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 Brady
Stops Linson for WBC Regional Title!
ringside report &
photos by chris cozzone
And
still undefeated . . . .
The
South San Jose Assassin, Joseph Brady, remains undefeated after a
late-round stoppage over Santa Fe veteran Chris Linson, Jr. last night at
the Isleta Casino near Albuquerque, NM. Before a
crowd of 2,500 fight fans—the biggest non-Tapia crowd in recent
years—Brady and Linson battled back and forth for nearly 11 solid rounds
before the fight was brought to a halt at 2:47 of the 11th
Round.
Going
into the fight, it was to be a contest between Linson’s ring experience
vs. Brady’s height & weight advantage. Normally a 140-147-pounder,
Linson was stepping up in weight to take on the 154-pound Brady; and Brady
was taking a giant step up in class in fighting Linson, who had three
times as many pro fights and 30 more amateur bouts. Plus, Linson had gone
the 12-round distance a handful times; Brady had never been past eight
rounds.
 Linson
certainly meant to school the young Joe Brady—and that’s exactly how
it was looking for the first two rounds.
Rounds
One and Two were all J.C. Linson, who dominated and schooled a
gun-shy Brady. The Brady camp would later say it was part of the plan to
hang back for the first couple rounds; but if Brady was play-actin’, he
should get an Oscar for his performance in the first two rounds. That
scared-rabbit look on his face and the way Linson took control had half
the crowd dead silent and wondering if they’d overestimated the
‘Assassin.’
Those
of us ringside were convinced it would not last a 3rd round;
and one official, in between the 2nd and 3rd,
glanced over at Brady, then motioned the sign of the cross.
Then
came Round Three and Brady started to pep up as Linson took the round off.
That killer-shark look started to fade off of Linson’s face as Brady
came about, landing enough punches to give him the round and let the Santa
Fean know this was not going to be so easy.
 When
Round Four started up, we knew we were in for a long fight—and a battle,
at that. The telling blows in the 4th were Brady’s, giving
him the round. Linson’s gloves were caught too low, too often enough.
Neither
fighter was running and although Brady kept his distance, he came forward
as much as Linson did. The 5th Round saw an equal number of
punches landing for both fighters, although Brady’s had the better shots
landing, giving him the edge.
Round
Six went much the same, with Brady ahead now, although the 7th
looked a little more Linson.
In
the 8th, J.C. continued his attack, taking control of the round
while Brady was repeatedly warned for borderline-but-unintentional
low-blows. He also lost a mouthpiece halfway through the round. It was
after the mouthpiece was given back that Linson nearly had the fight in
the bag.
In
the last minute of the 8th, Linson flurried Brady who was dazed
and hangin’ on for life. After the ref broke ‘em apart, Brady spent
the last 30-40 seconds running and recovering while Linson tried to cut
him off and pin him against the ropes again. No go: the bell rang and
Brady had thwarted disaster.
 At
the end of 8, I had it five rounds to three, for Brady, although a couple
of those rounds could’ve been argued either way.
Round
Nine and Ten were close, close, close. Linson was landing more
combinations but Brady’s straight lefts were finding their way to Linson,
with authority. Brady also threw a beautiful uppercut that rocked
Linson’s head back.
Round
Eleven was all Brady. Linson looked worn now, and he was keeping his
gloves too low to block any of Brady’s straight lefts. The end came in
the last minute, when a left rocked Linson, who wobbled back toward his
corner lookin’ ready to drop. Brady rushed in for the kill but Chris
Linson, Sr. jumped atop the apron to call off the fight just as ref Russ
Mora waved the fight over.
At
2:47 of the 11th, Brady was declared winner by TKO and awarded
the belt for the jr. middleweight WBC Fecarbox title. His record climbs to
9-0, 4 KO’s and 1 NC; Linson’s drops to 21-5-1, 13 KO’s.
Post-fight Comments
Backstage,
celebrating his victory, Brady admitted that Linson had been no easy
opponent:
“He
rattled me a couple times,” Brady said. “Caught me and had me dazed,
like in the 8th. But I told you the game plan before the fight,
that it’d be close into the championship rounds, but that I’d try for
the knockout then.”
Brady
also said that although he’d never gone past eight rounds before, he’d
had “lots of air left” in the 11th to finish Linson off.
Brady’s
trainers, Jim Johnson and Jake Valencia said it was part of the game plan
to give away the first few rounds and to let Linson tire himself out.
“It
worked,” said Valencia. “School was going to start in the later
rounds.”
As
one would imagine, J.C. Linson was not in too-talkative a mood. Visibly
upset, Linson gave props to Brady for his win:
“He
impressed me,” Linson said. “He fought smarter and he took me out of
my game plan. That was my downfall. I wasn’t able to get back in and I
got a little careless.”
J.C.’s
father, Chris Linson, Sr. took responsibility for his son’s loss:
“It
was my fault, because I didn’t steer him in the right direction,”
Linson, Sr. said. “We had a plan but after Round 8, we couldn’t
adjust. I just let him loose.”
Linson,
Sr. said that his son was taking too much punishment in the 11th
and 10 seconds before the fight was stopped, he tried to climb atop the
apron but the NM State Athletic Commission members yelled at him to stay
down.
“So
I said to hell with that and climbed the stairs to the apron to stop the
fight,” Linson, Sr. recounted. “It’s better to box another day then
to get injured permanently. It was the right thing to do to stop the
fight.”
Payne in the House
Albuquerque’s
undefeated welterweight prospect, Vernon Payne, also came to watch Brady
and Linson—two potential opponents for him. He said he had the fight
even going into the 11th but that “Linson wore himself
out.”
Payne
also said that although Brady deserved the win and that he would take him
on “any day.” If a Payne vs. Brady fight should happen, he’d want it
to be at a catch weight of 149-150.
“And
if we ever fight, I don’t want 10-ounce gloves,” says Payne. “I want
8-ounce. I’d want Brady to feel those shots.”
Anyone
for Payne vs. Brady?
Undercard
Action
Holm
Overwhelms Orozca
 The
fight card opened up with two women pro debuters, Holly Holm of
Albuquerque, fighting out of Winkeljohn’s Gym, and Martha Orozca, from
Denver, CO.
Although
not as polished as she’ll eventually be, Holm is a monster in the
ring—Orozca never had a chance.
Holm
swarmed all over her opponent in the 1st. In the 2nd,
Holly did a bit more hittin’ and movin’ and by the end of the round,
had Orozca bleeding and on the way out.
The
fight was too one-sided in the 3rd and Orozca was taking a
beating when the ref called it off at 1:38 of the 1st.
Gonzales Pounces De Leon
 The
battle between middleweights, Santa Fean Raul Gonzales and
Cuban-living-in-‘Burque, Jorge de Leon, was a four-round slugfest!
De
Leon came in strong in the first two rounds. Well-placed uppercuts had
Gonzales in trouble and by the end of the 1st, Raul was
bleeding from a cut between his eyes. Round Two was a bit more tentative
but Leon showed more skills by landing hard shots on Gonzales, who looked
on the way out.
But
be forewarned: Raul Gonzales is not a four-round fighter. He’s a slow
starter and he’s tough—tougher than De Leon proved to be.
De
Leon wilted in the 3rd and Gonzales came on strong, whacking
away at the Cuban who was backing up now. Gonzales continued to blast away
in the 4th until De Leon, dead tired, took a right hand that
plummeted him to the canvas.
Gonzales
crossed over to my side of the ring and hammered the canvas before me.
“Put
THAT on your website!” he shouted.
(I
guess I’d underestimated Raul in my prediction of a decisioned win for
De Leon. Well, I won’t do that again . . . .)
Winner
by KO at 2:15 of the 4th: Raul Gonzales, who climbs to 2-1.
Delgado Decisions . . .
Kinda
 Going
into the fight, it looked like Monica Michel was a severe underdog. It was
only her second pro fight; in her first, she’d taken on 17-fight veteran
Jayla Ortiz last September—in a six-rounder, no less. Michel had been
outskilled and lost the decision.
Once
again, matched up tough against veteran Adriana Delgado (who’s spent the
last six months sharpening her skills under Fred Esquibel at San Jo),
Michel was fighting the odds once again.
This
time, she nearly overcame them. Her downfall? That the rounds numbered but
four . . . . Michel proved no easy fight—and her fightin’ skills have
improved dramatically.
Delgado
had the first two rounds, easy. She outskilled Michel, who couldn’t find
her groove and kept getting nailed by straight rights. Adriana was looking
sharp . . . but she reverted to the ‘old Adriana’ in the 3rd,
when things changed dramatically.
Michel
does not know how to back down and she kept coming forward, kept throwing
punches—many of which landed—more than enough to give her the round.
The two went toe-to-toe but things were looking up for Michel. The 4th
was another round for Michel, who took the fight to Delgado, who was
bleeding and swelling from the in-fighting.
To
me, it was an easy round to score: 2 rounds apiece, which made it a draw.
Plus, had the fight been a six-rounder, I’ve no doubt it would’ve gone
Michel’s way.
But the
judges didn’t see it that way, scoring it 39-37 times three for Delgado.
The crowd was none to happy and all too eager to boo their displeasure. It
would be but one of three times the crowd booed; the other two times were
directed at both of the Mora Brothers . . . .
The Mora Brothers
Can’t
say the crowd reacted too nicely to either Mora brother, Adrian or
Anthony. In an otherwise perfect fight card, the two Mora bouts were
stinkers.
 Both
Moras towered over their Mexican opponents—two guys with extremely
lop-sided records and but one knockout to their credit in nearly 30 fights
each.
Adrian
Mora (7-0, 4 KO’s) was up against the man he last fought, and won a
4-rounder over, Juan Aranday (now 5-24-3, 1 KO). Aranday was aggressive
but could not get anywhere the twice-as-tall Mora. After a very slow
couple minutes (which prompted the audience to boo loudly), Mora whacked
Aranday with a body shot and he went down clutching his side. Aranday did
not make the count and Adrian Mora picked up the KO win at 2:19.
Anthony
Mora (now 8-0, 6 KO’s) had a similar time with his Mexican opponent,
Antonio Ramirez (now 3-26, 1 KO). Ramirez tried to fight but could not get
within 100 feet of his Mora. Mora spent the time showboating (to the
crowd’s displeasure) and popping Ramirez with occasional pitter-pat
 combinations, until the 3rd round when he took care of business
and downed his opponent for the count at 2:42.
Mora,
who looks like something out of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before
Christmas, raised his arms in victory, then, when the crowd booed
heavily, challenged the audience to come on up and take him on.
Although
neither of the Moras hit it off with the New Mexican crowd, there is a
place for them here . . . in the ring opposite a Ray Sanchez or a Shawn
Gallegos. Why not play the villain role all the way?
Isleta Casino
Fresquez
Productions and Isleta Casino will be meeting soon to discuss another
boxing venture. From the crowd of 2,500, looks like the hour-long drive to
Sky City appears to make the difference to fight fans living in
Albuquerque.
Meanwhile,
the next Fresquez card will be February 22nd at Sky City.
Headlining will be Mary Ann Almager, who’ll defend her title against
Valerie “the Wolf” Mahfood. Also on the card: Vernon Payne vs.
Jeremiah Torres, and Bryan Garcia.
#
# #
Quick Results
WBC
154-pound
Fecarbox Title:
Joseph Brady
(9-0,
4 KO’s, 1 NC)
TKO 11
Chris Linson, Jr.
(21-5.1, 13 KO’s)
Anthony
Mora
(8-0,
6 KO’s)
KO 3
Antonio Ramirez
(3-26, 1 KO)
Adrian
Mora
(7-0,
4 KO’s)
KO 1
Juan Aranday
(5-24-3, 1 KO)
Adriana
Delgado
(8-2-1,
3 KO’s)
D4
Monica Michel
(0-2)
Raul
Gonzales
(2-1,
2 KO’s)
KO 4
Jorge de Leon
(0-2)
Holly
Holm
(1-0,
1 KO)
TKO 3
Martha Orozca
(0-1
©
2002 by New Mexico Boxing.com
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