SAN ANTONIO – A fighter from Canelo Alvarez’s hometown produced an easy victory on his undercard Saturday night.

Christian Gomez spent two-plus rounds battering a brave-but-overmatched Angel Hernandez. Referee Rafael Ramos stopped their scheduled eight-round junior middleweight match after Gomez’s right hand knocked Hernandez flat on his back in the third round.

A game Hernandez beat Ramos’ count, but Ramos determined that he shouldn’t continue at 1:54 of the third round on the Alvarez-Callum Smith undercard at Alamodome.

Gomez, of Guadalajara, Mexico, improved his record to 19-2-1 and produced his 17th knockout. Hernandez (17-16-2, 11 KOs), of McAllen, Texas, is 4-9-1 in his past 14 fights, but he lost by knockout for the first time in his 10-year, 35-fight pro career.

In the opening bout Saturday night, another fighter from Guadalajara settled for a majority draw. Alexis Molina had his moments, but not enough to convince the judges he deserved to beat Robert Greenwood.

Guadalajara’s Molina lost by two points to Greenwood on one scorecard, but that 39-37 score was negated by the two judges who had the action even (38-38, 38-38).

Greenwood, of Frankfort, Indiana, also entered this fight with an unblemished record (5-0-1, 2 KOs).

Molina appeared to buzz Greenwood with two left hooks late in the second round, but Greenwood recovered. A right hand by Greenwood in the fourth round was his most effective punch of the bout, as it knocked Molina into the ropes.

Molina also suffered a cut over his left eye during the fourth round.

 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.