By Francisco Salazar

Welterweight Taras Shelestyuk defeated Martin Angel Martinez over eight one-sided rounds to win by decision Saturday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange, California.

It was Shelestyuk’s first fight since July of 2017, reportedly due to managerial issues and to recoup from injuries.

The southpaw Shelestyuk looked rusty early on, but began finding a rhythm as the fight progressed. Shelestyuk dropped Martinez midway through the fourth round, stunning him with a left hand to the head and following up with another left to the top of the temple area.

Martinez hung tough throughout the second half of the fight, but was outgunned.Shelestyuk connected with several combinations to the head, battering Martinez in round seven.

During the final round, the veteran Martinez was able to clench and hold Shelestyuk anytime the two fighters were in close, allowing Martinez to see the final bell.

All three judges scored the bout 80-71 for Shelestyuk, who improves to 17-0, 10 knockouts. Shelestyuk won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games for the Ukraine, an Olympic team that also included Vasiliy Lomachenko, Oleksandr Usyk, and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.

Shelestyuk now resides in the Los Angeles area and is co-promoted by Thompson Boxing and Banner Promotions.

Martinez, who resides in Empalme, Mexico, drops to 19-17-1, 12 KOs.

Junior welterweight Angel Ruiz (12-0, 9 KOs) remained unbeaten, knocking out Roberto Almazan (8-10, 3 KOs) at 1:56 of the opening round.

Featherweight Arnold Dinong won by unanimous decision over Miguel Moreno, who was making his pro debut. All three judges scored the bout 40-36 in favor of Dinong, who improves to 4-0, 1 KO.

The scheduled six-round bout between Brandon Trejo (4-1, 2 KOs) and Juan Alberto Castillo (6-1, 4 KOs) was cancelled when cancelled when Castillo was not medically cleared to fight by the California Athletic Commission.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing