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- Jan. 22 -- ‘Dangerous’ Mormon headlines Plaza card
Cruiserweight contender B.J. Flores handled journeyman heavyweight Matt Hicks in the headliner of Friday night's fight card at the Plaza hotel-casino, then turned his attention to setting up a potential world title bout against one of the current belt-holders in boxing's 200-pound division.
"A.S.A.P.," Flores said after winning by technical knockout at 2:50 of Round 3 in a scheduled six-rounder. "I'll fight anybody. We just want to make sure the deal is right and the situation is right. We deserve a fair amount of money and a fair amount of time to prepare. Give me that and I'll fight any of the champions."
Flores (22-0-1, 14 knockouts) scored a second-round knockdown against Hicks (13-4), who took the fight on short notice, before finishing him off a round later.
"He's a big guy so I wanted to see what he had, to figure out his time a little bit," said Flores, who trained in Las Vegas for the bout and is based in Chandler, Ariz. "I didn't get hit with anything clean. I controlled him, moved him around. I did what I wanted to do."
Flores, who had been inactive for nearly a year, said taking the fight actually cost him money. He expects, however, that it will pay long-term dividends as he attempts to gain a foothold in the upper echelon of the cruiserweight class, a notoriously unheralded division in which big-money bouts are scarce.
"Hopefully this fight will let people know I'm back," Flores said as he showed off his paycheck: a grand total of $25 after expenses. "This fight wasn't about the money. It was about getting back in the ring."
Flores said his goal is to make a championship fight against an opponent such as Johnathon Banks, a fellow unbeaten cruiserweight at 20-0; Guillermo Jones, the WBA champion; or Tomasz Adamek, who holds the IBF belt.
"I feel like I'm just going into the best phase of my career," Flores said.
Also on the card presented by TKO Boxing and Let's Get It On Promotions:
Elvin Ayala (19-3-1, 8 KOs) defeated Anthony Bartinelli (23-11-2) by unanimous decision in an eight-round super middleweight bout.
Rafael Valenzuela (11-1, 6 KOs) defeated Robert Da Luz (11-16-2) by TKO at 1:23 of Round 1 at super bantamweight.
Bayan Jargal (10-0-1, 7 KOs) defeated Walberto Gaxiola (7-6) by TKO at 1:53 of Round 1 at welterweight.
Tyler Hinkey (5-0, 4 KOs) defeated Benjamin Lee (1-1) by TKO at 2:17 of Round 1 at heavyweight.
Lonnie Smith (6-2-2, 5 KOs) defeated Ronald Hurley (4-4-2) by TKO at 2:48 of Round 3 at junior lightweight.
Gabriel Del Real (2-0, 1 KO) defeated Alejandro Balladeres (0-2) by unanimous decision in a four-round welterweight bout.
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