 Lovato Edges Out
Win
in Comeback Fight
Santa Fe High School, Sept. 22, '01 story and photos by chris cozzone
It
was a night of upsets and near-upsets. A night of
comebacks and setbacks. A night of good, solid boxing.
In
front of at least 1,500 fight fans packed into the
gymnasium at the Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe’s “Bad
Boy” Robbie Lovato made his return to the ring after
five years of down time. For his comeback, Lovato was
pitted against Albuquerque’s hard-hittin’ Tommy
Aragon.
Aragon,
who’s fought his last couple fights in less than optimal
shape, chose this fight to come in prepared—and
he came damn close to shutting down Lovato’s plans.
After
making an entrance worthy of the Prince, Lovato seemed
loose and at ease before the opening bell. In the Blue Corner,
the poker-faced and stocky Aragon kept his hands moving
while he patiently waited for Round One.
The
first few rounds were all Robbie Lovato. Skills and speed
were on his side and he racked up points moving in and
out, landing combinations that scored but did little
damage to Aragon.
It
was beginning to look like a distance fight. Lovato’s
punches, while landing, were having little effect on
Aragon; and Aragon’s punches were just not connecting.
Things
changed in the 4th.
Lovato
started to slow down—as Tommy figured out a way to close
the distance and cut the ring off. Aragon started to land
his shots. As the fight progressed, Tommy’s power shots
evolved from desperate, wide and looping, to skillful and
straight. And when they landed, they landed with
authority, hurting Lovato.
On
my scorecard, Tommy took the 4th.
The
5th could’ve gone either way. Aragon
continued to land the more telling shots but Lovato landed
more often. The significant factor in the 5th
was a cut that opened up on the bridge of Lovato’s nose.
Blood started to trickle down and although it did not
hamper his eyesight, the cut distracted Lovato. In between
exchanges, he’d back up and wipe his nose, then stare at
the blood on his glove.
The
6th was another close round that could’ve
been scored either way. Still distracted by the cut,
Lovato continued to outscore Aragon—although he was
running out of gas now. Confident, unhurt and untired,
Aragon pressed the fight, scoring bombs that had Lovato
backing up and out of range.
The
7th was all Tommy Aragon. His punches were
hurting Lovato, who looked as if he was now just trying to
survive the round. There was now blood in Robbie’s left
eye; whether from the nose cut or a new cut, it was hard
to tell.
Just
as the round ended, Aragon had Lovato against the ropes. A
power shot that exploded between Lovato’s clavicles sent
Robbie to the canvas—the ref ruled it a push. In
actuality, it was a punch that had sent him down—but
there was the added complication: many spectators saw
Aragon accidentally stepping on Lovato’s foot that had
the hometowner off-balance.
When
Round 8 started up, I thought Aragon had a very good
chance of taking Lovato out. But Lovato, who did not back
down from the exchanges and actually landed more shots
while looking tired as hell, hung in there and dealt with
Aragon’s bombs. I gave the final round to Aragon, for
the harder landing shots.
At
the end of the fight, I had it 5 rounds to 3 (77-75) , in
favor of Lovato—although I had doubts about Rounds 5 and
6, thinking they could’ve gone either way.
“I
thought I won the fight,” said Aragon after the fight.
“I know in my heart that I won . . .” Aragon would
like a rematch.
Win
or loss, this fight elevates Tommy Aragon. By coming in
prepared and pressing the attack, Aragon has convinced me
that he’s a force to be reckoned with in the 130-140
pound range—if he can stay in shape. In fact, if Tommy
can drop to 135, or even to 130, he’ll be a monster.
Lovato,
on the other hand, needed this fight to shake off his ring
rust. His skills are apparent and there is no question
about speed or heart. However, Lovato’s power had no
apparent effect on Aragon (other than his body shots which
he totally ignored in the fight—a mistake because there
were several left hooks he landed to Aragon’s body that
had him wincing.) But, if Lovato can drop to 130 or return
to featherweight, his punches will have more authority.
Lovato
vs. Aragon wasn’t the only near-upset of the night.
Las
Vegas, NM’s lightweight prospect Shawn Gallegos came very
close to lights out.
Regardless—going
into the fight, Shawn Gallegos was in for a bit of
schoolin’. First off, unbeknownst to Shawn, Cruz was a
southpaw. Secondly, Cruz—0-1 or not—moved around the
ring like a veteran. Expecting an opponent off the
“Mexican Meat Wagon,” Gallegos moved in for the kill
from the opening bell.
Gallegos
was done—or very nearly done. Without
waiting for the count (the count that Cruz’s team insist
was done at half-speed) he got back and nearly went down
again. Gallegos was sprawling all over the canvas trying
to steady himself while the ref started counting.
When
the fight resumed, Cruz moved in for the kill.
Shawn
ran. Shawn tied up. Shawn started to recover. An
accidental headbutt nearly knocked out Cruz—a couple
minutes to recover gave Gallegos the time he needed to
clear the cobwebs out of his head. Then it was the end of
the round.
Now
in control, Gallegos resumed the attack. Cruz was coming
back in the 3rd but could not hack the body
shots. At 2:53, Gallegos put him down for the 3rd
and final time. The ref called it quits and the TKO went
to Gallegos.
The
near-knockout but ultimate victory revealed a lot about
the Las Vegas prospect. Gallegos showed us a lot of
heart—and that he could not only recover from a
devastating punch but could come back and take apart a
tough opponent.
Michell,
who’s got experience as a kickboxer, showed a lot of
heart. She pressed the attack and tried to corner Ortiz.
She also showed great conditioning by going the distance
and taking Ortiz’s punches. But she was overmatched and
outhustled by the crafty Ortiz, who got the unanimous nod.
The
undercard opened up with pro debuter Enrique Castillo vs.
Jose Luis Rivera. Neither fighter were too skilled. Rivera
outboxed Castillo in the 1st but would
constantly resort to pushing his opponent as much as
hitting him; Castillo threw the more telling punches,
though, and I thought he took the opening round.
Castillo
came out swinging away in the 2nd but a shot
from Rivera (it was ruled a blow but others say it was
really a headbutt) opened up a nasty cut under
Castillo’s left eyebrow. The ringside doc gave the okay
to resume fighting and the two found a corner to sloppily
slug things out. An elbow or a shoulder or a headbutt
applied to Castillo’s cut persuaded the blood to pour
out and the fight was stopped.
Showing
more aggression than his last fight but still concealing
the skills he displays in the gym, Jose Luis Rivera picks
up his first win, now 1-2. Castillo, a pro debuter, has
the misfortune of taking the TKO loss due to his injury.
Martinez
might’ve been able to get back up but the expression on
his face told the story—he did not want to get
up.
Keep
an eye on Valdez . . . .
A
4-round heavyweight fight was next: After 8 years,
“Slick” Rick Recendez was seeking to stage a comeback.
He was matched up with former national Toughman champ,
Francis “King” Royal, who took the fight out of shape
at two days notice.
Recendez
showed rust. You could tell his mind was showing his
“slickness,” but his body wasn’t keeping up. Royal
took his time, fighting a lazy style and conserving his
energy, but still taking every round by landing bombs that
hurt Recendez.
The
better boxer, Recendez could not cope with Royal’s
punching power, and several times he was backed up against
the ropes and close to going down. But Royal did not press
the attack and had to be content with the unanimous
decision. Judges had it 40-36, 39-37 and 40-36, all for
Royal.
It
was an upset for Santa Fe—but even Slick Rick’s loss
could not compare to the upset that was next.
Wade,
though, did not show up for the weigh-in on Friday. His
entire team and even Bob Foster were there—but no Wade.
Saturday, Wade was nowhere to be found and was not
answering his phone. It’s now been the 2nd
time he’s done this right before a fight—he also
pulled a no-show a couple months back for a fight in
Blackhawk, CO.
Luckily—but
not so lucky for Jesse—the promoters brought in
everyone’s favorite punching bag off the Mexican Meat
Wagon: 1-19 fighter Jaime Bretado, a common opponent for
anyone fighting between 140 and 160.
Hernandez,
the taller, the more-skilled boxer, came out strong,
jabbing and controlling Bretado. And then Bretado was able
to maneuver Jesse against the ropes where a strong right
hand collapsed the legs out from under Hernandez. He went
down.
Jesse
shook his head and got back up. The fight resumed and
Bretado, probably sick of losing all the damn time, moved
in for the kill. Hernandez kept him at bay for a bit, but
another right hand crashed into Jesse’s head and down he
went again.
This
time, Jesse was gone. His eyes were crossing and
his body and balance and legs were in another universe.
Still, Hernandez showed the heart to try and get
back up but there was nothing but air trying to hold him
up.
Bretado,
who was cheered for his efforts by the Santa Fe-slanted
crowd, was going home with a $500 check and his second win
in 22 fights.
That’s
what made this card so compelling—there were no
predictable fights (except for the women’s bout).
Finally, even the Blue Corner had a chance to win That’s what we want to see. Forget the easy fights. Forget padding records and building false champions—match these guys up and let’s see some wars. # # #
Quick Results:
Robbie
Lovato (11-2)
Jayla
Ortiz (11-5-3, 3 KO’s)
Shawn
Gallegos (6-0)
Jaime
Bretado (2-20)
Francis
“King” Royal (3-1, 2 KO’s)
Tony
Valdez (1-0, 1 KO)
Jose
Luis Rivera (1-2, 1 KO) # # # © 2001 by New Mexico Boxing.com. Site & photos by cozzone. |
Shawn’s
opponent was El Paso’s Jorge Cruz, who’s listed on
FightFax as an 0-1 fighter. However, if you go to Boxing-Records.com,
they have Cruz listed under an alias whose record is
“incomplete” as 4-1. Question is, is Cruz an 0-1
fighter or is he 4-2 or does he have another 20 fights?
Who the hell knows?
A
minute-something into the 1st, Shawn got
clocked with a hard left that had him down for the first
time in his pro career.
When
the bell sounded for the 2nd, Gallegos had
learned his lesson—be careful. With a tighter defense,
he resumed his attack, not one bit less aggressive as the
1st. This time, he focused on the body. Before
you knew it, Cruz, who was not the same fighter he was
before the headbutt, was down on one knee from a crippling
body attack. Near the end of the round, Cruz was down
again from a body shot. (Careful not to hit a man when
he's down, Shawn . . . .)
Last night’s card
also featured a women’s bout as the co-main event. In a
fight that should never have been sanctioned, Santa Fean
Jayla Ortiz was matched up against a pro-debuter—even
worse, it was a six-rounder. This is precisely what the
New Mexico State Athletic Commission should be preventing—not
approving. Needless to say, the Jayla Ortiz vs. Monica
Michel fight resulted in another win for Ortiz.
The
second fight of the night saw the pro debut of
Espanola’s Tony Valdez. A state and regional Golden
Gloves winner, Valdez showed a skilled and speedy,
low-crouch style that had Mexican Jose Martinez down and
out in the first round.
Royal
was looking for a comeback of his own. After a
start-and-stop career in the last couple years and some
trouble with the law, Royal says he’s got his life
together and will now focus on boxing.
A
year ago, Jesse Hernandez was knocked out at the NM State
Fairgrounds. It’s taken him a year to get back in the
ring. Originally he was slated to fight Albuquerque’s
Donnell Wade in his return bout.
Only
Jaime did the unexpected.