Paez Stops Franco in the 10th

Jorge Paez, who bounced into the ring in full vampire’s regalia, flirted with disaster Monday night before rising up with one late right-hand blast.

In a tight struggle for most of nine rounds with his hometown friend and opponent, Raul Franco, Paez caught Franco’s chin with a clean uppercut at the end of the ninth, knocking him down face first.

Paez, trailing on one judge’s card after nine, celebrated the knockdown by hugging the ringcard girl at the end of the round as the Forum crowd of 6,495 roared its approval.

A dazed Franco returned to his corner, then had no answer for five Paez shots to open the 10th and final round. The referee stopped the fight at 0:29 of the 10th.

The stoppage was greeted by a Paez back flip and a ride on one of his cornermen’s shoulders around the ring, at least partly with the vampire’s mask back on his head.

“I wasn’t in my best shape for this,” said Paez, who had “NAFTA” shaved into the back of his hairdo. “I’ve got to work harder. But I felt this was one of my most exciting, dramatic knockouts.”

Paez, 28, had to lose at least two pounds Monday to make weight for the fight, and said he suffered for it.

Paez (47-6-4, 32 knockouts) and Franco (24-11-1) both are from Mexicali, Mexico.

In an earlier fight, former World Boxing Council bantamweight champion Victor Rabanales scored a 10-round unanimous decision over late-substitute Francisco Soto.

Boxing Notes

In a bit of a surprise, the Forum announced that it will host the eagerly awaited rematch of light-flyweights Michael Carbajal and Humberto Gonzalez on Feb. 19. The fight was originally planned to be held in Las Vegas, but Monday the MGM Grand Las Vegas turned down the deal. Also on the pay-per-view card will be International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Freddie Pendleton against No. 1 contender Rafael Ruelas, who is from Sylmar.