Panda Pounds Late Sub Cruz for UBC Belt!
Ortiz KO'd by Cops!
Delgado Opponentless when Jayla Gets Jailed
Pueblo Card Survives Last Minute Setbacks

Photos and text by chris cozzone

It was too good to be true.

Something had to go wrong.

Unfortunately, just about everything did go wrong.

When Rocky Mountain Boxing Promotions announced the fight between Elco Garcia and "Panda" Pacheco a few months ago, it sounded too good to be true. Nevermind the unfamiliar “Universal Boxing Council” Intercontinental Jr. Middleweight title the two would be fighting for, a showdown between Colorado’s top two middles was a fight we’ve been begging for.

Then, the co-main between Adriana Delgado and Jayla Ortiz for the WIBA Intercontinental Bantamweight belt was added to the card. "Brawl For It All" was looking like the best local card in years.

Something had to happen . . . .

“Card subject to change”—Boxing’s maxim.

It’s especially true when you’re talking about the Southwest’s top middleweights—Elco Garcia, Panda Pacheco and Joseph Brady. Fights between the three have been arranged before; and fights between the three have been cancelled. In August, Pacheco was set to fight Brady for his WBC FecarBox belt on the Archuleta vs. Valenzuela card in Albuquerque—but the death of his father had Panda pulling out. A match between Garcia and Brady has been in the works for at least a year, but to no avail.

Garcia vs. Pacheco? Seemed like a solid fight set to go until five days before the fight when a back injury had Elco pulling out. Once again, the fight was off.

A replacement for Pacheco was secured in a Cuban fighter Giorbis Barthelemy (20-6-1, 9 KO's). When promoter Tony Aguilar made the fight, Barthelemy said he was 161 but would make the 154 pound limit by that Friday.

But when Barthelemy got off the plane and made it to the weigh-in, he was two weight classes over the limit—an unbelievable 171. (Must've been the airline food.) So, that fight was off.

On just 24 hours notice, Denver veteran Arturo Cruz said he'd take the fight.

Cruz, at least, would have absolutely no problem making weight—the 154 pound limit was well within reach for the fighter who usually fights at 135. Cruz came in at 140—not much of a fight on paper, but a fight, nevertheless—seemingly satisfied CO Commission requirements (Cruz weighed in at 150 and must’ve had a pocketful of rocks.)

And that was just the main event.

The co-main remained the card's solid backbone, at least until the doors opened at 6 PM for Saturday night's card in Pueblo, CO.

Finally able to make 118, Jayla Ortiz was in tip-top shape and ready for a rematch against world-rated Adriana Delgado for the WIBA’s Intercontinental belt. But when she got to the Events Center, she discovered that she wasn't the only one ready . . . .

A gang of cops made up of Santa Fe, NM and Pueblo law enforcement were waiting for her.

Seems there’d been a warrant out for her arrest: something to do with her pulling a gun on someone the week before in Santa Fe at 1:15 in the morning. (No doubt, she’d been keeping late hours in the gym . . . yeah, right.)

Trainer Al Lovato told media he’d been planning to bring Ortiz in after returning from the fight on Sunday; and that the arrest warrant hadn’t been issued until they were already in Pueblo.

None of that mattered Saturday night when they took Jayla away, leaving poor Adriana Delgado (who'd been in Pueblo the entire week training) opponentless, just a couple hours before she was supposed to enter the ring.

Co-mainless and dwindled down to four bouts, the card was still on . . . .

Battle of the Dinosaurs

Benjie Marquez.

Eugene Lopez.

'Nuff Said.

Once upon a time, in 1983, Benjie Marquez was a real prospect. He was 15-0, with 13 KO’s. And then he fought once a year, losing once a year; then fought more often . . . and lost more often, until, years later, he developed himself into a bona fide opponent. In recent years, he's been payday-driven, taking fights against damn near everybody. The 42-year-old has also been on and off everyone’s suspension list for the last couple years.

Coming off a loss by DQ to Brad Jensen in February, Marquez was OK’d to fight Colorado's “other” opponent, Eugene Lopez.

An even fight, of sorts, but not the most compelling bout. As Marquez had already decisioned Lopez last year in a 5-rounder (yes, they have 5-rounders in CO), this rematch was about as exciting as a bowl of worms.

No doubt, this fight went the way of the first fight.

Marquez controlled the action. For six rounds, he pounded (slapped, really) the always-off-balance Lopez with body shots, while the always-heavy Lopez tried to counter by pushing (never actually throwing) punches in Benjie's craggy mug.

This Coney Island parody match had its moments, though—usually subtle moments, such as Benjie's expression when he'd pound (slap) Eugene for five, six, seven body punches. Marquez would step back and have this hilarious look of disappointment, as if he'd expected to see Lopez topple over.

But Weebles wobble—they don't fall down.

The body slaps took their toll on Lopez, sorta. While it appeared as if Lopez was being punished to the body, those slaps were more like irritating stings. At one point—Lopez's high point, as far as I'm concerned—Eugene took a half step back and held his arms out as if to say, “You know those don't hurt and, by the way, is that all you got, old man?”

What the old man had, though, was enough to sweep in a unanimous shutout decision: 60-54 on all three judges scorecards.

Marquez "rises" to 28-26-3; Lopez slips (slips is a sad term and implies accidental implication; let’s use “continues losing”) to 10-24-1.

Vigil KO's Varos

"Is this Vigil guy any good?" I'd asked a local reporter present. I'd already seen Varos fight but knew little about Vigil.

"Nah, he's too old,” was the answer, followed up with his own question: “Do you know about Varos?"

"He’s tough. He'll go the distance."

We were both wrong.

Nicknamed "Kraz-ie" (hyphen intended), Eloy Varos had taken on Brian Romero in New Mexico a couple months before. Romero had eaten this kid up, although Varos had shown a giant heart and a ton of toughness. Lookin' at Vigil, I figured it was safe to assume that Youth would win out; that despite Varos' wild (“kraz-zie”) fighting manner and lack-o-defense, he would take the elder statesman (that's polite for “old man”) in this scheduled five-rounder.

Varos took the first two rounds, outworking the slower Vigil with kraz-ie punches and listening following the directions of his yelling, screaming corner:

"Go Kraz-ie, boy!” they yelled at him.

“Kraz-ie” is how he fought—“kraz-ie” punches with an even “kraz-ier” defense.

Defense implies protecting oneself from flying fists. Varos’ sole tactic was to use his head to block punches rather than his gloves—which never left his side except when throwing kraz-ie punches. This is why Vigil took over in the 3^rd.

The more technically-sound Vigil put his shots together and by the end of the 3rd, Varos was all puffy with swollen eyes and a bloody nose. Vigil slowed him down with solid one-two's and dominated the round.

Kraz-ie was in trouble.

Vigil continued to turn the tide. Within a minute and a half into the 4th, he threw a picture-perfect left hook reminiscent of the shot De La Hoya through that downed Fernando Vargas the week before.

Boom! Down went Varos in a kraz-ie heap where he was kounted out.

Vigil is now 2-3; Varos, 1-3.

Marquez Stops Almanzar

On paper, and especially with the deletion/alteration of the main event and co-main, Danny Almanzar vs. Stevie Marquez promised to be the best fight of the night.

And it was.

Almanzar, a once-promising fighter in his teens, with a 120-5 amateur record, recently resurfaced at 37 years of age and has, in the last year, proven himself full of heart and, despite being past his prime, skillful. He’s a dangerous fight for anyone at 154—especially a pro debuter, good amateur record or not.

Props go to Marquez for taking on Almanzar in his pro debut—especially since CO’s former amateur star was also giving up a good six or so pounds, and a whole lot of height. Almanzar was 160 at the weigh-in; Marquez (who’s on his way down to 142) was 154.

If nothing else, Marquez is certainly a unique fighter. His showboat style, with his gloves hanging straight down at his sides, flirts with danger; although, most of the time, (at least against Almanzar,) he’s able to slink, slip or slide out of way. With Marquez, you never know where his punches are going to come from. His odd-angle combos, speed and heavy hands reminds me of Prince Naseem Hamed. Kid’s got some power, too—as Senor Almanzar found out quite early.

Almanzar took the fight to the much shorter youngster, but early in the 1^st, an overhand right from down under crashed into Danny, spilling him onto the canvas. A bit unsteady, Almanzar got up shakin’ bits of la-la-land from his head. When the fight resumed, he backtracked a bit, trying to weather Marquez’s storm for the remainder.

Almanzar’s high work rate gave him the 2^nd round while Marquez conserved his energy, throwing punches sparingly—but when he unleashed, he unleashed hard. But his slick style and heavy hands were not enough to give him the 2^nd—or the 3^rd, at least in my book.

Almanzar landed—not powerfully, but frequently. It wasn’t hard to hit Marquez; he left himself open by keeping his arms at his side. Rather than raise his gloves to block, he chose to bend at the waist and play slick. Almanzar landed several shots to the side of Marquez’s head, and even more to his body. At times, Marquez looked to be in trouble but it might’ve been that awkward style of his that gave the appearance.

At one point, Almanzar hit Marquez low (there were mixed opinions on whether it was actually a low blow—I was directly behind Marquez and didn’t see it) and the kid slumped downward clutching his jewels. He might’ve been milking it a bit but when Marquez told the ref he was ready to go again, a couple minutes later, he’d regained his composure.

Almanzar fought with an equally ineffective defense, carrying his hands too low and leaving himself open to Marquez pot-shot punches. The 4^th Round proved devastating for him.

Marquez looked tired in the 3^rd but came out strong in the 4^th, taking control of the fight by landing frequently and driving Almanzar consistently back. Another right hand put Almanzar down around the two-minute mark and when he got back up, he was on his way out.

For much of the round, Danny’s back was to me, but when he got up from the knockdown, I got a glimpse at his face; I hadn’t realized how beat up he’d gotten—most of the punishment from that round. He was in bad shape and when the fight resumed, it didn’t take long to close the show.

Marquez swarmed Almanzar, battering him across the ring and back before the ref figured he’d better stop this fight. When the bout officially ended—at 2:21 of the 4^th—Almanzar staggered across the ring ready to drop.

Another payday-driven fighter (with way too much heart for his own good,) Almanzar needs to think about his health before accepting another fight.

Marquez? Keep an eye out for the kid. He may need to play with defense but his style and power make him a dangerous foe. Look out 140-pounders: Marquez is on his way down to 142. He’s also got his eye on Albuquerque’s Lee Montoya . . . .

Size Matters: Panda vs. Cruz

Jr. middleweight Panda Pacheco vs. lightweight Arturo Cruz? In the upper echelons, the equivalent would be a Stevie Johnston or Angel Manfredy taking on an Oscar De La Hoya or Fernando Vargas.

No dis to Arturo Cruz—a rugged veteran who’s beaten most of the region’s lightweights—but size matters.

Cruz was simply too small for the powerful Pacheco. Plus, on less than 24 hours notice, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to prepare.

How to beat a guy 20 pounds heavier? Stick and move, stick and move . . . unfortunately, that’s not Cruz’s style.

Pacheco is methodical. He continually moves forward with a deadpan hungry-shark look on his face, putting punches together; setting up his right hand with a lazy jab and bashing away with a devastating left hook.

Although Cruz landed some great shots, they had little effect on Panda. For five and a fractioned round, Cruz was bullied and slowly taken apart. Body shots early on took his speed away, and, as the fight wore on, Pacheco’s power proved too much for Cruz.

In the later rounds, Pacheco committed even more to a body attack, but went upstairs in the 5^th and 6^th, putting Cruz on the ropes and pounding away.

Like Almanzar, Cruz doesn’t know the meaning of quit. He took the shots and tried to answer back. In the 6^th, Pacheco had him in trouble, plastering leather to his face  and working on the inevitable slump to the canvas. But before that could happen, ref Russ Mora had seen enough; he stepped in and put an end to target practice at 1:37.

Elated, Panda sunk to the canvas, a grin cracking that deadpan expression. The new UBC Jr. Middleweight champion got back up and raised his arms in victory.

UBC?

Y’know: the highly esteemed “Universal Boxing Council.”

Oh, okay . . . .

Forget the belt, folks. It’s not like we need another organization in the current alphabet muck we got choking our sport.

Forget the belt—but don’t forget Pacheco.

Still undefeated, he may just be the best middle or jr. middle in the Southwest.

But we’ll never know, will we?

Unless there’s a promoter out there who can give us a showdown against Elco Garcia or Joseph Brady . . . .