Pride of Pittsburgh II: Salka wins bloodbath against Meza Clay, Vasquez and Lubin win

Sammy Vasquez Jr thrilled the home crowd tonight at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, knocking out Alberto Mosquera in the first round of tonight's main event on beIN Sports, promoted by Iron Mike Productions.

Vasquez (17-0, 13 KO) dropped Mosquera (21-2-2, 14 KO) on a right hook just under two minutes into the fight, then finished him off with body shots that seemed to paralyze Mosquera, who couldn't beat the count and seemed to be waving his hand to say he couldn't continue. In the corner after the fight, the Panamanian fighter had an ice pack on his shoulder, too.

The knockout shots were a delayed reaction from Mosquera, as body shot knockouts often are. Vasquez capped what was another very successful night of boxing in Pittsburgh from Iron Mike, where they're building a real fan base.

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In a bloodbath war that could go down in local legend, Pittsburgh fighters Rod Salka and Monty Meza Clay left each other and the referee and probably some ringside observers drenched in blood, fighting at a furious pace for 10 rounds. In the end, Salka was the clear winner, taking scores of 97-94, 98-92, and 99-91. BLH had it 98-92 for Salka, who earned every point by holding off the always determined Meza Clay.

Salka (20-4, 3 KO) came right out and threw a big right hand, setting the tone for the night. The fight had a frenetic energy, as local bragging rights were on the line. Meza Clay (36-4, 22 KO) was cut early over both eyes, but his corner did a terrific job taking care of the cuts, allowing him to go the distance. Salka also wound up cut, and by the end of the fight, referee Ernie Sharif's shirt was covered in the blood of the fighters.

Meza Clay brought tremendous pressure consistently, while Salka was able to box beautifully and pick him off on the way in and with counter shots. It was really an excellent performance from Salka in particular, but both fighters showed insane stamina. Statistically, there wasn't a lot between them, but Salka was just the better man. After the fight, they embraced and shared respect, as you usually see after two guys go at it the way they did.

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Erickson Lubin opened the broadcast with a solid eight-round win over veteran Norberto Gonzalez in a junior middleweight fight. The 19-year-old Lubin (8-0, 6 KO) was dropped and hurt in round one by Gonzalez (20-6, 13 KO), but rallied after that and gathered himself nicely. Along the way, Lubin put Gonzalez on the canvas in round four, and commentator Sean O'Grady suspected a jaw injury for Gonzalez in round three due to a big straight left from the young southpaw.

Lubin still has plenty of work to do, as all 19-year-old fighters do, but he's a very good prospect and has the natural gifts to become a player. Tonight was a good learning experience for him in several ways, including learning that if you keep your hands down and get too cocky offensively, someone might stick you with a right hand and put you on the mat.