Franco Impressive, Debuts With Victory

Raul Franco’s professional boxing debut had none of the fanfare of a certain golfer’s from Cypress. Nonetheless, it was impressive.

Franco, a 19-year-old welterweight from Long Beach, showed the hand speed, poise and power that made him the California Golden Gloves champion this year. He knocked down Roy Pegues of San Diego in the first two rounds with vicious body punches, then stopped him at 1 minute 27 seconds of the third round with powerful combinations in front of 1,220 Thursday night at the Marriott.

Afterward, Franco seemed happy to get his debut over with.

“I had a lot of butterflies,” Franco said. “I knew the professionals hit harder than the amateurs.”

But Franco didn’t have to worry about that. He was barely touched by Pegues (1-2-1) in 2 1/2 rounds. Franco dished out most of punishment with digging left hooks to Pegues’ body. He sent Pegues into the ropes and down on one knee in the first round.

In the second, a Franco left hook to the belt set up a big right hand that put Pegues down again. By the third, Pegues was simply looking to survive.

He couldn’t do it.

As Franco was pounding Pegues with hard combinations on the ropes, referee Marty Denkin stepped in and ended the fight.

Marriott promoter Roy Englebrecht, who is hoping to sign Franco to a promotional contract, said Franco is almost too good to be true.

“I already told him he shouldn’t be fighting, he should be on [Beverly Hills] 90210 with his looks,” Englebrecht said. “Technically, he was sound for 19 years old. I was surprised by his power. He’s perfect for the Irvine Marriott. He’s charismatic, he has that spark and has a great smile.”

Englebrecht might have to beat out Bob Arum of Top Rank to sign Franco, who was the ninth-ranked amateur welterweight in the nation before turning pro.

Another 19-year-old, Ricardo Fuentes of Azusa, looked just as impressive in taking out Gerardo Gutierrez of Sonora, Mexico. Fuentes (10-0, six knockouts) knocked down Gutierrez (14-11) in the first round with a left jab. In the second round, he lifted Gutierrez off his feet with a left hand, then finished him with a combination.

In the main event, Carlos Rubio (15-3-2) of Guadalajara recovered from a near knockdown in the fifth round to stop Joel Garcia (9-10-3) of Pacoima after the eighth round. Rubio, whose legs wobbled in the fifth round after being hit, had the crowd on its feet when he almost put Garcia down later in the round.