Lazcano Stong-arms Armstrong!
Gonzales Downs Diablo!

Photos and text by chris cozzone

Even the late start time caused by a last minute scramble to replace the mysteriously missing bag of boxing gloves could not spoil last night’s Telefutura-televised Don Chargin/Miller Lite/Bedford Agency card last night at Cohen Stadium in El Paso.

While someone might’ve forgotten to bring the gloves, at least this time, someone remembered to stock the six-bout card with El Pasoans. Twenty-five hundred fight fans came out to enjoy the weather in the outdoor stadium, and to watch the border town’s top five fighters, hopefully, kick some butt—primarily top contender and IBA/NABF lightweight champ Juan Lazcano. The “Hispanic Causin’ Panic” led the El Paso pack with a stay-busy fight until the Powers That Be will grant him the inevitable world title fight against one of the lightweight champs.

Telefutura went live at 7 PM—just as one of the promoters’ crew sprinted into view with a Santa Claus bag of makeshift gloves hustled, begged and borrowed from local gyms and/or sporting good stores. Nevermind that at least one or two of the bouts on the card would have fighters wearing gloves that looked suspiciously like bag gloves (the Velcro portion was duct-taped), the fights were on!

The opening swing bout was saved for later as the card opened up with the co-main: a 12-round battle for the vacant Miller Lite Texas Bantamweight belt between hometowner Alex “El Diablo” Becerra and Jorge “Speedy” Gonzales.

While the obvious favored-to-win was Becerra (who’s been keeping busy this past year fighting in ‘Burque under the Fresquez banner,) Gonzales was a tough opponent and a step-up—one the photographer next to me was hoping would win.

“Why’s that?” I asked Him Who Shall Remain Nameless.

“That’s all they give us . . .” he said motioning to Gonzales.

Eh? The photog explained: He was referring to Gonzales’ nickname—“Speedy” Gonzales—and the patch on his trunks of the cartoon character of the same name; one of the very few minority cartoon characters, and, possibly, the only Hispanic one.

“All they give us is a rat,” said this Hispanic shooter.

Knowing this photographer, and having been at his house, I was already familiar with his adoration and, possibly, obsession with “Speedy Gonzalez” (the cartoon, not this fighter who need not fear stalking.) I could understand his sentiment, even his choice of fighter to win—but I’d also been following Alex Becerra from the beginning of his career. He was on his way up to contendership, as was his stablemate, Cesar “El Gallito” Lopez.

“No way, dude,” I told him. “Becerra will wipe the floor with this vato.”

Round One had me smirking. Becerra played ‘come & get some’: Gonzales pursuing Alex, walking into quick combos and Becerra slipping out of harm’s way—not quite domination but a reassuring schoolin’ nevertheless, that left no doubt El Diablo would deal Speedy a loss.

But something happened.

Something happened in Gonzales’ corner between the 1^st and 2^nd round—an adjustment was made, a flaw of Becerra’s picked up by Speedy’s slick cornermen—because when Gonzales came out for the 2^nd, he knew exactly what to do.

It was a hellishly close round for El Diablo, but while the judges and most ringside had Becerra winning the 2^nd, I had to give it to Gonzales.

Gonzales continued to come forward, Becerra continued to counterpunch. But, while still getting nailed by Becerra, Gonzales was able to take advantage of his opponent’s weaker defense and land some bombs.

While Becerra landed more often, and dished out his share of hard shots, Gonzales’ punches were more telling. When they landed, they exposed Becerra’s bad habit of lowering his gloves—especially when he was backing up or when against the ropes.

Becerra had a fight on his hands.

Still, Becerra was winning the 3^rd until Gonzales was able to maneuver him into a corner. Once again, Becerra dropped his hands—as a loopy right hand appeared from nowhere and came crashing into Becerra’s jaw.

For the first time in his career—pro or amateur—Becerra went down.

Hard.

While supporters yelled, “Get up, Alex!”, it was apparent that there’d be no ascension for Diablo on this night. His eyes were shut, as if trying to concentrate, and they did not open until the count of six or so. By the time he realized where he was and what he needed to do, Becerra had been counted out and Gonzales was parading around the ring, his arms raised in victory.

Becerra came to—the horror of his loss now apparent—while his corner and family relaxed a little, knowing he was okay.

The new Miller Lite TX Belt winner climbs to 15-2 while Becerra drops to 11-2.

No doubt about it: Becerra will be back with a mission; a loss to be avenged.

The early end to the co-main brought in the swing bout: a four-rounder between Albuquerque’s Jeremiah Torres and El Paso’s Colbert Losoya.

Torres, who last fought El Paso’s Bobby Joe Valdez, losing a decision, has been looking good in the gym. Losoya, on the other hand, has not been consistent in the gym, as was evident by fighting out of his weight class. Normally a 135-pounder, Losoya was moving up two weight divisions to fight the 147-pound Torres.

It was still a close fight.

Torres fought smart; from the outside, using reach and speed, letting the less-dimensional Losoya walk into combos. By the 3^rd, Colbert’s eyes were as puffy as his body.

But Colbert is a bad ass, and he had more power than Torres, landing enough bombs to give him at least one round, maybe two—although, in the 4^th, he was huffin’ and puffin’ and in no obvious shape for a 5^th round, had there been one scheduled.

At the end of 4, one judge had it even 38-38; the other two had it 39-37 for Torres.

The swing bout set up the main event for an 8 PM telecast.

David Armstrong had not been chosen to spoil Lazcano’s chances or to return to Columbia with the El Pasoan's IBA or NABF belt—but the man did come to fight.

He was too small for Lazcano, and while he might have thrown more punches than the champ, in the earlier rounds, anyway, his punches had zero impact on the Panic-Inspirin’-Hispanic.

The native El Pasoan now fightin’ out of Sacramento, CA took his time, letting Armstrong do the chasing, letting him expend energy, for the first few rounds. Still, Lazcano did enough to win, showing a super defense and throwing the cleaner punches.

Lazcano picked up the next few rounds by playing a cat & mouse game with Armstrong, then falling into a brutal attack mode.

I must admit, though, my attention was diverted, at least in the early rounds. A large grasshopper had leapt into the foray and, as Lazcano and Armstrong pummeled each other around the ring, this grasshopper came dangerously close to death-by-squashing.

“Get outta there!” I yelled to it.

But it was too stubborn. Too panicked (perhaps, it was the panic caused by the fighting Hispanic that enveloped the young, brave insect.) Or it was just plain deaf.

When the fighting came close, it would hop out of range. But then it settled near the ropes just a few feet away. That’s where it stayed before it was counted out (by me) in the 3^rd after the Columbian flattened it.

But while Armstrong was able to destroy the grasshopper, he had no effect on Lazcano. Lazcano, on the other hand, was able to wreak vengeance on behalf of the grasshopper by downing Armstrong in the 6^th. Down he went—from smashing body shots—taking a knee, wincing, cursing and spitting out his mouthpiece to buy himself a few more precious moments of recovery.

Few extra moments or not, it did not matter. Lazcano battered away until the ref stepped in and called it quits at 2:31 of the 6^th.

Lazcano retains both belts and keeps the ring rust away until he can get a shot one of the ABC champs . . . .

Squeezed into the final portion of the telecast was a 4-rounder that turned out to be the most amusing fight of the night, between Saul Torres and Martin Mendoza.

Mendoza had all the goods to beat Torres—namely, height and reach—but he lacked a couple things, including skill and heart.

What Torres lacks in skill he makes up for in heart and sheer lunacy. Certainly, his straight-on aggression had Mendoza at the straining limit—but he was able to deal with Torres by staying away and using reach, slapping at him in a goofy way. What Mendoza could not do was deal with the mental warfare and maniacal maneuvers Torres dished out.

At one point in the 1^st, after the ref yelled “Break!”, Torres continued to hang on to Mendoza, who had his back to him, smashing his glove into the side of his head three of four times. Mendoza, in utter disbelief, tried to cover up and one punch catapulted his mouthpiece ten feet away.

The ref stepped in and gave Torres a don’t-do-that type of warning. While Mendoza was not physically hurt, his eyes told the story: Torres had taken the fight out of him.

Dis guy’s crazy! I don’t think Mendoza’s mask of horror would’ve been improved had he been facing Mike Tyson.

The fight resumed and Torres went to work, chasing down Mendoza, trying to chop him down, until he cornered him against the ropes and put him down with body shots. Mendoza slumped down on his own, rather than his body failing him—but popped back up after Torres pummeled him three more times in the head for good measure (risking DQ.)

Forgetting he was “hurt,” Mendoza leapt up and threw a punch at his assailant, forgetting for a moment how scared he was. When the ref stepped in between, he remembered, and when the fight resumed, the aggression faded and it was but a few moments before the ref stepped into call it over.

Winner by TKO: Saul “Loco” Torres.

Cesar Lopez was up next.

No doubt, “ El Gallito” is El Paso’s most exciting prospect. Always busy, always animated, you cannot catch this kid standing still in the ring for longer than half a moment.

Unfortunately, he was up against Jesus Jimenez, for the 2^nd time. While the 4-29 (or somesuch record) professional opponent is extremely rugged, he does not stand up to Lopez.

Even more so than the first time, Lopez dominated, raining wicked left hooks and fast combos from every conceivable angle down on poor Jesus.

In the 2^nd, Jiminez went down from hooks to the body. As expected. Jimenez got up and continued to fight back despite the punishment. Had the fight not been downgraded from 6 to 4, he would not have lasted.

Gallito, in need of a test, rises to 8-1.

Speaking of test, or lack thereof, undefeated heavyweight prospect David Rodriguez was up next.

When 3-7 fighter Bobby McGraw failed to show up for the weigh-ins, a last minute sub was quickly sought for. Dallas fighter Rex Jackson (0-1) accepted the challenge.

Rex, a chocolate-skinned, chocolate-fed fighter with man boobs, hung in there for maybe a half around before Rodriguez put him down. Rodriguez knew just what to do: he took one look at Jackson’s gut and went to work on it. A jab, a one-two, a hook to the body and the end came quickly.

Rodriguez rises to 8-0 with 8 KO’s.

 # # #

The Blow-by-Blow

by Ricardo Trujillo

Jorge “Speedy” Gonzales KO 3 Alex Becerra

Round One: Becerra comes out with hands high and lands the first telling blow of the fight—a left hook to the body. Gonzales pins Becerra against ropes and pounds away. Becerra spins away and keeps digging to the body and wins round on my card.

Round Two: Becerra and Gonzales trade left hooks in the center of the ring, with Becerra getting the better of it. Gonzales is set to see the doc after an unintentional head butt, and is OK’d to continue. Gonzales is pressuring well but Becerra is countering. The counterpunching of Becerra wins another round.

Round Three: Becerra gets off first and applies pressure. El Diablo is winning the fight so far but a huge right by the Zacatecas fighter sends Becerra to the canvas for the ten count. Becerra inability to stay off the ropes and Gonzales’ loopy right hands is Diablo’s downfall, and when he backs up out of the pocket, his hands are too low.

Gonzales by KO at 2:31 of the 3^rd.

Jeremiah “the Jet” Torres MD Colbert Lozoya

Round One: Torres stays on the outside and jabs the shorter Lozoya. Colbert lands a left and right as Torres poses, trading evenly. Lozoya lands the more telling and heavier blows, winning the first round.

Round Two: A left and yet another left land hard to Lozoya’s face and a swelling starts to develop under his right eye. Lozoya’s hands are low and he’s clinching when Torres gets close. Round to Torres.

Round Three: The heavier-handed Lozoya lands two rights and slows the circling Torres, but Torres seems unaffected. A slip that looks like it should be a landed as a knockdown for Torres has Lozoya spitting his mouthpiece out for an extra respite. A very even round. I have 1-1-1. Winner of the final round will win the fight.

Round Four: A left and right by Torres has him starting fast. Lozoya is just not punching enough and Torres is cruising by boxing from the outside. Lozoya can’t exploit his heavier hands and is getting outboxed. Lozoya is waiting for one punch and it won’t happen. Torres wins majority decision. 38-38, 39-37 times two.

Juan Lazcano TKO 6 David Armstrong

Round One: Peak-a-boo Lazcano is defensive to start the fight and is being outpunched. In the last minute, Lazcano finds his jab and is content to stay on the outside. More clean punches by Armstrong wins round on my card.

Round two: Armstrong is strong-arming Lazcano on the ropes. Lazcano is taking the punches well. But he is waiting too long and the busier Armstrong is winning the first half f this round.  A lead straight right by Lazcano is the best punch of the round. Why is Lazcano so defensive? Round to Armstrong.

Round Three: A left by Lazcano but he gets defensive again. Lazcano now has Armstrong against the ropes. Lazcano’s best round. Now Armstrong spins off the ropes, jabbing and countering. Lazcano wins round, 2-1 Armstrong.

Round Four: Armstrong is breathing heavier now. The more patient Lazcano is now landing his jab more often in this round. But Armstrong is tough and keeping the fight competitive. A short left hook staggers Armstrong momentarily. A lead right lands and Lazano is taking command. 2-2 now.

Round Five: Lazcano is the superior fighter and now appears to be toying with the game but outclassed Armstrong. Lazcano is turning it on by double left hooking Armstrong.

Round Six: Lazcano is outspeeding the now tiring Armstrong, and left hooks the Floridian to the body, flooring him in the neutral corner. A barrage of punches by Lazcano and ref Burke calls a punch to the action at 1:33. Reeling from lefts and rights from Lazcano, Armstrong complains—but not too much.

Saul Torres TKO 2 Martin Mendoza

Round One: Mendoza jabs cautiously as Torres presses forward. Mendoza with the more amateurish punches, is backpedaling and spits out his mouthpiece when Torres gets a chance to hit and hold continuously. It’s thrown back into the ring and ref Vensor calls time out to clean mouthpiece. Round to Torres.

Round Two: Torres throws a hard right to the body and Mendoza holds, clinches and pushes down to buy time. The clowning by Mendoza does not endear him to the crown and he quits after taking a knee. Torres continues to punch—Mendoza gets up and spits out mouthpiece again and ref Vensor stops fight when Mendoza’s chief second is on the apron. The end comes at 2:07. An ugly win for the undefeated Torres.

Cesar Lopez UD 4 Jesus Jimenez

Round One: A sharp left hook to the body of Jimenez has him wincing. The tough Jimenez came to fight and Lopez backs his game opponent to the ropes. Jimenez is a punching bag and walks and wobbles to the wrong corner.

Round Two: El Gallito stays in the pocket and left hooks the hapless Jimenez to the canvas. Gallito leaves himself open but Jimenez cannot take advantage. Another round to Lopez.

Round Three: Lopez has more firepower and is looking for the KO, instead of boxing and creating openings. A short right by Lopez staggers Jimenez but he’s not going away.

Round Four: Jimenez sticks his chin out and Lopez obliges him and smacks him in the kisser. A repeat of the previous round, Lopez cannot take out the journeyman Jimenez and wins UD 40-35 times three.

David Rodriguez KO 1 Rex Jackson

Round One: Rodriguez jabs “Bulto” Jackson to the body, and follows with another right to the body—another stiff bites the dust. We are not learning anything about “El Nino’s” prowess. When and where will Rodriguez’s managers see fit to step up the competition?