“Two Gunz” Stops Kirkland “Stone Kold"!
10^th round TKO win for Monte Barrett

report/photos by Chris Cozzone

While most locals were there for the rematch bash between local females, a solid matchup between two near-contender heavyweights had nearly 2,000 fans braving the cold night air and sporadic showers last night at the ESPN2-televised Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing card at Sandia Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Having faced superior fighters, Sugar Ray Leonard-signed Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett might’ve been the favored to win, but Eric “Stone Kold” Kirkland was making it a close fight before the final minute of the last round.

Kirkland won the opening round with his jab but Barrett was busier in the 2^nd, also winning with his jab.

The slicker Kirkland initiated a counter-punching attack in the 3^rd bloodying Barrett’s mouth. In the final moments, Barrett launched a series of right hands that would’ve stolen the round had it not been for a tremendous left hook from Kirkland just as the bell rang.

Kirkland continued to outhustle Barrett in the fourth round. During several heated exchanges, Kirkland was giving better than getting.

Barrett bounced back in the 5^th, with solid one-two’s that were beginning to land on Kirkland. A head butt in the last minute had Barrett bleeding now from his crown.

Kirkland was just not busy enough and Barrett started to pull ahead in the 6^th, although he came back in the 7^th to make it a close round. In the 8^th, he let Barrett bull forward and take the round, but tried, unsuccessfully, to steal the round at the end.

The 9^th was a slow round, with Barrett winning on the few grazing right hands he threw at Kirkland.

In the final round, a huge left hook and an uppercut had Kirkland sinking to the canvas. Kirkland beat the count but when the fight resumed, Barrett went in for the kill and after unleashing a barrage of bombs upon an unanswering Kirkland in the neutral corner, ref Rocky Burke called it off at 2:35.

Barrett edges up the ladder of contention, moving his record to 29-2 (16 kayos) while Kirkland drops to 17-2 (13 kayos).

Seda Returns with TKO over Trazancos!

Featherweight contender Daniel Seda from Puerto Rico returned from a layoff stemming from last year’s no-contest bout against champion Derrick Gainer with an impressive stoppage over tough Genaro Trazancos.

Trazancos was overmatched, but he threw down, before going down.

Seda picked his shots in the first round, while Trazancos continued to come forward, eating good left hooks. The Mexican was more aggressive in the 2^nd, as was Seda, who found his right hands landing through a sloppy defense. One solid right staggered Trazancos.

It wasn’t looking good for Trazancos after two, but in the 3^rd, now bleeding from a cut over his left eye, he took the round by landing his own right hands.

Trazancos increased his attack in the 4^th, with solid body shots, but Seda returned fire with left hooks, making it a hard one to score.

Round Five was the best yet. Trazancos was winning the round with solid right hands, one actually staggering Seda, but the Puerto Rican came back with a left hook that floored Trazancos halfway across the canvas and nearly out of the ring. Visibly hurt, Trazancos merely shook his head and threw himself back at Seda.

A low blow from Seda cost him one point in the 6^th, but his left hooks continued to score, making the fight a little more one-sided.

Seda controlled the 7^th with his jab and occasional lefts but Trazancos came back to make the 8^th and 9^th close, although Seda continued to land the cleaner shots.

In the last round, two left hooks slammed into Trazancos, staggering him across the ring. Immediately, the ref stepped in awarding Seda the TKO win at 1:58 in what could’ve been a premature stoppage.

Seda rises to 19-0-1 (16 KOs); Genaro Trazancos falls to 20-5-1 (11 KOs).

Oyuela Done with Dunne after One

Irish featherweight prospect Bernard Dunne (9-0, 7 KOs) had a light sparring session with the sometimes game/sometimes lame Julio Cesar Oyuela (7-10-2).

Dunne was only beginning to break a sweat.

After dazzling Oyuela for three minutes, with a variety of shots with only an unworrisome return punch, Dunne returned to his corner and readied for the second round when Oyuela’s corner threw in the towel, claming their fighter had broken his hand.

“Punchout at the Peak II” Friday October 3 at Sandia Casino in Albuquerque, NM Promoter: Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing

Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett (29-2, 16 KOs) TKO 10 Eric “Stone Kold” Kirkland (17-2, 13 KOs)
Daniel Seda (19-0-1, 16 KOs) TKO 10 Genaro Trazancos (20-5-1, 11 KOs)
Holly Holm (5-0-1, 1 KO) DRAW 6 Stephanie Jaramillo (3-1-1, 2 KOs)
Bernard Dunne (9-0, 7 KOs) TKO 1 Julio Cesar Oyuela (7-10-2)
Jason Bray (5-0, 2 KOs) TKO 3 Joe Hernandez (10-8, 5 KOs)

Jaramillo Wins Crowd but Draws With Holm in Rematch

report/photos by Chris Cozzone

Stephanie “Golden Girl” Jaramillo entered the ring last night for her rematch against Holly Holm with only a smattering of applause—it was Holm who had the crowd behind her, while most of the crowd showered Jaramillo with boos.

But after six stirring rounds, a much-improved Jaramillo had stolen the crowd, much like she’d stolen several of the rounds during the fight with late flurries and impressive punches.

Round One was a repeat of the first fight.

Holm went to work on Jaramillo with her jab-and-left routine and but for one perfectly-timed counter left hook—the Golden Girl went into turtle mode while Holm got braver with every punch. Pinning Jaramillo against the ropes, Holm opened up with every conceivable punch while a shell-shocked Jaramillo did little but try and cover up.

“She just doesn’t have it against Holm,” was the general consensus ringside.

But something happened in between rounds because Jaramillo came out for the 2^nd a different fighter and within 20 seconds, changed everything.

It was Jaramillo’s counter left hook and, later, an explosive straight right hand coming in over the top of Holm’s jab, that turned this fight around.

The second round was close, with Holm staying on the outside, mainly jabbing and outpointing Jaramillo, who evened the score with the better punches—especially that left hook.

It was nearly all Jaramillo in the 3^rd. Despite bleeding from her mouth, her solid right hands were now getting in, seemingly staggering Holm. In the best exchange of the fight so far, against the ropes with Holm landing several uppercuts on Jaramillo, the Golden Girl struck back yet again with rights that drove Holm back.

Holm tried to retaliate in the 4^th and while throwing more, could not match Jaramillo’s monstrous left hooks.

Jaramillo slowed down in the 5^th, letting Holm dominate with her basic jab-to-set-up-the-left routine throughout most of the round, and a bevy of uppercuts when close. But in the final 15 seconds, Jaramillo might’ve stolen the round on some scorecards with one right hand that appeared to wobble Holm.

Holm repeated herself in the final round, outhustling until the end when a late flurry from Jaramillo with those hooks and rights had Holm backing up.

After the sixth round, the crowd voiced their winner—Jaramillo—but the judges were not in agreement.

Judge Anita Aragon had it for Jaramillo 58-56; Levi Martinez had it for Holm, 58-56; and Jim Bagshaw had it even, 57-57, making it a draw.

NewMexicoBoxing and Fightnews had it for Jaramillo, 58-57.

Holm said afterward that she’d thought she won by outlanding Jaramillo.

True, Holm had outpointed Jaramillo for most of the fight—but Jaramillo’s punches had been cleaner and had landed with more impact. She’d also shown more improvement, and had been able to not only neutralize Holm’s clean left hands but return fire by counter-punching and land body shots in between clinching.

Jaramillo’s record stands at 3-1-1 (2 KOs) while Holm is now 5-0-1 (2 KOs).

Rematch?

Don’t look for it anytime soon.

Bray KOs Hernandez

Jason Bray was in his street clothes when he was asked to get re-taped, re-gloved and warmed up for the closing bout of the night.

Earlier, he’d been told by the promoters that his fight has been canned, as had Tommy Aragon’s six-rounder against Denver’s Hector Saez. He’d been told at least twice, to get ready, then to relax again, while waiting to go out.

With his fighting mindset turned off, then on again, then off, then on again, he decided to do it—he was getting paid regardless—and was rushed to the ring with barely a sweat that quickly evaporated off him in the cold night air.

In the ring, he was informed when the fighters were announced that his fight had been downgraded from six to four rounds—another blow that threw him out of his game plan.

But Bray would only need a couple of rounds to dispose of Hernandez, anyway.

Pueblo, Colorado’s Joe Hernandez (now 10-8, 5 KOs) was no Elco Garcia, but he came to fight.

He was just no match for the 6’3” undefeated prospect from Albuquerque.

Taking this fight on three days notice, Hernandez was a fill-in for Durango, Colorado’s Elco Garcia, who pulled out with strep throat. While in the gym for the last few months, Hernandez was also coming off a 12-year layoff from fighting after serving those years in the Colorado prison system.

A bit of irony? The last two times 38-year-old Hernandez fought an Albuquerque fighter, it was against Henry Anaya, Jr. in 1988—a win and a loss.

More irony?

Brays trainer Rocky Stapleton had also been in Anaya’s corner, and that last fight had resulted in a third round TKO, which is how Bray finished off Hernandez last night, too.

In the first round, Hernandez came forward but that only earned him Bray’s jab. When in close, he tried to whack Bray to the body but was tied up with octopus arms.

Typically a slow starter, Bray picked up the pace in the 2^nd, popping Hernandez with straight lefts and sneaky uppercuts to compliment his jab. In the last minute, a solid left hand thundered down on Hernandez, who, in turn, thundered down to the canvas.

Hernandez made the count but when he got back up, he was having trouble standing on his left leg. When the fight resumed, Bray had no trouble returning him to the canvas. Again, the count was made the bell sounded.