Vargas Defends State Lightweight Title

Yoni Vargas had a cut on the side of his head from a butt and two points deducted for fighting after the bell, but he scored a resounding knockout of previously unbeaten Orlando Villaflor on Thursday night at the Pond in Anaheim.

Vargas (21-2) defended his California Lightweight Championship by sending Villaflor to the canvas twice in the second round, the last one 2:12 into the round when Villaflor absorbed a right hand and nearly rolled off the ring apron after being knocked under the bottom rope.

Vargas, who came in at 130 3/4 pounds, won for the ninth consecutive time and got his 11th knockout. Villaflor, a 130-pounder from the Philippines, dropped to 18-1-1.

Villaflor, who has 14 knockouts, had one point deducted and Vargas two for fighting beyond the bell of the first round.

La Habra’s Enrique Ornelas (11-0) got his seventh knockout after referee Jerry Cantu stopped the super-middleweight bout 20 seconds into the fifth round because of Carl Cockerham’s broken jaw. Cockerham is 10-8-2. There were four knockdowns in the first round, three by Ornelas.