McEwan scored a seventh-round knockout after the referee stopped the fight at the 2:38 mark.

By CHRIS TOBOLSKI
The Orange County Register

IRVINE - Billed as the longest-running boxing series in the nation, the Battle in the Ballroom began its 25th year with Thursday's matches at the Irvine Marriott.

Along with the six-bout card, the Battle in the Ballroom also introduced its inaugural Hall of Fame class, including legendary trainer Freddie Roach.

One of Roach's fighters, undefeated "Scottish" Craig McEwan, was featured in the main event, opposing Pomona's Ivan Stovall.

McEwan entered the ring to bagpipes playing and wearing a kilt, and the southpaw didn't disappoint his fans in the sellout crowd of 1,352 —the 25th consecutive sellout.

McEwan scored a seventh-round knockout after the referee stopped the fight at the 2:38 mark. McEwan was landing a series of blows, and with Stovall not fighting back, the ref felt he had no choice but to call the match.

It was McEwan's eighth knockout as he moved to 13-0. Stovall is 10-3.

The bout began with McEwan in control, and Round 1 ended with a flurry of an exchange in the final 10 seconds. The action heated up in Round 2, with the final 10 seconds again producing the best punching of the round.

Stovall turned in his best effort in Round 4, landing a big right midway through the round. However, Stovall's power punches missed with regular frequency. In Round 3, McEwan had opened a cut under Stovall's left eye and kept working it the rest of the fight.

By Round 6, McEwan was in complete control as blood continued to flow from Stovall's left eye. Still, Stovall was remaining aggressive, coming forward and initiating the action. But by Round 7 Stovall could not penetrate McE wan's defense.

The southpaw caught Stovall early in the round with a left and didn't let up.

The Battle in the Ballroom inducted six members into its Hall of Fame, including Roach, Gernaro Hernandez, Johnny Vasquez and John Montes.

Just four of the six scheduled bouts were held because of injuries to fighters. Ramon Camacho (1-0) of La Habra recorded a second-round knockout against Carlsbad's Scott Rose in his debut.

Arquimedez Garcia (2-0-1) of Santa Ana won a split decision over Cesar Garcia (1-4-1) in the second bout.

Rowland Heights' Rhonda Luna (15-0) stayed undefeated, defeating Tammy Franks of El Paso, Texas, in the semi-main event. Luna knocked out Franks at 1:31 of the second round.