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Mari's Minute "Fury In The Ring" Recap GBU Jr. Middleweight Americas Championship Title Bout
June 21, 2007 San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino 777 San Manuel Blvd. Highland, California
This past Thursday night, the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino played host to Live Championship Boxing presented by Ringside Ticket. With hundreds in attendance, a great night of boxing was highlighted by the third bout of the evening which saw the ladies exchange blows in nonstop action which had the fans at the edge of their seat - Great boxing skills and persistence paid off for the winner of the fight of the night. Plus, let’s not forget that the GBU Jr. Welterweight Championship belt was on the line in the main event. This is how it all went down.
Fight 1 - Miguel Ortiz vs. David Hernandez. Ortiz wins at 1:49 of round one by knockout due to a left hook. The bell rings and the first round begins.
Hernandez started with some waist movement as they circled the ring. Ortiz wass the first to connect with a right hook to the body. Hernandez was able to counter with a right, left combo to Ortiz’s body but they didn't land solidly. Through the round, Hernandez connected to the face a couple of times but it didn’t appear to hurt Ortiz. Ortiz came back with strong body punches that took a toll on Hernandez. After a flurry of punches to the body and face, Ortiz connected with a clean left hook to Hernandez’s chin that took Hernandez to the mat. The referee moved in for the count and realized Hernandez is out and is unable to continue.
Fight 2 - Art Briceno vs. Ross Haskins Briceno wins by unanimous decision after four (three minute) rounds with all judges scoring the bout 39-37.
The first round opened with Haskins faking a left hook - Haskins, with a height advantage, was able to connect with a right hook to the body. That didn’t stop Briceno from pressing the fight and counter with a nice left hook to the face. Most of the round saw Haskins move in for a punch or two and then take a step back keeping his distance. Briceno moved in for some body shots that connected and a couple of jabs to the face. Briceno’s punches appeared to slow Haskins down. I give the round to Briceno.
The second round saw lots of back and forth action as Briceno continued to press the fight. Haskins was able to jab and connected as well. This was a pretty even round.
The third round started and Haskins came out with more determination - as he had Briceno moving back most of the round. Haskins was pressing the round and connected with better combo punches to the body. Briceno appeared to be more exhausted allowing Haskins to connect to his body. I give this round to Haskins.
In the final round, both needed to win the round to win the fight according to my scorecard And both gave it everything they had - Haskins still connecting to the body and Briceno connecting to the face. I give this round to Briceno as he connected with more shots to give him the win and the judges agreed...albeit, giving Briceno one more round than I did.
Fight 3 - Demi Nguyen vs. Cheryl Bontz Nguyen wins by TKO at :17 of the fourth round - The ref stepped in to stop the fight after Bontz received punishing punches.
As the first round began, Bontz immediately rushed in with some jabs to the face but Nguyen’s head movement and counter punching appeared to give her the upper hand. Nguyen was able to connect from the inside and consistently connected with right, left jab combos to Bontz’s face. Bontz’s short punches also connected but didn’t appear to do any harm. The round ended pretty much how it began, both ladies connecting with jabs to the face but Nguyen’s appeared to do more harm.
Second round - Bontz came in strong and connected with powerful hooks but Nguyen countered with her own. Nguyen worked the left hook that connected most of the time when it was thrown. Powerful punches thrown by both women had the fans at the edge of their seat. Nguyen ends the round with a right hook that connected to the face.
Third round - Continuing where Nguyen left off, Nguyen beat Bontz to the punch most of the time. Nguyen’s experienced showed as she connected with precision. They tied up against the ropes as they tried to box out, they tripped over each other and fall to the ground. The got back up and Nguyen ended the round with more punches connecting. The fans enjoyed another powerful round by Nguyen.
The fourth round - Bontz once again moved in and Nguyen beat Bontz to the punch and connected with a series of right, left combo punches. The ref (Jerry Cantu) kept a close eye as he saw Bontz in trouble. The referee stepped in and stopped the fight after Nguyen connected with another powerful left hook - The ref had determined Bontz had had enough and I agreed. Bontz showed tremendous heart and for this being her debut fight - Wow!! - awesome job. The non stop action throughout the rounds made this the fight of the night. Kudos to you ladies!
Fight 4 - Allen Cespedes vs. Julio Lanzas After six (three minute) rounds, judges ruled a majority draw with scores 60-54 (Lanzas), 60-54 (Cespedes) 57-57 draw.
First round - Lanzas put the pressure early on in the round as he connected with left hooks to the body. Lanzas continued working the body and the face with left hand punches. Lanzas’ corner advised him to finish with his right hand. Cespedes appeared to be studying his opponent as he continued to stand his ground in the middle of the ring. Cespedes threw a couple of jabs and appeared to want to finish the fight with a one punch knockout - Very little combination punches from Cespedes was thrown. Cespedes was having a tough time connecting as the few punches he threw were pretty much blocked. I give this round to Lanzas who was more active and connected with more punches.
Second round - Lanzas still not working his right hand and his corner was obviously frustrated. Finally, Lanzas threw the right that was so desired by his corner and connected to the face. Cespedes was not throwing much and what was thrown was missed or blocked. Round for Lanzas.
Third round - Lanzas moved right in and once again was able to connect with some body punches. Cespedes was doing a good job countering and appeared to throw more punches than in the previous rounds. Cespedes threw a flurry of punches to the body but most were blocked by Lanzas. I called this \ round even.
Fourth round - Lanzas connected with a left overhand that stunned Cespedes and Cespedes lost his balance - Cespedes recovered and tried to connect on the inside but not much harm. Lanzas connected with two consecutive right overhands that took Cespedes back. Another great round for Lanzas as he was able to connect with better punches.
Fifth round - Cespedes became more active and started to connect with more punches. As Lanzas stepped in, Cespedes threw the left that appeared to have cut Lanzas’ right eye. Cespedes got some motivation and throughout the round, was able to finally throw better connecting punches giving him the round.
The sixth and final round - Cespedes came in holding Lanza’s head down and what had been a clean fight now had the potential to turn around. Cespedes threw some combinations and connected both to the body and the face. Lanzas appeared to be hurt and was losing this round - Lanzas slowed down and Cespedes had picked up the pace. They tangled up and on the inside, Cespedes was able to connect better. Lanzas didn’t give up and was able to get some punches in towards the end of the round. Cespedes came out on top in this round.
A controversial ending to this fight as the judges ruled it a draw. In my opinion, it was not a draw and I had Lanzas four rounds to two. The fans appeared to have seen the fight that I saw as they booed the judges decision.
Fight 5 - Rob Frankel vs. Mike Gonzalez Frankel wins after 10 (three minute) rounds of boxing by judges split decision - 96-94 Frankel, 96-94 Gonzalez, 98-92 Frankel. Frankel remains as the GBU Jr. Welterweight Americas Champion.
First round - The bell rang and they met in the center of the ring - A slow start as they circled in the center. Frankel threw a couple of jabs testing the waters. A more cautious Gonzalez picked and chose when to punch. Frankel was able to connect with straight right, left combo punches on the inside. Gonzalez looked for an opening and was only able to connect with a few punches to the mid-section. Frankel did a good job working the body and connecting with some jabs to the face.
Second round - Gonzalez started pressing the round and pushed forward and became more active with his hands. Gonzalez was able to connect with a nice overhand and changes it up to the body. Frenkel’s straight punches were blocked and Gonzalez was able to counter with a left hook towards the end of the round.
Third round - An even exchange of punches began the round. Gonzales, still moving forward, was able to get Frankel against the ropes but Frankel punched his way out and connected to Gonzalez’s body. Frankel got away but once again, Gonzalez pushed forward taking Frankel to the corner. Gonzalez was able to connect effectively in that position.
Fourth round - Frankel entered the ring with a slight cut above his right eye. We saw more punches from Frankel and he started to stand his ground. Frankel was able to connect with right, left combo that took Gonzalez back against the ropes. Frankel ended the round strong and connecting well.
Fifth round - Both showed they wanted to win as they gave a pretty even exchange of punches. Gonzalez’s right, left hook combos connected while Frankel’s body shots slowed Gonzalez down.
Sixth round - A more determined Frankel landed a powerful right overhand early that stunned Gonzalez - With weaken knees, Gonzalez was able to hang on even though he still received a few more hits to the body and face. This round was all Frankel as he connected well throughout the round.
Seventh round - Gonzalez appeared to have recovered but not all the way. Frankel was moving with more confidence. Gonzalez also appeared to be tired. Gonzalez was letting down his guard and that allowed Frankel to connect to the face and beat Gonzalez to the punch.
Eighth round - Gonzalez once again became the aggressor. He moved forward in the round and took Frankel to the ropes. Gonzalez went back to what was working for him in the early rounds. With Frankel leaning against the ropes, Gonzalez was able to connect with a series of combination punches to the body and back to the face. Gonzalez regained his composure and took the round.
Ninth round - Once again, Gonzalez pressed forward and connected - taking Frankel to the ropes. Frankel was able to counter and connected with a couple of jabs to the face and that slowed Gonzalez down just for a moment.
10th round - Gonzalez started the round with a swollen left eye and Frankel with a cut underneath his right eye. Both men wanted the win bad and it showed as they went head to head in this round. Both were getting hit with some good punches but that didn’t stop either one of them...or slow them down at all for that matter. They battled it out with some jabs, body shots, overhands...right, left hooks throughout the round. Great back and forth non-stop action from both warriors. They poured their hearts out in this final round - It was a great match-up between these two and it's a shame someone had to lose.
I also wanted to give a shout out (Special Thanks) to Patrick Ortiz (promoter) and the staff at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino for their Great Hospitality.
Until Next time, Mari
(6/26/07) |
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