THE OPPONENT – Romero Sandoval, of Los Angeles and Chiapas, was announced as having a record of 15 wins and 4 losses. Though BoxRec’s archives only have him listed as having the four losses with no wins, some of his other fights may not have been documented, since Chavez was also announced as having a record of 33-0 (five less than actual). He had fought seventh-ranked Livingstone Bramble earlier that year. (He lost that fight in the ninth by TKO). Since Sandoval had appeared on television a couple of times before and had more recognition, this was a big fight for Chavez. Sandoval was wearing brown (almost gold) trunks with green trim; Chavez was wearing blue.
INTERESTING QUOTE – And one of my favorites. As the fight started, commentator Col. Bob Sheridan said, “Chavez, as at the top of the show I mentioned, is the fellow with 33 and 0 with 32 knockouts. I’m unable to find him ranked in the Ring magazine, Boxing Illustrated, or by the WBC or WBA, so he must be some kind of a fighter with 32 knockouts in 33 fights.”
ROUND ONE – The fight started out slow. After warming up a little Chavez threw some hooks to the head and body, along with an occassional right, as Sandoval got in a few jabs. Halfway into the round Chavez got Sandoval against the ropes, hooking at him, but Sandoval exchanged with him and got out. After exchanging a little more, Chavez landed a hook to the head that knocked Sandoval back a bit. He followed with a right hand, but not quickly enough, as Sandoval meets it with punches of his own. The last thirty seconds of the round, Sandoval was mostly able to keep Chavez off by moving and utilizing the jab.
ROUND TWO – This round started quicker. Sandoval was landing punches, but Chavez was right on him with hooks to the body and a couple to the head. Chavez then landed a perfect combination–a jab, cross and hook to the head. He contined to punish Sandoval with hooks both up- and downstairs. Sandoval still fought back, though reacting more and more strongly to the punches landing on him. Finally, a left to the head leaves Sandoval defenseless and he is battered upon against the ropes with about a dozen hooks. The referee stepped in and, according to California rules, gave Sandoval a standing 8-count rather than stop the fight. However, Sandoval doesn’t leave the corner when the fight resumes and is pummelled once again by Chavez, though about half of his punches miss. Then, Chavez lands a hard right, which stiffens Sandoval. He gets in one last left hook before Sandoval collapses onto the canvas again. Sandoval somehow manages to get back up, but the referee calls a stop to the bout at 1:58, giving Chavez the KO win.
ON THE SAME CARD – Jaime Garza won the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight Title with a second round TKO over Bobby Berna. Tomas Chavez lost by a ninth rount TKO to Harry Arroyo.
Location: Los Angeles, California
Venue: Olympic Auditorium
Scheduled: 10 Rounds
Referee: John Thomas
Promoter: Don King
Broadcast: KingVision / Prime Ticket
Ring Announcer: Jimmy Lennon Sr.