Las Vegans Jeremy Nichols, Max Ornelas win again at Knockout Night at the D

Jeremy “J-Flash” Nichols gave the perfect response on why he continues to win during the Knockout Night at the D series.

“You can’t have a D fight without J-Flash,” said the flamboyant Nichols. “I get so much love from the D Hotel and the fans. This is home.”

The monthly boxing series at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center has been kind to the local boxer. Nichols improved to 5-0 at the outdoor venue on Friday after defeating Marquis Hawthorn by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the welterweight bout 40-36.

Nichols enjoys putting on a show for the fans with his prefight dance moves and fast hands in the ring, but on Friday night, he was focused on one spectator sitting ringside, the legendary Roy Jones Jr. Nichols pointed in Jones’ direction during the bout.

“He’s a good friend of my family, and I’m thankful that he puts me on these cards at the D,” Nichols said.

Nichols, 26, moved from Long Beach, California, to Las Vegas when he was 9 and attended Cheyenne and Canyon Springs high schools.

Max Ornelas, a Las Vegas native, has also had success during the Knockout Night at the D series. The 18-year-old bantamweight improved to 3-0 in downtown after defeating Mulapi Enjani by technical decision.

Enjani injured his ankle before the end of the final round and was carried out of the ring.

Ornelas hopes to someday get a world title shot, but he’s also working on getting a criminal justice degree at UNLV.

“It’s a busy schedule, but I told my mom I would go to college,” said Ornelas, who takes three classes at UNLV.

In the main event, Erik Ruiz defeated Hanzel Martinez by majority decision (95-95, 98-92, 97-93) in an exciting junior featherweight bout. Ruiz came in on three days notice after Ghana’s Emmanuel Quartey was unable to secure a visa into the country to fight Martinez.

The co-main event arguably had more fireworks than the main event. In a back-and-forth bantamweight battle, Stephon Young got the majority decision (95-95, 97-93, 96-94) over Tony Lopez Jr. Young had plenty of support from his friends and family members who made the trip from St. Louis.

Las Vegan Randy Moreno was all business in his second-round technical knockout victory over Fabian Alaniz.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.