Vaden, Working Well in Close, Beats Shaw : Boxing: Referee stops fight after Vaden delivers decisive uppercut in sixth round.

Paul Vaden, a San Diego native who once went nine years without scoring a knockout, Thursday kept his professional record unblemished with a technical knockout of middleweight opponent Malcom Shaw.

In front of 1,158 at the Sports Arena, referee Pat Russell stopped the fight 2 minutes 11 seconds into the sixth round of the scheduled eight-rounder. Vaden had Shaw against the ropes when he delivered the decisive left uppercut that snapped Shaw’s head back and dulled his senses.

“That’s one of the things we’ve been working on,” said Abel Sanchez, Vaden’s trainer, about the uppercut. “Hopefully by the end of the year, we’ll have a solid, 10-round fighter.”

Sanchez has been working with Vaden for six weeks, taking over from former trainer Ernie Wright, and already Vaden (12-0) said he feels his punches are landing with increased power.

“Not only that,” Vaden said, “but I feel more comfortable.”

He appeared anything but at the opening bell as Shaw (12-3-1) came out aggressively and backed Vaden against the ropes.

As it turns out, it was part of Vaden’s new strategy.

“Abel has been telling me to stay patient,” Vaden said. “So I just stayed close.”

Before switching trainers, Vaden had difficulty fighting inside as he borrowed heavily from his amateur style of moving in for a few quick blows and then backing off.

Although Sanchez said Vaden still needs to develop a killer instinct, the Patrick Henry alumnus said he already has improved.

“I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “Abel Sanchez has already made a vast improvement in me.”

Vaden’s new-found belief in himself paid off big as the fight continued, with both fighters delivering their blows from up close.

In the past, Vaden simply would have backed away, fearing an imminent uppercut.

“But I knew (Shaw’s) hand speed was timid,” Vaden said. “So I decided to just be patient. I’ve been sparring with the great Terry Norris, the great Olin Norris, very skilled fighters. So when (Shaw) came up to me, I knew I didn’t have to move back thinking, ‘Here comes his uppercut.’ I knew I was OK.”

The Norris brothers also train under Sanchez, as does Lee Tonks, who succeeded in his pro debut in the card’s second fight. Tonks knocked out junior lightweight Martin Ramalez, also in his pro debut, 1:45 into the first round.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Tonks with a slight British accent. Tonks is originally from London. “My first pro fight, I thought I was going to have to work hard.”

Tonks calls himself a boxer-punisher, and afterward, Ramalez wasn’t arguing.

It was a quintessential left-right combination that ended the fight. Tonks’ initial left sent Ramalez’s mouthpiece flying out of the ring. The follow-up put Ramalez in good position to crawl after it.

The performances of Sanchez’s fighters overshadowed the main event, which held little attraction, anyway, pitting two unknowns. Francisco Segura of Coachella took a split decision from Narcisco Valenzuela of Rosalia, Mexico, in the 10-round junior lightweight event. Judge Danny Milsap scored it 95-94 in favor of Valenzuela, while Frank Rustich favored Segura, 95-94, as did Pat Russell, 96-93.

The most lethal punch of the night came in the final bout, a scheduled four-round heavyweight match that ended 2:18 into the first round when Obeth Sullivan of San Diego decked Michael Davis (0-2) of Los Angeles.

After receiving the blow, Davis collapsed to the mat where he was still except for his left leg, which involuntarily twitched. After a moment, he got up and left the ring on his own power. It was Sullivan’s pro debut.

In Thursday’s first fight, Tony Magana of Fresno scored a technical knockout at 36 seconds of the third round when referee Raul Caiz stopped the featherweight bout because of a severe cut on the nose of Tony Gonzalez.

Magana (3-1) opened the cut that bled into his opponent’s left eye with a left jab in the second round. Later in that round, Gonzalez backed away from Magana and tried wiping blood away from his eye. Not even 20 seconds later Magana delivered a knock-down left hook, but Gonzalez (2-1-1) was able to spring back to his feet.

It was an odd round--at one point, Caiz told Magana to “take it easy.”

Another left in the third round staggered Gonzalez, who hails from San Diego. The blow reopened Gonzalez’s wound and stopped the fight.

Middleweights John Farris of Los Angeles and Tommy Clark of Phoenix fought to a four-round draw in the third bout. Caiz scored it 39-37 for Clark (2-3-2), judge Burt Gillian had it 39-37 for Farris (3-1-1) and ringside referee Mike Milsap scored it 38-38.