Chavez Plays Patient Game With Sixth-Round Knockout

Ernie Chavez figured he would have plenty of time to get a knockout in his fight with Juan Alonzo Villa in the main event Monday night at the Irvine Marriott.

Chavez seemed content to just throw a right jab here and a left hook there until the sixth round. At that point, Chavez landed a pair of impressive lefts, one to the body then another to the head, and Villa backed up to the ropes.

Chavez followed with some inside combinations and referee Ernie Swanks stopped the fight at the 1-minute 48-second mark, which brought mostly cheers from the crowd of 1,056.

“I got him with the left a few times earlier but I wasn’t following up,” Chavez said. “I just felt confident that I would get him. I knew I had 10 rounds to do it.”

Chavez, who is 10-0 with six knockouts, including three in a row, dominated the fight. He was more aggressive from the outset, and punished Villa with mostly hard lefts and solid combinations.

Chavez jabbed Villa’s chin almost at will.

In the fifth round, Villa of Los Angeles countered with a strong right that cut Chavez’s left eyelid.

Villa’s best blow came in the third round, when he stunned Chavez with an accidental head butt.

“It caught me right between the eyes and sort of stunned me,” Chavez said. “He hit me with a couple of good shots also, but nothing that made me see stars. Mostly it (being hit) just made me mad.”

An otherwise poor undercard was saved by an action-filled four-round fight between Jose Castro of Westminster and Antonio Gonzales of Mexico City.

Castro and Gonzales, who both weigh 132 pounds, punched wildly for four rounds. After the fight, which was a draw, fans threw several bills, including at least one $50 and a couple of $20 bills, into the ring.