Eric Mondragon continues his rise to contender status at 130 pounds.
Mondragon won a hard-fought majority decision on Saturday night, defeating Kevin Piedrahita at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. One judge scored it 57-57, while two other judges scored the belt 58-56 and a ridiculous 60-54 for Mondragon, who improved to 10-1-1, 4.
Both fighters stood in the pocket, exchanging punches and combinations, but Mondragon was the busier and more accurate fighter in the first two rounds.
Piedrahita clearly won the third round, taking more action and being the striker. The trick worked as he was able to put Mondragon on the defensive.
Both had their moments in the fourth and fourth rounds of competition, but Mondragon had his way in the last few rounds. Mondragon changed up his offense, connecting more to the body and countering with left hooks and right crosses to the head of Piedrahita.
Mondragon, who lives near Maywood, had a large crowd in attendance, as was the case in his previous fight on March 30, which was also at Thunder Studios. Mondragon defeated Jenel Lausa by decision in six one-sided rounds.
The 25-year-old has won his last two bouts since losing to Haven Brady in October 2022. His other notable fight took place on the Top Rank card inside ‘The Bubble’ in June 2020, fighting for a majority decision against Mike. Sanchez in a fight where both undefeated were knocked down.
Piedrahita, originally from Pereira, Colombia and now living in Las Vegas, Nevada, falls to 9-2, 8 KOs. Piedrahita previously fought on April 19, stopping Johan Rodriguez Arreguin in the third round.
The 24-year-old had won his last four fights since losing to Lisandro Barazarte in a July 2022 undefeated title fight.
In the main event of the CBN Promotions card, lightweight Tayden Beltran defeated Cesar Villarraga by unanimous decision. The scores were 78-74, 78-74, and 77-75 for Beltran, who improved to 9-0-1, 4 KO.
Both had their moments during the back-and-forth battle, but the judges may have been swayed by Beltran’s result. Beltran, who lives in Huntington Beach, California, has won his last seven fights since the September 2021 multiple decision.
Villarraga, who lives in Bogota, Colombia, falls to 10-10-1, 5 KOs. The 38-year-old has lost his last five bouts, all by decision.
In junior welterweight action, hard-hitting Juan Sanchez of Buena Park improved to 8-0, 7 KOs, dropping Florida’s Jaylan Phillips once en route to a knockout at 1:39 of the fourth round. Phillips (now 3-3-4, 2 KOs) is undefeated in his past six fights, including three draws against Antoine Cobb.
Sanchez is coached by Abel Sanchez and Ben Lira.
In featherweight action, Hector Lopez of Compton knocked out Jeronil Borres (12-11-2, 6 KOs) of the Philippines at 1:19 of the third round. Lopez (5-0, 4 KOs) dropped Borres twice in the third round, prompting referee Thomas Taylor to stop the fight at 1:54.
Featherweight Jared Hermosillo of Oak Hills, California was successful in his debut, dropping Arturo Herrera (0-5) of Killeen, Texas twice en route to a third round win at 2:19.
Super middleweight Aristides Garcia of Colombia won the first round against Henry Rivera (2-7, 1 KO) of Las Vegas by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the belt 38-36 in favor of Garcia, who was also making his professional debut. Garcia also dropped Rivera in the fourth round.
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]
