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. he saw that Ochoa could not put weight on his foot and stopped the contest.

After that fight it was revealed that Ochoa may have broken his left ankle.

The fight between Garnica and Ochoa was a clash between featherweights who needed a win to put themselves in a position to enter this division.

Garnica (12-0-1, 7 knockouts), who lives in Oakland, hopes a win over Ochoa will jumpstart his career. The 24-year-old had not fought since he was knocked out in the first round by Oscar Negrete last April 14.

His last fight took place in September 2022. Garnica defeated Juan Antonio Lopez by majority decision on the undercard of Andy Ruiz-Luis Ortiz at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Ochoa, who lives in nearby Compton, dropped to 13-5 (6 KOs) with 1 No Contest. He has now lost three of his last four contests.

In the main event, Sacramento featherweight Malakai Johnson defeated Aidyn Yelzhanov by decision in eight one-sided rounds. All three judges scored the belt 80-72 in favor of Johnson (13-0-1, 8 KOs), who went 13-0-1, 8 KOs.

Midway through the opening round, a lead left hook to the head rocked Yelzhanov (6-3-1, 4 KOs). Johnson went after him but was unable to knock him down. Johnson was sharp throughout the fight, taking out Yelzhanov inside and out during exchanges.

As the bout wore on, and he sensed he was behind on the scorecards, Yelzhanov was the aggressor and began exchanging blows. Johnson successfully countered Yelzhanov with jabs and straight hands to the head.

The 31-year-old Yelzhanov, originally from Kazakhstan and now living in San Francisco, California, dropped to 6-3-1, 4 KOs.

Johnson had stopped four of his five opponents before Saturday.

In an upset, Victor Lopez Gala of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, defeated former contender Victor Betancourt by unanimous decision. The scores were 80-72, 79-73, and 77-75 for Lopez, who improved to 6-1, 3 KO.

The taller Lopez was very busy and outboxed Betancourt for most of the fight. As the fight progressed, the 19-year-old Lopez used side-to-side moves and fights from a distance to outbox Betancourt. Lopez's reach advantage also helped connect jabs and kept Betancourt away from getting the offense going.

Betancourt, originally from Mexicali, Mexico and now living in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, falls to 30-6-1, 17 KOs. The 33-year-old was undefeated in his last four fights and had held a number of Premier Boxing Champion (PBC) and All Star Boxing cards.

Fringe welterweight Vlad Panin scored a knockout victory over Victoriano Santillan in the third round. Belarus-born Panin, who lives in Los Angeles, improved to 20-1, 12 KO.

About a minute into the opening round, a left hook to the chin dropped Panin to the canvas. The tall Panin hit the count, and later in the round, he dropped Santillan with a right combination to the head.

Both had their moments in the second round, but Panin landed the more telling and effective punches. Early in the third round, another left hook rocked Santillan. Panin followed, landing a series of combinations as Santillan tried to defend himself. A head combination prompted referee Thomas Taylor to step in as Santillan collapsed to the canvas.

Santillan, who lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, dropped to 12-7-2, 8 KOs.

Heavyweight Federico Pacheco, Jr. he knocked down Michael Coronado (4-8-1, 1 KO) of San Marcos, Texas twice en route to a knockout at 1:22 of the fifth round. Pacheco dropped Coronado once in the third round and again in the fifth, both with body punches, prompting referee Ivan Guillermo to stop the fight after the final punch.

Pacheco is the younger brother of undefeated super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco.

Middleweight Martin Solano defeated Jonathan Ramirez (4-1-1, 2 KOs) of Cheverly, Maryland by split decision. Ramirez, who was fighting for the first time in six years, won 39-37 on one judge's scorecard, but the other two judges scored it 39-37 for Sollano, who went 5-0, 2 KOs.

Solano grew up in Cuautla, Mexico and is now a school teacher in Amarillo, Texas.

In the first fight of the Showtime Boxing Promotions card, Long Beach super middleweight Jaivion Cardinal defeated Houston's Trevon Smith (2-2, 1 KO) by majority decision. One judge scored it 38-38, while two other judges scored it 40-36 and 39-37 for Cardinal, who went 6-0, 4 KO.

Saturday was the Cardinal's first game in two and a half years.

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

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