Navarro Is Impressive in Professional Debut

The Olympic Games’ loss was the Irvine Marriott’s gain Thursday night.

Carlos Navarro would rather be fighting in Atlanta before a world-wide television audience. Instead, the two-time U.S. Amateur featherweight champion from Southeast Los Angeles was entertaining a sold-out crowd of 1,242 with an impressive second-round knockout of Mexicali’s Luis Martinez.

Navarro was understandably nervous in his professional debut, but his skills, poise and power were evident from the opening bell. Martinez tried to crowd Navarro by grabbing him and throwing him against the ropes. But Navarro picked his spots well and landed a straight left hand that put Martinez on the floor late in the first round.

Early in the second round, Martinez landed some combinations with Navarro on the ropes. But Martinez backed off the ropes and immediately got in trouble. Navarro hit him with a straight left, then a right cross and big left hook that put Martinez down for good.

“I feel better than I did before I went up there,” said Navarro, 19. “It’s a lot different than the amateurs. I felt the punches more. But I’m happy with a second-round knockout in my first fight.”

Navarro recently switched back to his original trainer, Frank Rivera, after spending a year with the Goossen brothers of Top Rank Inc., whom he partially blamed for his loss to Floyd Mayweather in the Olympic trials.

Navarro, who has not signed with a promoter, will fight again next month at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles but he might return to Irvine for his third bout.

In the main event, Mira Loma junior welterweight Mark Lewis (14-1, 12 knockouts) stopped Paco Cuesta (30-11-1) of Tijuana in six rounds with a vicious punching display. Lewis hit Cuesta with everything he had for six rounds before Cuesta’s corner mercifully stopped the fight.

“I thought he’d go,” Lewis said. “But he was a tough fighter. This was a good test for me. I thought I was sloppy, but my trainer had me in great shape.”

Featherweight Marcos Licona of Westminster raised his record to 8-0 with a six-round majority decision over Rodrigo Valenzuela of Guadalajara, Mexico.