Former Champion Garza, Returning to the Ring After Long Layoff, Stops Arrozal in Third Round
Jaime Garza’s return to the ring Monday night after a 14-month layoff was a successful but somewhat bittersweet one considering its length.
Garza stopped Arnel Arrozal of the Philippines at 2:13 of the third round in the main event at the Irvine Marriott, but the win did not prove whether the former WBC super-bantamweight champion had returned to form or not.
Referee Chuck Hassett stopped the fight when Arrozal failed to return a flurry of punches after being cornered.
Moments earlier, Garza had stung Arrozal with a punch that Arrozal later claimed caught him in the kidney and temporarily paralyzed his backside.
Arrozal complained about the punch at the time, but the referee did not see it his way. The fight continued, and Garza, sensing his chance against his injured opponent, battered Arrozal until Hassett stopped the fight.
With the victory, Garza raised his record to 41-1 while Arrozal’s fell to 45-14.
On the undercard, Tony Paisano, 160 pounds, of Pasadena knocked out Ruben Blackwell of Los Angeles at 2:04 of the third round.
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