Contreras’ Left Is Right On

Eddie Contreras seemed to land every punch he threw before knocking out journeyman Jorge Ramirez with a left hook on Saturday night.

Contreras, 23, a junior-lightweight from Santa Paula, peppered Ramirez, 31, with precision combinations before finishing him off 2:28 into the fourth round of a scheduled 10-round main event.

It was the first victory in a main event for Contreras (10-1-3) in a 3 1/2-year career.

His third career knockout capped an entertaining evening of boxing before more than 600 spectators in the second in a series of Ventura Country cards.

“Even though I was hitting him, I still feel I learned a lot from him,” Contreras said. “I felt his punches and he staggered me a bit.

“Something happened after I hit him with a left hook. I started to throw a lot of combinations.”

Contreras spent the first two rounds weaving and measuring Ramirez with his left arm. Contreras brought the crowd to its feet with a sharp left that staggered Ramirez, a native of Mexico and veteran of 82 pro fights.

From there, Contreras tagged Ramirez at will while a partisan crowd chanted his name. A sharp combination capped by a left dropped Ramirez at the ropes.

Ramirez (67-12-3) was penalized one point for hitting after the bell in the second round.

Tony Garcia of Oxnard highlighted a competitive undercard with a unanimous decision over Jeff Crawford of Valencia.

Both fighters went down seconds apart during a flurry of first-round exchanges, but Garcia (1-1) soon assumed control with a quick left hook.

Garcia knocked Crawford to the canvas in the final seconds of the third round and stunned him several other times.

“We were just exchanging punches, trading,” Garcia said. “I hurt him with the left hook.”

Gustavo Tapia of Costa Mesa landed dozens of effective punches against Luis Gordillo of Mexico before knocking him out 1:27 into the final round of a scheduled four-round lightweight bout.

Tapia (2-2) pounded Gordillo (0-4) with strong overhand rights and uppercuts, pinning him on the ropes several times. Gordillo finally dropped to his knees during a barrage and could not continue.

Nick Martinez of El Monte won a six-round unanimous decision over Monroe Brooks of Los Angeles in a junior-middleweight bout.

Welterweight Andrey Frias of Coachella (2-0) scored a four-round decision over Michael Torres (0-1) of Fullerton.

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The Scorecard

Saturday night’s results from Oxnard

Junior-lightweight

Eddie Contreras (10-1-3) d. Jorge Ramirez (67-12-3), knockout 2:28 fourth round.

Junior-middleweight

Nick Martinez (6-0) d. Monroe Brooks (2-4), six-round unanimous decision.

Junior-middleweight

Tony Garcia (1-1) d. Jeff Crawford (1-2), four-round unanimous decision.

Lightweight

Gustavo Tapia (2-2) d. Luis Gordillo (0-4), knockout 1:27 fourth round.

Welterweight

Andrey Frias (2-0) d. Michael Torres (0-1), four-round majority decision.