Long Beach Fighter Wins Battle of Francos With Knockout

The managers of Long Beach welterweight Raul Franco say their young fighter isn’t ready to sign with a promoter. But if Franco keeps throwing left hooks like the one he threw Friday night at the Marriott in front of 1,189, he may not be able to keep the promoters away.

Raul Franco took a low blow and a couple elbows from Santiago Franco before he unloaded a clean left hook to Santiago Franco’s chin 2 minutes 6 seconds into the fight in a scheduled six-rounder. Santiago Franco tried to get up, but he thought better of it and wound up sitting on the canvas for two minutes after he was counted out.

“I didn’t go for the knockout,” said Raul Franco, 20. “I saw him throw the right and I just threw the left hook.”

How good a left hook was it?

“That’s up there,” he said. “That’s one of the best ones I’ve thrown.”

Santiago Franco (6-12-1) of San Pedro weighed in seven pounds over the 147 welterweight limit and was fined by the state athletic commission.

“I knew he wouldn’t have the quickness on me, but I knew if he hit me, it would hurt,” Raul Franco said.

Where does Raul Franco (6-0, four knockouts) go from here?

Cabo San Lucas for a week of relaxation and a little bit of training on the beach and then, his managers say, a bout next month in Solvang.

In the main event, super lightweight Jaime Ocegueda (17-1-4) of Los Angeles stopped Eric Vasquez of Nueva Laredo, Mexico, on cuts two minutes into the fifth round. Ocegueda, who dominated all five rounds, opened a cut over Vasquez’s right eye in the second round. He continued to bang away at it the next three rounds until ringside physician Adam Karnes stopped the bout.

On the undercard, Westminster junior featherweight Marcos Licona (10-0-1) started slowly but eventually wore down an outclassed Sergio Sanchez (8-6) of Montebello. Licona caught Sanchez with a solid right to the jaw in the third round and had him backing up for the last three rounds. By the end, Sanchez was getting hit with solid combinations from every angle.

In a scheduled four-round super middleweight bout, crowd favorite Tyrone Bennett (1-1) of Huntington Beach was knocked out 2:08 into the second round by Jaime De La Torre of Los Angeles, who was making his debut. Bennett threw a lot of wild punches and began tiring late in the first round. He was wobbled with a right hook to the body and then was knocked out with a crisp combination.