New Mexico Boxing - Fight Results Ohkay Casino August 12, 2000

Fight Results: August 12, 2000 - Ohkay Casino, San Juan Pueblo, NM

Kingsley Ikeke Decisions "Bad Boy" Lovato to Win WBC Caribe Super Welterweight Title

Photos & report by chris cozzone

With a record of 16-18-1, Rudy "Bad Boy" Lovato was supposed to be a good easy win for undefeated Kingsley Ikeke. He wasn't. Albuquerque's "Bad Boy" refused to cooperate with the Nigerian tonight. When Ikeke threw his one-two's, Lovato wasn't there. When Ikeke tried to get his opponent against the ropes, again, Lovato wasn't there. The ever-elusive Lovato slipped and twisted away from Ikeke's shots all night; or he was able to deflect Ikeke's punches with his forearms in what proved to be a water-tight defense. In 12 rounds, Lovato appeared to be in trouble only once—in the last round—when Ikeke had showered him with shots against the ropes, although Lovato wasn't hurt enough not to return punches. All other rounds, it was Lovato who scored the hard hits; Lovato who landed the cleaner, more accurate punches.

The decision went to Kingsley Ikeke, who threw more punches, albeit less accurate. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Ikeke. A crowd of Lovato fans behind me, "Rip-off!" and "Robbed!"

Unless he's just plain not liked by judges, it remains a mystery why Rudy Lovato's record is now 16-19-1. The man can fight and he's slippery as an eel in the ring. This bad boy is more than a match for most Super Welterweights.

Ikeke vs Lovato wasn't the only action-packed fight tonight.

"Professional Boxng IV at the Dome" started out with Albuquerque's Jorge Leon up against Martin Quiros in a 6-round SuperWelterweight bout. Quiros is a tough sonofabitch fighting out of Juarez, Mexico, with a face carved outta granite, or from too many hard fights. Leon is the faster, better boxer; unfortunately, he fought the wrong fight, trying to outbrawl the brawler Quiros. A well-placed smack in the head put down Leon in Round 2 and it didn’t seem as if he ever recovered. His legs were rubber for the following rounds until Quiros put him down for good in Round 6.

Heavyweights Francis Royal and Larry Wilson, both out of Albuquerque, were up next. Royal, 2000 World Champion Toughman Winner recently turned professional boxer, had an easy night, KO'ing Wilson early in Round One. Wilson, who did little but put up his arms in front of his face, had no business being in the ring tonight. Wilson's record falls to 0-4 while Royal goes up to 2-0. Royal has his sights set on Butterbean.

The next bout saw Bobby Alexander (3-2) decision James Lopez in his pro debut. Lopez had Alexander had in trouble once or twice but did not do enough to get the win. The potential for Lopez is there; it just seemed as if the kid ran out of gas halfway through the fight, his mouth was wide open, gasping for air. Alexander, too, can improve. But with guys like legendary boxer Bob Foster in his corner, how can he not?

Another first-round KO came next, and I started to think I'd get home in time to watch the Holyfield-Ruiz fight from all these early round KO’s. Ricardo Barragan (2-0) from San Jose, CA, picked up the KO against pro debuter Rafael Labaceno, who was most amusing to watch. Labaceno went in like a crazy man, looking like some rabid Hispanic Nosferatu, hitting then clinching, hitting then clinching, then trying to wrestle Barragan. To Barragan's credit, he kept his cool and boxed Labaceno, who, when hit with a solid one, went down and shook his head no when the ref asked him if he wanted to continue.

A women's exhibition bout came next . . . at least I think it was an exhibition bout. The judges weren't sure, either. The handout said "Exhibition Bout" but the judges were then handed scorecards. So the bout was scored, but whether it goes on either fighters' fight record, God only knows . . .

Two top New Mexican women fought a good fight, exhibition bout or not: Jayla Ortiz from Santa Fe and Delia Gonzales from Las Cruces. Gonzales took the fight to Ortiz but the Santa Fean, who loses that cute teddy bear look when she fights, had the skills to match Delia’s aggression. The fight was evenly matched although Ortiz, the more elusive of the two, had the edge through six rounds. The crowd booed the decision, anyway.

After the main event came Shawn Gallegos in his second pro fight, up against Martin Llames from Juarez, Mexico. The fight went the distance: 4 rounds, Gallegos won every round and picked up the decision.

Undercard scores:

Martin Quiros (23-47-4) KO 6 Jorge Leon (?-?); Francis Royal (2-0) KO 1 Larry Wilson (0-4); Bobby Alexander (3-2) D 4 James Lopez (0-1); Jayla Ortiz (7-5-3) D6 Delia Gonzales (14-5-3); Shawn Gallegos (2-0) D4 Martin Llames (3-5)

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