BOXING AT THE IRVINE MARRIOTT : Fighting Lifeguard Armijo Scores Knockout

By STEVE KRESAL

July 31, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

IRVINE — It was John Armijo’s finest moment and more than 180 of his closest friends and a total of 1,286 saw him achieve it.

Armijo, who is billed as the Fighting Lifeguard, won the vacant California super-welterweight title with a 10th-round knockout against Arnold Williams of Oakland.

Armijo (13-5-1) dominated the bout, which was scheduled for 12 rounds. He led on the judges’ cards, 100-90, 100-89 and 100-91.

It was his sixth knockout and stopped a three-fight losing streak.

Williams had a cut in the corner of his right eye, a swollen mouth and a bloody nose when the bout was stopped after 10 rounds on the advice of the ringside doctors.

“I knew I had him beaten,” Armijo said. “I had it under control. I was strong for this fight. But give me a couple of months and I’ll be killing people.”

Armijo, 29, looked as if he was headed to his other job as a lifeguard at Huntington Beach when he entered the ring.

He had on sunglasses, a large straw hat and was carrying his flotation device. All the while, about 180 fellow lifeguards and friends where chanting his name.

Once the fight started, Armijo looked ready. At 152 pounds, he was as trim as he ever has been. He was strong the entire fight and was more active than Williams in every round.

Each time he showed signs of tiring, his friends would chant his name or shout “Bye bye, Arnie” and “he don’t surf.”

Williams (12-3) stayed defensive most of the bout, seldom showing the form that had earned 12 victories.

Armijo’s best round was the sixth, when he landed several combinations. He had Williams in trouble about halfway through the sixth and the crowd came to its feet in support. But Williams stayed away enough in the final 30 seconds to survive the round.

Armijo kept up the punishment in the next four rounds until the bout was finally stopped.

“I knew he needed a knockout to beat me,” Armijo said. “He was weak, so I was going to go for the knockout in the final round.”

But it never got that far.

On the undercard:

Daniel Dancuta, a 240-pound heavyweight from Anaheim, beat 230-pound Rick Phillips of San Diego in the first round. The bout was stopped after Phillips was hit in the neck.

Rick Ramirez of Santa Ana won a four-round unanimous decision over Cuitlahuca Rivera of Norwalk at 133 pounds.