By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Z ?The Dream? Gorres once again demonstrated his boxing skills and overall class as he made a smashing debut as a bantamweight to win the World Boxing Organization Oriental title with a 7th-round TKO of former world minimum weight champion Roberto Carlos Leyva of Mexico before a huge crowd at the Waterfront Hotel.

After two successive main events featuring Michael Katsidis and Gerry Pe?alosa that were virtual flops in terms of fight fans, the Judgment Day card presented by the famed ALA Gym, in cooperation with the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN, had fight fans, many of whom were foreigners, enjoying every minute of an action-packed evening.

The fights were telecast over Studio 23 and carried live by the global network of The Filipino Channel to the Middle East, Europe and Australia and replayed Sunday morning on ABS-CBN?s Channel 2.

Gorres, looking strong and comfortable at 118 pounds, showed that the additional weight didn?t slow him one bit as he caught Leyva time and time again with rapid-fire combinations, which had the added dimension of new-found power.

Nicknamed ?Baby Shark,? the southpaw Leyva, who had lost a close majority decision to top-rated bantamweight Adrian Hernandez (21-1-1, 13 KOs) in a World Boxing Council title eliminator, was no match for the flashy Gorres, who dominated the fight from the opening bell.

Gorres nailed the Mexican with two vicious uppercuts and had him reeling when Perez shouted to McTavish and waved his hands, saying ?no more, no more!,? to signal the end for Levya and clearly a new beginning for Gorres. The official time was 1:29 of the seventh round.

As for Gorres, he said: ?I am really strong at 118. Since my last fight was in May, I was very excited to give the fans a good fight. Gorres said that after the first two rounds, he realized ?there was no way he (Leyva) could beat me. The fans wanted a knockout and I did my best but he just wouldn?t go down. I knew in the end he would give up.?

With the emphatic win Gorres improved to 29-2-2 with 16 knockouts while Leyva fell to 25-9-1 with 20 knockouts.

In a fight that was considered a test of just how far he could go in his quest for a world title, Milan Melindo scored a unanimous 10-round decision over former IBF minimum weight champion Muhammad Rachman of Indonesia in an excellent tactical fight where, ultimately the sheer talent and skill of the 21-year-old Filipino overcame the ring savvy, experience and power of Rachman.