Gallegos Edges Aragon in Rematch!
Despite the scores, Shawn Gallegos ekes out close win over Tommy Aragon for vacant NM state jr. welter belt in rematch war

Holm Hammers Out Win Over Martinez! Luttrell Returns!

ringside report and photos by chris cozzone

In what was New Mexico’s final pro card of the year, last night at the Kiva Auditorium in Albuquerque, “Triple Threat II” packed the house with a mixed crowd of 1,400 boxing and no-holds-barred (NHB) fans that included Governor Richardson and 5-time world champion Johnny Tapia cheering on the fighters in 11 thrilling throwdowns.

GKB Productions’ second card had everything: knockouts, tapouts—and blowouts.

After three featured fights that did not disappoint—an eight-round war between Shawn Gallegos and Tommy Aragon; a six-round scrap with Holly Holm and Angel Martinez; and an impressive return by legend Chris Luttrell, the evening’s nightcap was an ugly melee that broke out between the Sanchez and Fresquez father-son teams.

It’s unknown what started the altercation, or if anyone’s to blame, but it ended with several of us ringside trying to neutralize Ray Sanchez III, who was throwing lefts and rights at Lenny Fresquez. Word is, a suspension for Sanchez III may be in the works.

The Sanchez-Fresquez feud has been brewing for the last couple years now.

Bad blood was also the source of fury in last night’s main event between Las Vegas’ Shawn “the Educator” Gallegos and Tommy “the Cobra” Aragon, of Moriarty.

After several years of close encounters, the two fighters met last August on Gallegos’ turf, with the hometowner winning a deserved decision for the state lightweight belt. Post-fight reactions weren’t pretty, with Aragon’s team, mainly his never-dull-often-unruly brothers, clashing with Gallegos’ hometown clica. Nevermind an injury to Aragon’s shoulder, his team felt the fight was close, if not won by the out-of-town slugger; but Gallegos walked away with the belt and an all-too-lopsided decision.

Last night, the outcome was a repeat, but for one fact: the fight was truly a toss-up.

Gallegos came out like a cyclone, more aggressive than he’s been in several fights, and went right to work on Aragon, jabbing, setting up hard right hands, and pounding away with body shots. Before long, Aragon was complaining of low blows (many of which were borderline, others questionable), and, at one point in the second frame, took a knee clutching his privates. Gallegos was warned to keep ‘em up and when the fight resumed, he was more aggressive than ever, maneuvering Aragon against the ropes and letting those hands go.

Aragon was in trouble and it was looking like it was going to be a short fight.

But Aragon had weathered the worst of it from Gallegos and by the end of the third round, had outsmarted the “Educator” into fighting his fight.

Gallegos fell into slugging, still winning the round, but it was clear that the transition was in effect. Looking like the old Tommy Aragon who’d nearly upset Robbie Lovato a couple years ago, the “Cobra” started to time his strikes with his trademark overhand lefts.

At the end of three, I still had Gallegos ahead three rounds to one. But, beginning with the fourth, Aragon would dramatically turn things around.

No longer boxing, Gallegos was a sitting target for Aragon, who pulled off a devastating 10-8 round in the 4^th, staggering his man at least twice with those out-of-nowhere loopy overhand lefts. Gallegos resorted to sheer survival.

Round Five was a repeat: Gallegos in survival mode, no longer boxing, no longer jabbing, with Aragon moving ahead throwing bombs to up and downstairs.

Gallegos’ corner, brother Charlie and Al Lovato, went to work on their fighter, working some sort of miracle, because he came out boxing again in the 6^th, jabbing and outworking Aragon from the outside.

In the 7^th, it was a toss-up: Gallegos outpointing but Aragon landing the better punches in between several brutal exchanges.

The final round was a repeat, but Aragon’s bombs, at least on one occasion, had Gallegos momentarily stumbling. To his credit, Gallegos threw down with Aragon in one of the fights’ best exchanges that went a punch or two past the final round.

With both parties thinking they’d won, the scorecards were tallied while promoter John Madrid got on the mic to ask house security to beef it up in the event of a disturbance.

Fightnews/NMBoxing had it dead even: 76-76. Others ringside had it going one way or the other, by a round. But the judges all had it convincingly for Gallegos: 79-73, 78-75 and 78-74.

“He was hurt and he was scared,” Aragon said afterward. “I thought I had him. I was the aggressor throughout all the rounds, except for the first couple when I was trying to get my composure and measure him.

“What do I have to do to win a fight? This is professional boxing, not Olympic style. It’s about hurting your opponent, not tap-tap-tapping at him.”

Gallegos, now the state champion at both 135 and 140, says he was distracted throughout the fight by the referee, who kept warning him about hitting too low.

“It kept me from going to the body,” says Gallegos. “He knows he was hurt from my body shots.”

Surprisingly, Gallegos says he was never hurt in the fight, despite visibly staggering at least three times.

“I was never hurt. He just caught me off balance, or when I was going backwards.”

Overall, Gallegos says this fight was more satisfying than his first one against Aragon, and that he will probably stay at 140, unless he can get a rematch at the only man to beat him, Miguel “Conan” Torrecillas. He moves to 10-1, 5 KOs.

Aragon, on the other hand, drops to 7-6-1, 5 KOs, but that the loss is immaterial:

“We all know who won this fight. What’s most important is that I know it.”

Luttrell Returns
No-Holds-Barred legend and co-founder of Jackson’s Gaidojutsu gym Chris Luttrell returned after a six-year retirement in one of the card’s co-features. Despite the reaction for hometown favorites Holly Holm, Tommy Aragon and Diego Sanchez, a full third of the audience stood up when he entered the ring to fight Alamogordo’s Victor Hernandez.

The entrance lasted longer than the fight.

After a couple kicks to measure, the two grabbed hold of one another. Luttrell took down his man and on the canvas, they grappled until a rear naked choke hold had Hernandez tapping out at :55.

Thirty-eight-year-old Luttrell moves his record to 8-1; Hernandez falls to 6-5.

Holm Prevails
No one knew what Dallas, Texas fighter Angel Martinez would bring to the table, but hometown favorite Holly Holm got more than she bargained for in their six-round war.

Holm came out a completely different fighter than the one who showed up in October to fight a draw against Stephanie Jaramillo. In the first round, she boxed circles around a bewildered Martinez, using her superior reach and height to jab and set up her strong straight left. Other than two solid body shots, Martinez took the round to figure out what she was up against.

Early in the second round, Martinez had figured Holm out. It was a much closer round, with Holm landing more often but Martinez taking her time, choosing her punches and landing the harder shots. She was also drawing Holm in, closing the gap.

Martinez nearly dominated the third round, timing her counterpunches and landing bombs on Holm, who was beginning to show some mileage by the round’s end.

Holm came out in the 4^th to fight exclusively on the outside. Martinez, a bit winded from her storming third round, was unable to get in close.

Round Five was the best yet, with the two trading viciously in several exchanges. Martinez landed a number of bombs, stopping Holm in her tracks, but the hometowner rallied to the crowd, taking the fight to Martinez, adding uppercuts and hooks to her arsenal of punches. Still, it was a toss-up round.

It was all Holm in the sixth, bashing a tiring Martinez in a number of assaults, securing both the round, and the fight.

At the end of six, I had Holm ahead four rounds to two. Judges had it 59-55 twice, and 59-54.

Afterward, Holm admitted getting rocked by Martinez.

“I’ve been hit harder, but she had a good right hand,” said Holm. “It made me mad, so I went at her.”

Holm goes to 6-0-1 (2 KOs); Martinez, a fighter to keep an eye on, gets her first pro loss, at 2-1 (1 KO).

Sanchez Wows the Crowd
Diego “the Nightmare” Sanchez secured his reputation as one of New Mexico’s most exciting fighter in his boxing pro debut against the more experienced Jesus Gonzalez of Albuquerque.

The current King of the Cage 175-pound champion might have a Swiss cheese defense (although he admits that he likes to get hit, and spars without headgear), might be square when he throws, and has probably never thrown a jab in his life outside of being forced to while sparring, but he proved to the boxing world that all it takes to win is hunger.

And a bit of madness.

Sanchez instantly came forward. Gonzalez tried to make him pay coming in, but did not utilize his jab much in the first, letting the southpaw Sanchez bull rush his way in to land straight lefts and hooks.

In the second, Sanchez took it to another level, until a right hook floored Gonzalez and he was counted out at :44.

“It was fun,” Sanchez, now 1-0 (1 KO), said afterward. “It’s my first knockout.”

Most of Sanchez’s eight fights in mixed martial arts (8-0) are wins by submission or stoppages.

“I was a little nervous. In NHB, I have no fear, but in boxing, I was a little nervous. I knew I could fight standing up but hadn’t wanted to risk it before. I had to focus on not getting too excited.

“The whole time, I could hear Johnny Tapia yelling at me what to throw. I heard ‘Right hook!’ and after I threw that, he went down.”

Look for Sanchez to defend his King of the Cage title in February at Sky City Casino.

Undercard Action

Albuquerque’s Rich Montoya had an unlucky night in his cruiserweight NHB match against Las Cruces’ Sean Bolen, losing by TKO at :42 of the first round after an elbow opened up a nasty cut on his left eyebrow.

In a battle of pro debuts, cage veteran Keith Jardine (1-0, 1 KO) stopped Wyoming’s Jose Beltran (0-1) in the second round.

It wasn’t the prettiest fight. Both fighters fought close quarters, throwing straight-on and wide. Beltran (another late sub) started to tire near the end of the first and Jardine landed something hard enough to put him down.

In the 2^nd, Jardine went to war on Beltran, punching, occasionally  shoving a la cage style, before too much punishment had the ref stopping it at 1:36.

Al Salinas (3-1, 2 KOs) bounced back after losing to Jeremiah Torres last August to win by TKO over crafty veteran Eugene Lopez (10-25-1).

Lopez was a last-minute opponent who accepted despite having retired a year ago. His ring rust and lack of wind showed, but he still managed to teach Salinas a few things before his corner threw in the towel after the third round.

Salinas came out strong, outhustling Lopez who frustrated Salinas by tying up. Salinas also stopped throwing his best punch—the straight right—after the initial round and it was later discovered, he’d injured it.

Despite the injury, Salinas went to work on Lopez, jabbing and throwing left hooks. In the 2^nd, Lopez went down against the ropes from a jab, but ref Al Martinez ruled it a slip.

Lopez went into survival mode but would occasionally throw a combination at Salinas, who won all three rounds before the stoppage.

Kyle Seals won his pro debut in NHB after manhandling Shane Scwhartzer on the canvas while finding the space to pound away while atop. After too much punishment, just 1:01 in the 1^st, Schwartzer tapped out.

Unable to make the transition from kickboxing to boxing (especially in the two days he had to make it, as his kickboxing opponent fell out and had to be replaced with a boxer), Dale McCartey (0-1) lost his pro debut in boxing to Denver’s Geoffrey Sprewell (2-2, 1 KO).

Sprewell, taking the fight on two days’ notice, worked his jab in the first, catching an awkward McCartey coming in every time, with his right hand. McCartey, occasionally lifting his knee as if to launch a kick, was not making the transition between fighting styles.

McCartey had a better round in the second, trying to muscle his way in to land something, but Sprewell knew just what to do and made him pay with his right.

Round Three was close. Sprewell gave up jabbing and more often than not, was fighting McCartey’s fight, both throwing sloppy punches at close quarters.

In the 4^th, at the insistence of cornerman John Martino, Sprewell went back to Boxing 101 and outjabbed McCartey for the round and decision.

Amateur Pre-show
Eric Kucevic opened up the show in a NHB bout against Greg Blackman, working his way to a win by submission at 2:50.

Chrisann Roseleip and Crystal Hickerson stirred the crowd with a vicious three-round kickboxing bout in the second and final amateur bout.

Hickerson won the first half of the opening round with her fists, but halfway through Roseleip started to use her legs to steal the round.

Both fighters went at each other in the 2^nd and 3^rd, but Roseleip started to pull ahead, then dominate, by the time the fight was complete.

Scorecards read 30-27 x 3 for Roseleip.

 # # #

Triple Threat II – Kiva Auditorium – December 12, 2003 – GKB Productions
BOXING:
For the New Mexico state jr. welterweight belt:
Shawn Gallegos (10-1, 5 KOs) UD 8 Tommy Aragon (7-6-1, 5 KOs)
Holly Holm (6-0-1, 2 KOs) UD 6 Angel Martinez (2-1, 1 KO)
Al Salinas (3-1) TKO 3 Eugene Lopez (10-25-1, 3 KOs)
Diego Sanchez (1-0, 1 KO) KO 2 Jesus Gonzalez (0-1)
Keith Jardine (1-0) TKO 2 Jose Beltran (0-1)
Geoffrey Sprewell (2-2, 1 KO) UD 4 Dale McCartey (0-1)
NO-HOLDS-BARRED BOUTS:
Chris Luttrell (8-1) SUB 1 Victor Hernandez (6-5)
Kyle Seals (6-1) SUB 1