It was another early night at the office for Manuel Flores.
The resurgent bantamweight prospect picked up his fourth consecutive early knockout. Flores halted Victor Olivo at 1:50 of the first round Thursday at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
The Golden Boy on DAZN Fight Night main even saw Flores immediately go to work. Olivo never had time to get into first gear and was quickly sent to the canvas courtesy of a body shot. Referee Thomas Taylor issued the full ten count as Olivo was unable to continue.
Flores (19-1, 15 knockouts) has now stopped each of his last four opponents. The previous trio all occurred in the second round for the 26-year-old from nearby Coachella.
“I’m feeling good,” said Flores. “It was only one round, so I feel good, I can go again. I give myself a B today, I should have stopped him earlier.”
Olivo fell to 21-5-1 (9 KOs) with the defeat.
Flores’ lone defeat came in a ten-round decision to Walter Santibanes (12-3, 2 KOs) last June 8 in this very venue. ‘Gucci Manny’ has fought here seven times and rapidly emerged as a hometown favorite.
The same can be said for Grant Flores, Manny’s younger cousin. All seven of his pro bouts have been held here, including a six-round virtual shutout of Puerto Rico’s Luis Ramos, 7-5-1 (7 KOs) in their junior middleweight heat.
Scores were 60-53, 60-53 and 59-54 for Flores (7-0, 5 KOs), who went the distance for just the second time.
Unbeaten featherweight Jose ‘Tito’ Sanchez remained perfect with an eighth-round knockout of Mexico’s Edwin Palomares.
The co-feature bout was entertaining throughout. Palomares (18-6-3, 9 KOs) took control early before Sanchez (14-0, 8 KOs) surged ahead.
A volley of power shots, ignited by a right hand upstairs, floored Palomares in the eighth. It was enough to stop the fight at 0:53 of the eighth round.
Sanchez, a 24-year-old from Cathedral City, California, fought and won for the third straight time at Fantasy Springs.
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