Toney KO Gives Him Look of a Winner

Rodney Toney sensed the end was near by the expression on his opponent’s face.

“After I rocked him, he smiled,” Toney said. “I knew then he was hurt and it was a matter of time.”

Very little time.

Toney, a Top 10 middleweight world title contender by the World Boxing Council, knocked out Armando Campas 2 minutes 49 seconds into the third round of their scheduled 10-round bout Wednesday before an estimated crowd of 400 at the Warner Center Marriott.

A left-right-left combination by Toney hurt Campas, backing him against the ropes, and a straight right a couple of seconds later left him crumpled and gushing blood from a cut above his left eye.

Just like that, referee Raul Caiz stopped the action, improving Toney’s record to 22-2-2 with his 14th knockout. Campas fell to 11-13-5.

The victory keeps Toney on track to fight for the WBC middleweight title against the winner of a March 16 bout between champion Quincy Taylor and Keith Holmes.

In the co-main event, Augustine Renteria, a journeyman from Colton, gave highly regarded Shibata Flores of Sonora, Mexico, all he could handle in their six-round middleweight bout.

Renteria, going for big hits against Flores’ jabs, won a decision on one judge’s card but Flores, who improved to 31-3, scored a split decision by edging his opponent in the eyes of the other two judges. Renteria’s record dropped to 7-14.

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In a preliminary bout, Armenian strongman Robert Galstyan, a light-heavyweight from Glendale, won his third consecutive fight, stopping Paul Jones of Lynwood at 2:01 of the third round.

Jones, a late replacement, tried anything and everything, but couldn’t solve the awkward Galstyan. Jones even alternated between fighting right-handed and left-handed.

Galstyan is 3-0 with two knockouts. Jones fell to 0-2.

The biggest punch of the evening was delivered by the card’s biggest boxer, Joe Pudar, a 223-pound Yugoslavian.

Pudar won his second professional bout by decking Rick Phillips with a straight right 2:01 into their scheduled four-round heavyweight bout.

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In another preliminary bout, Al Metal, who took his ring name based on his affection for heavy-metal music, was treated to a little chin music at the hands of Oscar Zamora.

Metal, the brother of former two-time world champion Jorge Paez, won the first two rounds by out-jabbing his shorter opponent. But Zamora came back strong in the final half of the four-round featherweight bout to earn a majority draw.

Zamora won the last two rounds convincingly, but while one judge gave him three of the four rounds, the two other judges scored the bout even.

Zamora, from Van Nuys, took his third draw in six pro fights. His only loss is to WBC champion Wayne McCullough.

Junior welterweights Jimmy Nakahara and Bryan Cimicata also fought to a four-round draw, but theirs was unanimous.

Art Marcelo, “The Little Brown Bomber” from Santa Paula, ran into a taller and more-skilled fighter--former Golden Gloves champion Danny Perez, in a four-round junior welterweight bout.

Marcelo, who won his only other pro bout, wasn’t able to get inside with any regularity and Perez won an impressive unanimous decision in his debut.