Paez Keeps His Style Up, Puts Young Bonine Down

For those who thought Jorge Paez of Mexico would tame his flamboyant style in his quest to regain a world boxing title, their answer came when he entered the ring Monday night at the Forum.

With a lollipop in his mouth and the phrase “Stay In School” shaved into his Mohawk hairdo, Paez entertained the crowd of 6,858 before and after his first-round knockout of Roger Bonine of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Paez, 26, who improved to 40-4-4 with 27 knockouts, knocked down the 19-year-old Bonine (16-3) early in the round with a left hook to the body before ending the fight with a left hook-overhand right combination, 2:55 into the bout.

“I didn’t want to punish him like that,” said Paez, the former International Boxing Federation featherweight champion. “I felt really bad because the kid was so young.”

In a featherweight bout, Louie Espinoza of Phoenix overcame a slow first round to knock out Edward Parker of Houston in the fourth.

Espinoza (45-5-2) turned the fight around in the third round with a left hook to the body, which proved to be too much for Parker (21-11-5), who has not won in his last 10 fights.

“I knew that (Parker) would try to sucker me into some hooks, but I wanted to take my time,” Espinoza said. “I wanted him to think head first before I went to the body and hurt him.”

In a heavyweight bout, Dave Dixon of Los Angeles improved to 12-2 with a first-round knockout of Larry Davis of Buffalo (7-7).

In a matchup between local fighters, Francis Vivish of San Gabriel (11-0) knocked out Juan Mendoza of Lynwood (3-1) in the fifth round of their bantamweight matchup.