Cain Sandoval was pushed to the limit on Saturday night, but he held off the hard-charging Angel Rebollar to earn a unanimous decision in their junior welterweight main-event bout Saturday at Commerce Casino in Commerce, California. 

The judges scored the fight 97-93, 99-91 and 98-92 for Sandoval.

Sandoval (13-0, 11 KOs), of Sacramento, California, entered the bout with a ton of momentum but a heavy heart, grieving from a tragedy involving a gym teammate that has not yet been discussed publicly. Rebollar (8-4, 3 KOs), whose record doesn’t quite do him justice, made things no easier for Sandoval, doing his part to put on a competitive fight that was closer than the scorecards reflected.

Rebollar challenged Sandoval and had his share of success in the first two rounds, trying to turn in his own entry in a weekend of upsets (including wins by Ryan Garcia, David Jimenez and Dakota Linger – that is, until Sandoval adjusted. From the third round on, the favored fighter began taking control.

Rebollar, who was cut by a Sandoval punch in the second, didn’t roll over, however. By the ninth, Sandoval himself was trickling blood from his left cheek.

Sandoval may lose some hype after this fight, but to successfully battle adversities in and out of the ring suggests he has the potential to be a world-class fighter. Rebollar appeared to be of far higher quality than just a stepping stone, and may still have a bright future himself.

The co-feature saw flyweight Daniel “Chucky” Barrera win a six-round unanimous decision against Hector Ivan Valdes Pena.

Barrera (6-0-1, 4 KOs), a sparring partner of Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, dropped Valdes Pena (4-2-2, 2 KOs) in the sixth and final round but was unable to get the stoppage. All three judges scored the bout 60-53 for Barrera.

Super featherweight Jaybrio Pe Benito (4-0, 3 KOs) stopped Christian Lorenzo (3-7, 1 KO) standing with 47 seconds left in the second round of their scheduled four-round fight.

Strawweight Guadalupe Medina (6-0, 2 KOs) won a six-round unanimous decision over Sabrina Persona (3-2, 1 KO). The judges scored the fight 59-55, 59-55 and 60-54. Medina is gaining a lot of traction as a fun and exciting Southern California fighter on the rise.

Super featherweight Abel Mejia (4-0, 3 KOs) picked up a first-round stoppage against Rodney Mondala (1-3, 1 KO). Mejia stopped Mondala standing at 2:01 in the first.

Junior flyweight Brook Sibrian (3-0, 1 KO) continued her hot streak, winning a six-round decision over Ashley Felix (4-2, 1 KO). The bout saw Sibrian suffer a cut from a legal punch in the second round – which she was able to fight through – and overcome for the decision. The judges saw it 59-55, 59-55 and 60-54 for Sibrian.

In a junior lightweight bout, Rodrigo Mosquera (2-0, 1 KO) won a four-round decision over Ryan Mondala (0-2). All three judges scored the bout 40-36 for Mosquera. 

The opening bout saw junior middleweight Eliezer Silva (3-0, 2 KOs) knock out Jonathan Moskowitz (1-3, 1 KO) in the third round of their scheduled four-round fight.