Mills Lane, left, acknowledges the crowd Saturday at the sixth annual Rural Rumble at the Churchill County Fairgrounds. Lane, a former boxing referee, was inducted to the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame on Aug. 10 and was honored at the Fallon FIghts.
Oscar Vasquez lived up to his promise.
The promising junior flyweight from Reno rallied Saturday for his first six-round win — a unanimous decision — over Alejandro Solario at the sixth annual Rural Rumble at the Churchill County Fairgrounds.
Despite the lingering smoke from several California wildfires, Vasquez it played no role with his endurance.
After sustaining his first loss of his professional career in the past year, Vasquez vowed never to lose again.
“I promised myself I would never lose again,” he added.
Vasquez (5-1), though, nearly lost his bout after Solario caught Vasquez with a powerful right cross on the chin. Vasquez went down, but was able to stabilize his legs and get back to work.
“I threw a right hand and he got right on the chin,” he said. “It was a good knocked, but I wasn’t hurt. I knew it was a mistake.”
The Reno flyweight then methodically worked over Solario’s left eye to the point the ringside doctor about stopped the fight in the sixth round to examine the eye. Once the bout resumed, Vasquez continued to pummel Solario’s eye and body with a flurry of punches.
“He couldn’t see from his left eye and I kept throwing right hands,” Vasquez said.
Vasquez, though, has found a home away from home in Fallon. The rising boxer has won three of his five fights at the Rural Rumble and feels comfortable under the outdoor lights.
“The fans, man,” Vasquez said of the Rural Rumble. “It’s outstanding. This was a step up for me. The next one … just work from there. Honestly, after every fight I get so much more confidence.”
Although Vasquez’s rally was the highlight, the lowlight was fellow Reno boxer Carlos Gaytan, who suffered a head injury in his bout against Hector Hernandez.
According to Terry Lane, CEO of Let’s Get It On Promotions, Gaytan was transported to Banner Churchill Community Hospital and then to Renown Medical Center in Reno. Lane said Gaytan was diagnosed with bleeding in the brain, which had stopped as of Monday.
Lane, though, said Gaytan — as of Monday — was in stable condition, but still sedated, and the doctors are optimistic about his recovery.
Gaytan was knocked down in the second round, and after getting back to his feet seemed out of place. In the fourth round, he was nearly knocked down again before the referee stopped the fight.
Gaytan was taken out of the ring on a backboard and taken to BCCH.
As for the other fights, former South Lake Tahoe and current Carson City resident Justin Benitez won his pro debut in a unanimous decision over Jimmy Jones of Las Vegas.
Benitez was able to negate Jones’ reach advantage and get inside to work the body. The Carson boxer was aggressive throughout the bout, initiating the action and using his jab to set up combinations.
“Very first fight, first win,” Benitez said. “I didn’t really care if I won or not, I just wanted to get my foot in the door. I didn’t go with the game plan in the first round … then I started to go with the jab and right hand and it was there.”
The co-main event between Ytalo Perea of Ecuador and Avery Gibson of Los Angeles displayed power between the two heavyweights.
Gibson, though, came out with a unanimous decision win in the six-round bout. Both exchange a bevy of powerful punches, but neither was able to score a knockout.
Perea stunned Gibson in the second, but Gibson regained his bearings and controlled the rest of the bout with a steady jab and numerous power punches.