Brinkley defends his title

BY MIKE HOUSER

Appeal Sports Writer

RENO " Yerington's Jesse Brinkley knocked down Jason Naugler with less than 10 seconds remaining in their bout to score a unanimous 12-round decision victory in front of more than 1,900 fans Friday at Reno Ballroom.

Brinkley, who weighed in at 167 pounds, improved to 31-5 with 21 knockouts in defending his WBC-affiliated United States National Boxing Championship (USNBC) belt.

Naugler, 168, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, had never before been knocked down in either his professional or 120-bout amateur career. Ringside doctor Todd Chapman sent Naugler, who fell to 18-8-1 (11), to Renown Hospital for observation following a post-fight examination.

The 31-year-old Brinkley controlled the action throughout, mixing splendid boxing with unrelenting punching and defense. Following the fight, he said he'd like to next face former IBF middleweight champion Jeff Lacy.

His promoters, Terry and Tommy Lane of Let's Get It On, said they would seek to make the fight happen.

In other bouts:

-McDermitt's Derek Hinkey, 163, scored a knockout over Gabriel Garcia, 165, with only 41 seconds remaining in the sixth and final round. Hinkey, who also dropped Garcia in the first and second rounds, put Garcia, of San Jacinto, Calif., down with a right hand in the final round, causing a wide cut under his right eye. Hinkey improved to 5-1 (5), while Gil fell to 3-1 (1).

-McDermitt's Tyler Hinkey, 250, moved to 4-0-1 (3) by destroying Michael Finney, 239, of San Jacinto, Calif. A right hand from Hinkey dropped Finney flat on his back 1:09 into the first round. Finney is now 1-1 (1).

-Mark "The Bazooka" DeLuca unloaded with a straight left to stop Carson City's Flavio Cardoza in the first round. The one-punch bomb came at 2:41 and improved DeLuca, 163, of Brockton, Mass., to 6-0 (4). Cardoza, 163, fell to 1-3.

-Michael Goins, 235, of Las Vegas, overcame a rough first round to stop Chad Forrester, 247, of Sparks, in the second round. Goins improved to 1-1 (1). It was Forrester's pro debut.

-Alvaro Morales, 278, of Las Vegas, took advantage of his 250-fight amateur career to notch a majority decision over Lovelock's Alfred Happy, 294. Morales improved to 3-1-4, while Happy, who had one amateur fight, fell to 5-1 (4).

-Former Mongolian amateur star Batkhuu Otgunchuluun, 123, scored a third-round knockout over Omar Valencia, 0-2, 124, of Las Vegas. It was Otgunchuluun's pro debut.

There will be a comprehensive roundup of the card in Sunday's Nevada Appeal.