Fighter wears down opponent in lightweight bout

Jennifer Miller

Sunday, May 17, 2009 | 9:42 a.m.

It was Oscar Meza’s first time fighting in the United States on Saturday, but Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios had more than a warm welcome waiting for him.

Rios, in his black trunks with gold trim, dazzled the crowd with a barrage of uppercuts and quick jabs through four rounds at Buffalo Bill’s in Primm before winning the lightweight bout by technical knockout 24 seconds into the fifth round.

Meza, of Mexico, seemed to be controlling the first round, pushing Rios back against the ropes. But Meza’s aggression may have caused him to fatigue early and Rios was in complete control by the third round.

“My coach was telling me, ‘He’s giving up. Keep attacking,’” Rios said. “And by the fifth round I had him worn down and I got him with a body shot.”

Rios improved to 20-1-1 while Meza fell to 18-3.

On the undercard, super welterweight Vanes Martirosyan remained undefeated at 24-0 by easily defeating Harrison Cuello at 2:13 of the first round.

After training with Ronnie Shields for year, Martirosyan reunited with Freddie Roach, who has helped alter his strategy.

“Before when I used to land a punch, I would sit there and admire it. But this time when I hurt the guy I jumped on it, and let my hands go. I didn’t stop until the referee told me to stop.” Martirosyan said.

Also, local Diego Magdaleno improved to 10-0 with an unanimous decision victory against Juan Montiel. Magdaleno was victorious 60-54 on all three judges’ scorecards.

Also, undefeated super featherweight Miguel Angel Garcia (17-0) was too much for African native Anthony Napunyi (10-3, 5KO'S). In the third round, Garcia came out with a flurry of punches and jabs. The fight was called at 1:04 in the third round when Napunyi began to look defenseless.

Miller is is a UNLV undergraduate in the Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies.