Gabriel Flores Jr picks up a victory in main event
In the main event of Top Rank’s June 18 telecast, up and coming lightweight prospect Gabriel Flores Jr (18-0, 6 KO’s) pitched a nearly picture perfect shut out win over Josec “Escorpion” Ruiz (21-3-3, 14 KO’s).
When the cards were read, unsurprisingly Flores had claimed every round on all three cards.
Despite Ruiz being the older and more experienced fighter, he simply had zero answers for Flores. Throughout the entire bout the undefeated prospect moved fluidly on his feet and connected with an obscene amount of flush head shots.
In the second round it became apparent why Top Rank signed the talented fighter while he was a mere 16 years old and still in high school. Flores was able to clip and hurt Ruiz with a left hook, making the underdog do a dance. Then the Californian put him on the canvas with a right hook.
When Escorpion found his feet he did so looking rather shaky. Even worse, Ruiz had a great deal of time left on the clock before the sixty second rest period. Regardless of his disposition after getting up, the fighter from the Honduras was able to see the end of the round and the fight.
Regrettably for Team Ruiz, outside of a moral victory, there was very little to be happy about when the prizefight was over. Flores was far too effective with his snapping jab, counter hooks and nifty footwork. Aside from the occasional single hard shot, the underdog did not present much offense to speak highly of.
In terms of criticism, it could be said that Flores did not stand his ground or strike the body nearly enough. The head hunting got rather repetitive and it was inconceivable why the young prospect didn’t try to break his opponent down while his father/trainer shouted round after round that he should do so.
Nevertheless, he is still growing and has massive upside! This was a marvelous victory for Gabriel Flores Jr.
By: Bakari Simpson
