Brinkley tracks down Dallas for knockdown win

RENO - If nothing else, Yerington super middleweight Jesse Brinkley's fight with Dallas Vargas was living proof that nothing worthwhile comes easy.

The 168-pound Brinkley had no problem finding the 30-year-old Vargas, of Toledo, Ohio, but putting him on the canvas was another thing entirely.

After hitting Vargas with an inordinate amount of punches, Brinkley finally caught Vargas with two left hooks and a right hand, putting him down just as the bell rang to end round nine.

Referee Vic Drakulich gave Vargas a quick looking over before calling a halt to the action affair which saw Brinkley unload with a spectacular 32-punch combination in round six - this after hurting his right hand with an overhand punch in the third.

"Thanks, Reno," Brinkley, now 28-5 with 19 knockouts, announced to a wild, standing near-sellout crowd in the parking lot of the Eldorado Hotel and Casino. "I want (a rematch with) Joey Spina. I want Joey Gilbert. Thank you."

The 170-pound Vargas, now 21-4 (15), absorbed tremendous punishment, but until the end of the fight always found a way to come back with strong punches of his own.

"I can't believe it was stopped, but it's not my call," said Vargas, who was told by a physician to get a precautionary CAT-scan on his head. "I know I was hitting him, but he kept coming back. He hit me hard. He had good combinations. He looked good from the last time I saw him fight.

"I heard he wasn't any good. He proved the people that said that wrong today. I have a good chin. On the Internet, people who don't know me said I get hit and go down easy. Those people don't know me."

Brinkley's personal doctor, Cary Logan, summed the fight up perfectly: "It looked like something out of a horror movie," Logan said. "Jesse hit him and he just kept coming."

"If you don't come in shape for this guy, he'll beat you," Brinkley said. "I'm in shape. I think I can get in better shape. At 168 pounds, I'm better. I want to get better recovery time."

There wasn't much time for many of the boxers on the card to recover, as five of the six bouts failed to go the distance and all five of the Northern Nevada fighters on the card came out victorious.

Carson City's Mike Peralta, 135 1Ú2, dropped Pernell Jackson with a left hook for a nine-count in the first round before closing the show following the second round when Jackson, now 1-3-1 (1) quit on his stool.

The 24-year-old Peralta improved to 2-2 (1).

"That was for my cousin," Peralta said, pointing to a picture of Lewis Braxton III, who committed suicide at the Eldorado May 4. "It was here he took his own life by jumping off the 10th floor. I'm not getting drunk or messed up. I know he's looking down at me. From now on I'm going to push harder and train every day for him."

Derek and Tyler Hinkey, both from the McDermitt Indian reservation, ended their respective fights the quick way.

The 272-pound Tyler twice knocked down Dan Evensen, of Las Vegas, along the way to scoring a knockout at 2 minutes, 46 second of the first round. It was both fighters' pro debut.

For his part, the 163-pound Derek Hinkey improved to 3-0 (3), stopping Jovanni Rubio, 6-8 (4), at 1:40 of the second round, punishing him along the ropes with a fight-ending seven-punch combination.

Reno's Jaime Rodriguez, 3-2 (2), overcame an injured left elbow in stopping two-time New York Golden Gloves champion Shavaris Buie, 0-2, of Brooklyn, at 2:51 of round two.

Maureen Shea, 126, of Bronx, N.Y., improved to 11-0 (5) with an impressive and unanimous six-round decision over Olivia Gerula, 7-9-2 (2), of Winnipeg, Canada.