Sanchez III Clobbers Howard in I
Ponce Pounces on Martinez for WBC World Youth Belt

text and photos by chris cozzone

I used to gauge the success of a fight card by the cheering in the crowd, or by the percentage of seats sold in a given arena. But a much better measuring stick is the number of fights that break out in the stands—and last night, there were quite a few. (Not to encourage unruly behavior or to dissuade spectators from attending boxing events—security ran smooth, and there were no problems as the men-in-blue hustled the unruly ones out of the arena.)

But, “Feisty”—that’s how you could describe the sold-out venue last night at the Santa Ana Star Casino.

Three-thousand passionate fight fans packed the house that may not yet brag the best boxing action, but can certainly claim to have the highest production value in the state of New Mexico; from the venue’s layout (not a bad spot in the place) to the ring announcers and top-notch audio & lighting. It’s also no coincidence that the casino’s first sold-out boxing event featured an all-New Mexican card. (You can also bet that the $10 tickets were a factor.)

Two names guaranteed a hit card: rising prospect Ray Sanchez III was fighting, and 5-time world champion Johnny Tapia was a guest.

Good as gold.

I used to think you had to have the highest quality matches, but last night, the house would’ve been busting at the seams had Ray Sanchez III been fighting Mickey Mouse.

Short of the ovation Johnny Tapia will draw come September 6^th when he headlines Santa Ana’s next card, there’s not a fighter in the state who is making so much noise (although Danny Romero is on his way up the ladder of public affection) as Sanchez III.

The kid seemingly has it all—power, skill, speed and charisma—as displayed last night when he co-headlined “Summer Thunder” . . . .

Ray III Gets KO VI

A minute, 48 seconds.

That’s how long it took for him to destroy the challenger, Shad Howard.

Howard certainly came to fight. Having the slight reach and height advantage, and obviously in great shape, the 8-2-3 local club fighter from Jefferson City, Missouri kept to the outside and was able to land a couple shots on Ray before the End.

Sanchez III took his time, measuring his man, then stepping in and letting his hands go. They circled one another with brief exchanges until Little Ray saw his opening, worked his way in, and let fly with a straight left that drew the shades on poor Shad.

Down he went where he was counted out and attended to by the ref and corner, while one of his legs twitched dangerously—while Sanchez pumped his gloves in the air at each ring post, getting the crowd worked into a bigger frenzy than they were already in.

A minute, 48—guess we can’t complain. Last time, we only got to see Ray work for 27 seconds.

Sanchez III raises a perfect record to 6-0, with 6 KO’s.

Albuquerque’s hottest prospect comes to bat again on the Johnny Tapia card September 6^th.

Dare we ask for an opponent with a tougher set of whiskers? Sure thing, Mr. Howard was wiry and his style was supposed to give Sanchez III a challenge. He also has a good record—but he’d never fought out of the Missouri circuit; and his wins are over “Bob’s” and “Dan’s” and “Bill’s”, if you get my drift.

Ain’t no doubt, Sanchez would probably knock out 90-something percent of any level fighter you put in the ring with him; but there are fighters out there who have not been KO’d. Find one of those guys and sic Ray on ‘im. (Alright, alright—what it comes down to is, it’d be nice to get more than a few shots of Ray in action.)

Keep your eyes on New Mexico’s biggest prospect . . . .

Martinez No Match for Ponce

Idelfonso Martinez was impressive earlier this year when he took out Juarez veteran Julian Rodriguez for the WBC World Youth Bantamweight title in just a round-plus. The fighter from Laredo, Texas showed power . . . .

But that was an even match, between successful local scene fighters.

Daniel Ponce de Leon is in an entirely different class—one shared by Sanchez III, as far as potential goes. Ponce was a 2000 Olympian on the Mexican team and since turning pro in ’00, has been out of sight, fighting on untelevised cards in Chihuahua, Juarez and El Paso.

Some of us have been watching his record rise (FightFax has it 9-0, 9 KO’s but it’s more like 11-0, 11 KO’s.) I saw Ponce make his pro debut in his hometown of Chihuahua and since then, have seen him take out opponents “Ray Sanchez III-style” on Mexican cards.

When I heard Martinez’s original opponent, Ivan Hernandez, had pulled out and that Ponce de Leon had stepped in on 4 days notice, I thought that either Martinez had no idea who Ponce was, or that he had too much heart for his own good.

After two rounds and 38 seconds, I’ve learned it’s a matter of heart and pride.

Martinez may not be rupturing with Ponce-level talent, but he’s fulla will—too much.

Round One was fairly competitive, with de Leon taking his time and measuring Martinez. Left hooks landed hard on Martinez—one landed on his nose, breaking it.

In the 2^nd, Ponce knew exactly what he had to do, and he did it. Using his superior reach (and speed and power,) Ponce opened up on Martinez, bombarding him with right-lefts after right-lefts. Martinez continued to move forward, while Ponce let him come right on in, then he bombed away at him. While Martinez landed a few hooks (which had no effect on de Leon,) the damage done by Ponce was all too apparent. By the end of the round, Martinez’s nose was gushing blood, and his legs were beginning to go. The only injury to Ponce was a cut over his eye.

Despite the champ’s condition, he continued to fight back in the short-lived 3^rd Round. Ponce quickly dismantled the champion. Backing him into a corner early on in the 3^rd, he wailed away with shots up and downstairs until the ref Rocky Burke threw himself between the two—just as the white towel of surrender flew into the ring from Martinez’s corner.

At :38 of the 3^rd, Daniel Ponce de Leon became the new WBC World Youth Bantamweight champion.

Want another fighter to keep an eye on besides Ray Sanchez III?

Watch Daniel Ponce de Leon. You’re looking at another future world champion.

Undercard Action

The Martinez vs. Ponce de Leon title bout was the last bout of the evening—and, ironically, the venue started to empty out as the fight played out.

It was also the only fight without a New Mexican fighting.

Five bouts filled the undercard that preceded the dual-main events, beginning at 8 PM with a four-round supermiddleweight bout.

Bray Brawls and Mauls

Jason Bray has a helluva jab. At 6’3”, he’s a tall, solid supermiddle with a reach that extends across the ring.

Too bad he didn’t use any of it last night when he took on the 5’6” Phoenix kickboxer and pro debuter Arturo Ortega.

It would’ve been an easy fight, had Bray fought like he does in the gym under the direction of Boxing Legend Bobby Foster. Pop pop pop! That spring-coiled jab of the converted southpaw’s would’ve demolished Ortega from a distance.

Instead, Ortega was able to sucker Bray into fighting his fight—a street fight at close quarters. It’s a fight Ortega’s skillful at; unfortunately for him, Bray had enough heart and power to win that game, too.

Ortega might’ve dictated the style of the fight, but Bray still landed more often, harder and cleaner. At the end of 4, I had Bray winning a shutout, as did two of the judges. One had it 39-37 for Bray.

Bray keeps a clean record, now 3-0 (1 KO); while Ortega is 0-1.

Sanchez Brawls and Falls

While Bray was able to forget about boxing and win, “Amazing” Adriano Sanchez wasn’t so lucky.

Reverting to his “South Valley-style” of fighting, Sanchez threw his drills and skills out the window and obliged Earl “the Hurricane” Jackson with a toe-to-toe brawl.

With his gloves held low, Sanchez met the Hurricane’s charge and the two went at it, fighting in the eye of the storm, with Jackson in control, hurling the harder shots against a defense-deficient Sanchez.

Halfway through the round, Jackson flurried Sanchez against the ropes, dropping the hometowner. Sanchez got back up, swaying on unsteady legs, prompting the ref to call it quits at 1:52.

With the hometown upset, Jackson rises to 11-13-2 (8 KO’s); Sanchez gets set back to 11-4-1 (8 KO’s).

Torito Rouses Crowd!

Fighting for the first time in his hometown as a pro, Brian “Torito” Romero put the crowd back on track with an impressive dismantling of Pueblo’s Eloy “Crazy” Varos.

Both fighters went to work early, pounding away at each other through the first round. While punch output might’ve been (somewhat) close, it was Romero landing the cleaner, harder punches, showing a superior skill level. Somewhere in the round, Romero received a bad cut over his eye, but the blood streaming down the side of his face only spurred him on to take the fight to Varos.

Round Two saw Romero take a big lead. Varos, still firing back with gusto, started to slow down at Torito banged away at his body. The action continued on in the 3^rd, but now it was all Romero—and Varos’ massive heart.

Varos never went down—but he took a lot of punishment from Romero who was always on the edge of finishing this fight. Had the fight gone into the 4^th, he would’ve finished Varos, but his corner retired their man before the bell rang.

Winner by TKO, Romero gets his second pro win by KO. Varos slips to 1-3.

If Romero can keep busy, he may develop into Albuquerque’s next “bad-ass” fighter.

Chavez Squeaks by With Win

Jackie Chavez stepped up in class in her 5^th pro fight, taking on Las Vegas’ Raquel Tebo in an all-too-close four-rounder.

Tebo fought smart, waiting for Chavez to come on in, then hitting her with a nice straight jab and an occasional left-right. First round was Tebo’s. It was the first round I’ve ever seen Chavez lose—and not dominate her opponent.

Chavez stepped up the pace a bit in the 2^nd, making it a close round that could’ve gone either way. Tebo’s jab and body shots should’ve given her the 2^nd.

Chavez fought the 3^rd round like the Jackie Chavez we’ve come to know and love—although Tebo continued to land to the body, Chavez’s cleaner punches and aggression sealed the round for her.

The final round was another close one. Some saw Tebo winning this with her counterpunching; others saw Chavez finish up strong, taking the round. I gave it—by the slimmest of margins—to Chavez, making it an even fight, two rounds apiece.

Judges were not in agreement: one judge had it 39-37 for Chavez; another had it the same for Tebo; the third, an identical score for the hometowner, giving Jackie a split decision win.

Chavez is now 5-0 with 3 KO’s; Tebo is 3-2-1.

Holly Destroys Orozco, Again

In an unnecessary rematch, Holly Holm put on a repeat performance by dominating Martha Orozco. This time, she did it for four rounds, showing more of her boxing skills by fighting calmly and setting up her shots, keeping the shorter, slower Orozco at the end of her punches.

Orozco was down in the 1^st and rocked hard at the end of the round. To her credit, she showed a huge heart and never gave up her attack. But she was simply outgunned—through three more punishing rounds that had her head rocking back several times, and on the verge of going down.

At the end of 4, it was a no-brainer: 40-35 times three.

# # #

The Blow-by-Blow
by Ricardo Trujillo

Bray vs. Ortega

Rd. 1 – The taller Bray is jabbing effectively from the outside. Ortega looks very raw but his compact style is good on the inside. Round to Bray who landed the cleaner shots.

Rd. 2 – A lead right by Bray has Ortega holding on in the first minute. Ortega wrestles Bray to the canvas. Now finding room Bray moves Ortega to the ropes and lands quality shots to the head and body. Another round to Bray.

Rd. 3 – A hard right to the body by Bray has Ortega wincing. Ortega has to bull Bray to the corner to get close, a distinct disadvantage because of the height of Bray. Boxing more Bray wins another round.

Rd. 4 – The fight is a brawl in the first minute, more to the liking of Ortega. A good left to the body of Ortega has his pro debut looking like a loss. My card 40-36 Bray.

Sanchez vs. Jackson

Rd. 1 – Jackson is getting the better of it and floors Sanchez with a flurry of punches in the neutral corner. Ref Sanchez stops the contest at 1:52 after Sanchez wobbles when instructed to walk towards the ref. Sanchez did not utilize his jab at all and chose to brawl instead of box.

Romero vs. Varos

Rd. 1 – A fast and furious start has reddened the face of both fighters. Moving and jabbing more, Romero has won the round, but a wicked cut has Romero’s corner working feverishly.

Rd. 2 – Working the body Romero now is finally slowing down the hyper Varos. A furious pace is making this a good fight. A crowd pleaser.

Rd. 3 – A lead right by Romero has Varos backing up in the first minute. Slugging it out Romero is getting the better of it. A very entertaining bout. Another round to Romero.

Rd. 4 – Varos’ corner calls it quits at the beginning of the round. Winner by retirement is Romero.

Chavez vs. Tebo (female boxers)

Rd. 1 – Chavez is staying on the outside boxing beautifully not letting Tebo get close. Chavez is peppering Tebo with combinations and wins the round.

Rd. 2 – Tebo just cannot get close enough to Chavez to be effective. More of the same for Chavez who wins another round convincingly. Chavez is scoring well.

Rd. 3 – Tebo finally lands to the body and for the moment causes Chavez to stop throwing punches. However, the round still goes to Chavez by virtue of her cleaner shots.

Rd. 4 – Standing straight up Chavez now must fight off the ropes to push Tebo back. This is Tebo’s best round. Tebo is finally counterpunching more effectively. Round to Tebo. My card Chavez wins 39-37.

Holm vs. Orozco (female boxers)

Rd. 1 – A rematch that has been eagerly anticipated starts with the southpaw Holm tagging Orozco repeatedly and down goes Orozco from a barrage of punches. Up at the count of six, Orozco looks clear. Round to Holm.

Rd. 2 – Orozco is game but is being out punched by Holm. Both are showing signs of being tired. Another round to Holm.

Rd. 3 – The left handed style of Holm forces Orozco to the ropes. Orozco is now puffing and huffing very hard. Holm looks fresher and has great defense. Lefts and rights by Holm has Orozco looking like a defeated fighter. But Orozco can take it and survives the round.

Rd. 4 – More of the same for Holm who dismantles Orozco once again. My card 40-35 Holm.

Sanchez vs. Howard

Rd. 1 – Sanchez lands the first punch of the fight, a counter left cross. A crushing straight left scores and Howard goes down legs flying in the air. Ref Chavez counts out Howard who tries to get up as his legs shake, but flailed to the neutral corner. The end comes at 1:48. Another impressive performance by the young prospect.

Martinez vs. Ponce

Rd. 1 – Southpaw Ponce comes out jabbing and has command of the center of the ring. Bleeding badly from the obviously broken nose Martinez is in for a long night. Round to Ponce.

Rd. 2 – Martinez is still bleeding from the nose, his corner was unable to stem the flow of blood. Ponce is throwing a lot of leather and Martinez is catching most of it. Martinez staggers back to his corner, but he got his licks in too, as Ponce has a cut eye to deal with.

Rd. 3 – Ponce pours it on and stops the defenseless Martinez along the far ropes. Another great job by New Mexico’s premier ref, Rocky Burke. A beautiful performance by the Mexican Olympian who is destined to be a world champion. The end comes at :38.