sunday, may 6, '01

Vargas Prevails (And Nearly Fails)
El Paso on Cinco De Mayo

What keeps a man upright when he’s getting slugged? What is it that makes a man get up from a knockdown punch? What makes a man choose an ugly whore?

Who the hell knows?

But those are the questions I left El Paso with late Saturday night after the Cinco de Mayo fight card.

Want some more questions? How ‘bout, “By stopping Wilfredo Rivera, did Fernando Vargas show us that he’s recovered from his loss with Felix Trinidad? Or did that second round knockdown tell us he’s gotten ‘DavidReid-itis?’” Is he a flawed fighter now or a fixed one?

Couple questions I did have answered concerned Juan Lazcano, Francisco Bojado and the secret to winning the hearts of Juarez prostitutes, but I’ll get into all that in due time. Right now, I want to kiss El Paso’s ass in saying that this town is a helluva fight town.

Forget Vegas, the fans don’t show up but for the main event and there’s too much glitz, glamour and dough there. Forget New York, too. The Garden ain’t what it used to be (and most fights now are not in the main arena, anyway.) If you want true boxing, you got to come to the border here in El Paso and Juarez.

I’ve said before that the fights in Juarez top all. Still true. Want second best? Cross the border into El Paso. Chances are, you’ll find Juarez fighters on a fight card, anyway. But more important than the local fighters, you’ll also get an uncowed crowd. Atmosphere. Loyalty.

Mark my words: you’re gonna see more action down here. More big cards . . . And you’re also going to see more names comin’ out of Paso and Juarez. There’s more down here than tequila, heat and whores . . . .

Speakin’ of whores . . . .

I’d be reporting another fight card from Friday had not the fights in Juarez been rescheduled for May 25th. As it was, we still had a damn good local fight card in El Paso (click here) in El Paso Thursday night. Friday, then, was the Vargas-Rivera weigh-in—which was uneventful but for the shedding of a couple ounces Rivera had to do—and whatever else came after.

The events in between and/or surrounding a big fight card are supposed to enhance the boxing experience. Put you in the mood for it. One of my cohorts suggested a night of armchair boxing at his house, watching old Jack Dempsey videos and Friday Night Fights on ESPN2. But my other pals wanted acion, of the ill-reputable kind. That meant Juarez, of course.

Playing tour guide to a couple shall-not-be-named media people (of course, last time I didn’t name somebody, I still got him in deep-ass trouble with a certain female friend, even though he wasn’t guilty), Bad Andy and I drove into Juarez for a night of beer and broads (or “babes” if you want to be politically correct.) We hooked up with “Loredo,” a pal from the American side and a virtual guru of massage parlors in Mexico, who took us to the place where we could get the best bang for our buck, so to speak. Forty-five bucks got you the completo; and my three friends all chose the three ugliest muchachas. Me and Loredo kicked back and talked to the girls.

Me, I’m a faithfully married sonofabitch, and I found out that telling that to Juarez girls will generate quite some heartfelt interest in you (or the next best thing, seemingly heartfelt interest.) It was either that or my bald head and attractive features . . . yeah, right.

After my companions were spent, monetarily and otherwise, it was time for more beer and boxing talk before returning to our hotel rooms in El Paso.

The questions, I’m sure, were being asked all over the country: How would Vargas bounce back from his loss to Trinidad? Would Rivera give him trouble? Hadn’t it taken Mosley nine rounds to stop Rivera? How ‘bout Lazcano vs. Molina? Did Molina still have it, at 36 years of age? And was Lazcano overrated? Hadn’t he been given the gift decision in his fight with Jesse James Leija?

The consensus was that Vargas would win but Rivera would give him hell. And Lazcano would win by decision, as long as the fight was somewhat close, because a fight with lightweight champ Jose Luis Castillo was in the works. Plus, he was from El Paso. In fact, both Rivera and Molina were Puerto Ricans, which put them at a disadvantage here in Mexican and Mexican-American land.

We would find out the next night at the fights . . . .

The Fights: Mexican-Americans 2, Puerto Ricans 0

“LAR-RY SUCKS! LAR-RY SUCKS!”

The chant was a familiar one. Ever since HBO’s Larry Merchant dissed De La Hoya, mariachis and Mexican-Americans, in general, a few years ago, the fight fans here in El Paso have not forgotten him. Last September, when Diego Corrales and Erik Morales were headlining, the crowd had chanted “LAR-RY SUCKS!” Only the cheers for local hero Kirino Garcia had been louder.

And last night, only the action at the end of Lazcano vs. Molina and Vargas vs. Rivera paralleled the “LAR-RY SUCKS!” intensity.

Undercard fights started up at 7. Heavyweight Olympian Dominick Guinn (9-0, 7 KO’s) was matched up with 267-pound Ron Smith (8-19-2, 5 KO’s.) The fight was a no-brainer shutout win for Guinn. While he could not hurt the supersloth Smith, who outweighed him by 50 pounds, he could surely outbox him. Big as a house, Smith was just too slow and unaggressive. 

Eighteen year-old Olympian Francisco Bojado (4-0, 4 KO’s) was next, up against veteran Juarez fighter David Montes (9-4, 6 KO’s.)

We’d been tipped off the night before that while Montes might not walk away with the win, he’d certainly give Bojado a fight he’d not be ready for. Montes is a rugged fighter and he comes to do battle.

“C’mon!” he’d growled at Bojado in the ring, inviting the young gun to come mix it up with him.

Bojado did just that . . . dropping Montes twice by the third round. The second time saw the ref calling off the count.

Bojado was just beautiful to watch. It’s hard to believe he’s just 18 the way he moves in the ring. He’s fluid, he’s focused—and the kid can hit. Keep an eye on Bojado.

El Pasoan homey Rene Herrera (25-13, 17 KO’s) was up next, challenging Jose “Shibata” Flores (42-8, 26 KO’s) for the NABA Junior Middleweight belt. While Herrera showed heart, he could not match Flores in skill and power. By the third round, Herrera was a mess. He had a swollen left eye and a bloody nose. He turned things around in the 4th, however; and that round would’ve been his had not Flores stolen the round in the last ten seconds, flooring Rene. Flores dropped Herrera twice more in the 5th and the ref counted Herrera out.

The final undercard before HBO went live was a local bout between El Pasoans Jacob Gomez (7-7-2) and Alex Becerra (4-1, 2 KO’s). ‘Twas a hard match to score. Neither fighter generated enough power to hurt one another, although both displayed enough boxing skills to score points. One judge ruled it Becerra’s fight; the other two gave it to Gomez.

Finally, we were ready for Juan Lazcano and John John Molina . . . .

Originally, Lazcano was slated to fight champ Jose Luis Castillo. It’s a fight he still wants; and a fight he deserves to get now following his war with Molina.

It was a fight that teeter-tottered for the first six rounds. Molina had the earlier rounds. On several occasions, he backed Lazcano against the ropes and pounded away at the body. Lazcano started to get busier by Round 4, tagging Molina with lefts and rights. I had it even entering the 7th.

While Molina threw more punches, Lazcano’s shots were more accurate and the punishment started to show on Molina. Still, he fought on, showing Lazcano who was winning the rounds now, that he was still in the game and that he could still hurt him.

Lazcano had Molina against the ropes in the 10th and he pounded away at him with wild blow after wild blow—many of which missed. The ones that hit Molina could still not put him down. The legs would not fold.

Molina was dead on his feet now when the 11th started up. Again, Lazcano backed him up and through blow after unprotected blow at Molina. The referee stood behind Lazcano and watched, as if afraid to jump in . . .

“Stop the fight! Stop the fight!” the crowd yelled.  

“Stop the goddamn fight!” those in the crowd who like to swear yelled.

But no one did anything but Lazcano, who continued to pound away; and Molina, whose heart would not give the body permission to go down.

Outraged and concerned Molina was taking excessive damage, Molina’s trainer jumped into the ring to stop the fight by throwing in the towel—just as Molina’s legs failed and he crashed to the canvas.

Molina went to Providence Memorial Hospital for a CAT scan and was released with a clean bill of health later that night.

Lazcano? Lazcano was impressive. True, I had my doubts about him, especially after his “win” over Jesse James Leija. I still don’t think he can take out Jose Luis Castillo, but he certainly deserves the chance.

Seemed like it took forever for Vargas vs. Rivera to start. A thousand and one mariachis filled the ring (no comment from Larry Merchant, I believe) and hours later, it seemed, Vargas finally made his way to the ring.

Looked like Fernando had made some friends in El Paso during his time spent there. All week he’d been commenting on “all the beautiful brown faces” he’s seen here, and how he wants to come back to fight here again.

Wilfredo Rivera, despite the respect he’s shown Vargas, didn’t look like he had a friend in the world. He was booed on his walk to the ring, just as John John Molina had been. I would’ve liked to have seen a little more respect given Puerto Rican fighters but I guess it was Cinco de Mayo . . . .

Round One was a cautious one for both fighters, close enough to call even. Round Two saw both fighters start to open up, ones and twos, nothing spectacular although Vargas landed cleaner shots. And then it happened.

A textbook straight right caught Vargas right on the chin and down he went. I didn’t think he’d get back up and when he did, his eyes were glazed. I thought he was going to stumble and the ref was going to stop it right there but Vargas dug deep and gave the appearance of being okay.

Rivera blew it. Rather than go in for the kill, he played cautious and continued to box, while Fernando recovered. The bell rang and a dazed Vargas went back to his corner.

Vargas won the third, although he spent most of the time still recovering. Vargas landed the harder shots and by the end of the round, Rivera had a mouse over his left eye.

Vargas loaded up with left hooks in the 4th and Rivera’s eye was bleeding now. But the round belonged to Rivera who was able to hurt Vargas once again with an inside right hand thrown in the last minute.

Vargas came back again in the 5th, throwing stronger, cleaner punches. Rivera was tiring now and his face was a bloody mess. Round Six saw more of the same until a left hook to the body dropped Rivera to his knees. He got up and signaled to his corner that he couldn’t see.

But the fighting continued. Vargas flurried until Rivera’s corner threw in the towel.

Gotta admit it, Richard Martinez of La Prensa called it exactly as it happened shortly before the fight started. “He’s gonna go down once early,” he said, “and then stop him by the 6th.”

But nevermind the result, the win . . . is Fernando Vargas back? Or is he on the downslide now?

Pre-Tito, he’d never been down. And then five times in that fateful night of his fight with Felix. And then boom, a straight hand drops him again . . . a sign of things to come?

On the other hand, Vargas has done what no other has been able to do: Stop Rivera in the 6th. Even with Sugar Shane Mosley, it took 9 rounds . . . .

Guess we’ll find out with his next fight.

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chris@cozzone.com

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