Duarte Unloads on Cisneros in the Seventh Round to Win

The promoters canceled three of the six scheduled bouts Tuesday night at the Reseda Country Club with a brief announcement that left a full house booing. Frankie Duarte then canceled the last bout with his fists, leaving Ron Cisneros listening to train whistles.

Duarte, the popular bantamweight from Venice, continued his strong comeback from the ravages of drugs and alcohol by stopping Cisneros in the seventh round with a whirlwind attack that left him virtually helpless.

Cisneros battled Duarte even in the first two rounds, using fast hands to score with lefts and rights while absorbing the first of what was to be much punishment from Duarte.

In the third round Duarte began unloading big punches. He backed Cisneros against the ropes and kept him there with dozens of punches to the head.

The beating continued in the fourth round, and in the fifth Duarte crashed nearly 50 unanswered punches to Cisneros’ head as he pinned him against the ropes. Finally, a left hook caught Cisneros on the chin and he dropped heavily to the canvas. He bounced up almost immediately, but was hurt.

Duarte opened up the attack in the sixth round, hammering the retreating Cisneros almost at will. The seventh saw much of the same lopsided action, with Cisneros wobbling back to his corner at the bell after taking dozens of rapid-fire blows to the head.

After a brief conversation with their fighter, Cisneros’ handlers told the referee to stop the fight. Mercifully, he did.

Duarte, fighting for the fifth time since his comeback began in 1984 from a five-year drug and alcohol-caused layoff, ran his record to 36-6. In his previous fight he lost a decision to World Boxing Association bantamweight champion Richie Sandoval in Sacramento, the only blemish on his comeback record.

‘I thought this would be an easy fight,’ Duarte said. ‘I figured he was more used up than I was.’

Cisneros, of Denver, Colo., fell to 21-8-1.

In the first bout of the night, Manny Olivas of Canoga Park pounded out a unanimous four-round decision over Luis Prado of Fresno in a bantamweight fight.

Olivas, now 5-1, used his superior quickness to score almost at will against the shorter Prado. He won on all three score cards despite having a point deducted in the fourth round for punching Prado in the back of the head.