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ANGEL
EXORCISES DEMON!
Manfredy rebounds from knockout loss with TKO win over Johnny
West Gutierrez on Telefutura card
report by
Chris Cozzone & Ricardo
Trujillo
photos by Chris Cozzone
“That had guy
had no business being in the ring with me . . . .”
Angel Manfredy
might’ve told his opponent, Johnny West Gutierrez, that
before last night’s ‘Solo Boxeo’ card at the Don Haskins
Center in El Paso, Texas—if the Nicaraguan had known how
“outclassed” he was, he might not have made the fight such a
close one before he was stopped by the former lightweight champ.
Coming off a
devastating loss to Courtney Burton in July, and newly-signed
with last night’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, Manfredy
desperately needed a win and to look good.
Well, the
pugilist formerly known as “El Diablo” (before he was christened
“Got Jesus”), might not have looked impressive in every round,
but he finished strong and collected his win at 2:29 of the
ninth round.
Manfredy
started out strong.
In the 1st
and 2nd, giving an impression of an early night, he
took the fight to Gutierrez, fighting flat-footed and
out-punching the Nicaraguan with hard, clean shots. Committing
to the body and left-hooking, Manfredy had Gutierrez
hard-pressed and unable to launch an offensive.
But Manfredy
came out for the 3rd a different fighter, a tired
fighter.
Gutierrez took
advantage of Manfredy’s inactivity and went to work. For the
next six rounds, Gutierrez took the fight to Manfredy, who
fought spent most of the time on the defense, throwing single
punches or countering with short combinations every so often,
and at the ends of each round.
It was quality
vs. quantity. While Gutierrez outhustled and outlanded, his
punches were largely blocked by Manfredy’s arms and gloves, and
for those the shots that wormed their way through a gloves-up
defense, they landed with less authority than those Manfredy
countered with—but much more often.
Giving the
judges a headache, Manfredy let time slip away, but then would
suddenly counter with a rocketing right hand or pounding left
hook that left a clear impact on Gutierrez. But it was usually
one punch at a time, or in the final ten seconds.
At the end of
the 7th Round, a hard lead left hook rocked
Gutierrez.
In the 8th,
after Gutierrez landed his best shots on a visibly tired
Manfredy, he ate a left hook that just might’ve been enough to
steal the round.
Manfredy knew
he had Gutierrez hurt, for when the 9th round bell
rang, he sprang into action and rushed the Nicaraguan, suddenly
energized. Manfredy continued to land, and Gutierrez went from
trying to counter to tying up or backpedaling for most of the
round. After a left hook followed by a right slammed into
Gutierrez, the ref stepped in and called the fight off.
“I felt an
adrenaline rush after I rocked him,” Manfred said after the
fight, reiterating that Gutierrez “had no business being in the
ring with me.”
Ironically,
the game Gutierrez not only held his own against Manfredy for
most of the fight, but was only losing on one judges’ scorecard
before the ninth round.
Two judges had
it dead even before the stoppage: 76-76, while one judge had a
ridiculous 79-73 tally for Manfredy.
Fightnews/NewMexicoBoxing
had it split: Cozzone had it even;
Trujillo
had it 77-76 for Manfredy.
“I felt flat
because I was overcoming depression,” was Manfredy’s excuse for
napping during throughout most of the fight.
In July, when
he was knocked out by Courtney Burton, his excuse was that he
had depression. This time, overcoming depression
merely had him looking lackluster in most of the rounds.
Post-fight,
Manfredy restated his quest for another shot at a world title:
“This time,
I’m coming back . . .”
Manfredy rises
to 43-7-1 (32 KOs) and Gutierrez, losing four in a row now,
falls to 14-5-1 (13 KOs.)
Co-Main:
Cazares Mauls Moreno
After the NABF
title defense between superfly champion Oscar Andrade and Alex
“Ali” Baba was postponed, a ten-rounder between local Juarez
scrapper Alejandro “Apachito” Moreno (20-12, 10 KOs) and WBO #1
jr. flyweight Hugo Cazares (16-3-1, 13 KOs) from Los Mochis,
Mexico, was scheduled to fill the void.
Always game,
always entertaining, Moreno comes to fight. But this time, he
lacked the firepower to match the big puncher, Cazares.
In the early
rounds, Moreno outhustled the patient and deliberate Cazares. He
let Cazares come forward, before counterpunching and landing
from a variety of angles.
In the 2nd,
Cazares switched to southpaw, but spent most of the time
figuring Moreno out—by the 3rd round, he knew what to
do.
Moreno
each subsequent round in a more convincing fashion.
Moreno
continued to back up trying to control the range with his jab
and counter Cazares power shots. But Cazares imposed his will,
with more and more accurate shots.
In the 6th,
a loopy left hook wobbled
Moreno,
and after a bit of switching up leftie/rightie, Cazares
continued to dish out punishment with lead hooks and straight
rights.
In the 10th,
Cazares bullied Moreno against the ropes and chopped him down
with a torrent of punches. Moreno made the count but could do
little but survive the round.
Judges had it
unanimously for Cazares 97-92 and 98-91 and, somehow, 96-93.
Fightnews had
it 98-91 for Cazares.
Quick
Results
Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas;
Promoted by Golden Boy Promotions
10 rounds jr. welter:
Angel Manfredy (43-7-1, 32 KOs) TKO 9 Johnny West Gutierrez
(14-5-1, 13 KOs)
10 rounds jr. flyweights:
Hugo Cazares (16-3-1, 13 KOs) UD 10 Alejandro “Apachito” Moreno
(20-12, 10 KOs)
6 rounds featherweight:
Juan Carlos Ramirez (32-5, 13 KOs) KO 1 Alberto Cepeda (19-13)
8 rounds heavyweight for the vacant Miller Lite TX belt:
David Rodriguez (13-0, 13 KOs) KO 1 Tommy Connelly (8-2, 6 KOs)
6 rounds bantamweight:
Ruben Contreras (8-13) SD 6 Carlos Madrigal (20-5-1)
4 rounds featherweight
Antonio Escalante (2-0, 2 KOs) TKO 1 Jose Luis Burgos (0-2) |
RODRIGUEZ
WINS VACANT TEXAS TITLE!
"El Nino" passes first test by crushing ‘Concrete’ Connelly in
first round
report by
Chris Cozzone & Ricardo
Trujillo
photos by Chris Cozzone
In an
eight-round heavyweight bout for the vacant Miller Lite Texas
heavyweight title, El Paso’s David “El Nino” Rodriguez (13-0, 13
KOs) squashed Texarkana, Arkansas’ Tommy Connelly (8-2, 6 KOs)
in less than a round.
“I had to take
my time, I had to break him down,” Rodriguez said afterward.
For the
still-unbeaten powerhouse, taking apart “Concrete” Connelly
required two minutes and 37 seconds.
While the
fighter from Texarkana, Arkansas represented a solid step-up for
Rodriguez, the tubby-but-game opponent was hopelessly outclassed
and outsized. But, unlike most of Rodriguez’s other opponents,
the 5’11” Connelly came right at the bigger man, trying to
smother the 6’4” Rodriguez while hurling several rights and
hooks.
Rodriguez
showed patience and a solid defense, then lowered the boom while
maneuvering himself off the ropes.
Then he
lowered the boom—two left hooks to the body and PLOP! went
“Concrete” onto the canvas, like a sack of wet ready-mix.
Connelly made
the count but when the fight resumed, it didn’t take him long to
sink back down. Rodriguez was all over him, turning over a left
hand to the body and digging his glove deep into Connelly’s
generous obliques.
This time he
stayed down for good, giving Rodriguez the KO win at 2:37 of the
1st.
With his 13th
win comes his first title.
“I want it all
now,” an ecstatic Rodriguez said after the fight. “I’m still
building up but winning this belt is the highlight of my life,
so far.”
Next up for
Rodriguez?
It’s up to his
team—manager Bob Spagnola and trainer Louie Burke—but Rodriguez
would like a name fighter.
 Ranchero
picks up easy knockout win
NABF
featherweight champion from Juarez, Juan Carlos “Ranchero”
Ramirez (32-5, 13 KOs), made a quick appearance on the card,
knocking out little-prepared potbellied opponent Alberto Cepeda
(19-13) in about half a round.
Despite his
flaccid appearance and wrinkled shorts, Cepeda proved game and
came at the Mexican champion. Ramirez tried to make it last
while he loosened up and circled Cepeda, but when he started to
throw, it was soon over.
A left
uppercut and right over the top dropped Cepeda and he did not
get up.
The easy win
keeps Ramirez fresh for a bigger fight in December in
Juarez.
Records can be
deceiving
Juarez
opponent Ruben Contreras has made a career of taking fights last
minute, and in others’ hometowns. Because of his unimpressive
record, now 8-13, he is a sought-after commodity for promoters
looking to give their hot prospects a bit of work and another
‘W.’
That’s what
Golden Boy Promotions thought when they went looking for a
last-minute sub for fighter Carlos Madrigal (20-5-1) just a
couple days before.
They were
wrong.
“I came
prepared,” said Contreras.
For Contreras,
“preparation” is not the six weeks most name fighters get—it’s
an entire 48 hours, if he’s lucky. But, actually, being
“prepared”, for Contreras, means winning, or coming close, then
losing a hometown decision.
Earlier this
summer, he nearly beat Farmington prospect Victor Barela (they
gave it to the hometowner, but it was a dead even draw); after
that, he “lost” a decision to Danny Lerma in Lerma’s hometown;
then, upset an Albuquerque kid who did not realize who he was
fighting.
This time, it
was different for Contreras:
“I thought I
would be robbed again. But not tonight . . .”
The
heavily-expected-to-win, Carlos Madrigal, desperately needed a
win, having come off a loss to Jose Navarro in January and
having signed with Golden Boy shortly before that. But it just
wasn’t his night.
Round One was
fairly nondescript, with Madrgial the busier fighter. Contreras,
though, did not look like the typical opponent—he fought small,
with a tight, tight defense and getting the taller Madrigal to
crouch down to his level.
Madrigal
continued to throw but in the 2nd, a chopping right
counterpunch taught Madrgial a bit of respect for the elder
Contreras.
In the 3rd,
Contreras was getting in with sneaky counter lefts and straight
lefts, while Madgrial stood in front of him throwing rather than
outbox on the outside with his longer reach and height.
In the 4th
and 5th, Madrigal, cut near his left eye,
continued to allow Contreras to land those short punches on the
inside. Madrigal’s punches landed on Contreras’ arms and gloves.
Showing heart,
Madrgial hustled in the 6th, outboxing Contreras,
who’d slowed down for a breather in the final round.
Judges had a
split decision: 58-56 for Madrigal and 58-56 twice for
Contreras.
 First
hometown win for hot prospect
Featherweight
Antonio Escalante (2-0, 2 KOs) might be El Paso’s best kept
secret. Last night, he fought for the first time as a pro in his
hometown.
Jose Luis
Burgos, now 0-2, was no match for the 18-year-old prospect.
Burgos rushed
forward but Escalante showed patience, weathering a clumsy
attack before turning things around on his opponent. Looking for
spots, he stalked Burgos around the ring before an inside right
hand dropped
Burgos
at 2:15.
Not even out
of high school, Escalante is showing skill and power to go far.
After a 40-3 amateur career and winning the state Golden Gloves
twice, he turned pro earlier this year in Dallas, TX.
“I just need
to stay busy,” he said after the fight. “I’ll be back in the
ring December 20th in Mexico.” |
