Margarito Too Strong for Hercules!

By Jeremy Chada & John Raygoza
photos: Chris Cozzone

WBO Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito (30-3 21ko) offered his title to Hercules Kyvelos in a scheduled 12 round fight at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Az. Yet, 4 minutes and 54 seconds later (including the 1 minute between rounds) Kyvelos could only accept his first professional loss.

Margarito started off confidently aggressive in the opening round. Less than a minute in, Margarito hammered Kyvelos with a clean right upstairs forecasting the outcome. Kyvelos then went into a survival mode showing no will to protect his unblemished record. If there was any game plan left in Kyvelos, Margarito took it away with a knee buckling left uppercut midway through. The rest of the first was target practice and a chance for Margarito to introduce Kyvelos to the "Big Time".

Round 2 opened with a 30 second show of heart by Kyvelos as he landed a few shots including a good leaning right hook that seemed to, if anything, upset Margarito. A moment later, Margarito caught Kyvelos with a short left uppercut to the temple, dropping him to the canvas. Kyvelos beat the count just in time for Margarito, in true champion form, to smother Kyvelos with power shots forcing Referee Raul Caiz Sr. to halt the action at :54 into round 2.

Undercard Action

By John Raygoza

It was a jam-packed arena at the Dodge Theatre as two rising prospects give the crowd a die-hard performance.

Hometown prospect, Jesus ëHammerí Gonzales, wins by way of technical knockout over Vincent Moses. It took a couple rounds before Jesus Gonzales could establish his trademark left hand. The slick southpaw clobbered away at Moses with veteran-style body shots but it was a solid left hand that made referee, Roger Yanez, stop the fight one-minute and thirty-seconds into the fourth round. The victory for Jesus raises his primitive record to 7-0, all by way of knockout. The live Phoenix crowd cheered their hometown hero all the way back to the locker room.Ý

Dmitriy Salita delivers Frankie Sanchez his 11th loss in an action packed six rounder. Dmitriy dominated the entire fight with solid body shots and classic ring generalship. The tough Frankie Sanchez got hit with everything but the kitchen sinkÝyet still managed to go out on his feet, and so did the audience as they applauded both fighters with a standing ovation during the final ten seconds. The judges had it unanimously 60-54 all in favor of Dmitriy Salita. This victory for Salita moves his record up to 17-0.

Unbeaten prospect Anthony Thompson (15-0, 12 KOs) scored an impressive stoppage over Anthony Bowman (7-8-2) in a welterweight contest scheduled for eight.Ý Thompson displayed remarkable power in knocking Bowman down twice in round two and once in round five for the final knockout.Ý Both fighters equally exchanged power shots early on, but it was right hand of Thompson that staggered and sent Bowman to the canvas all three times.Ý Bownam wasnít able to recover from the final knockdown and the referee stopped the action at 2:36 of round five.

Juan Lopez wins a unanimous decision over Jose Suazo. Lopez finished very strong in the final round. All judges had it the same, 40-36, 40-36, 39-37, in favor of Juan Lopez.

Wes Ferguson won a unanimous ten round decision over his opponent, Stanley Mendez. Ferguson out-punched his opponent, closing both eyes of Mendez. The judges had it unanimously in favor of Ferguson 39-37, 40-36, 40-36.

Marquez Flattens Frissina
No Science for "Sweet" Pete

By Ricardo Trujillo
photos: Chris Cozzone

Rafael Marquuez, IBF 118 pound king was lighting in a bantamweight bottle as he flattens number one contender, Pete Frissina at the :22 second mark of round number two last night at the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona before a packed house. They bore witness to an incredible display of precision punching by Marquez who is certainly on my pound for pound list.

You could feel the electricity in the air as Frissina got out of the blocks fast looking to establish his jab, and for a minute or so, had Marquez looking for his rhythm.

And why not, between two sanctioning bodies he waited two years for his shot at a world title and fought this fight over and over again in his head and the gym, but it all evaporated in 3 minutes and 22 seconds.

Marquez who looked much larger than his official weight of 117 3/4 lbs. He simply fire stormed Frissina with two fisted volleys and barraged a defenseless Frissina into submission.

At the two-minute mark of round one, a lead right by Marquez caught Frissina flush and forced him to the ropes and those in attendance and others watching at home via HBO knew the end was near. Furious lefts and rights crumpled Frissina for the first of two knockdowns in the round. The crowd roared its collective approval as ìSweetî Pete barely survived the round, and a case could be made for a stoppage then and there.

ìHe came right at me so I knew I had to make a brawl out of it.î Said Marquez, who beamed with confidence and solidified his place as the number one guy at 118.

ìI feel real good as a bantamweight, Iím going to stay here for at least a year, then, Iíll move up to 122.î Exclaimed Marquez who is getting better with each fight and that is a scary prospect for any bantamweight who wishes to challenge for his title.

ìHey ya he knocked me around real good,î said a dejected Frissina, who will now fall off the radar in this division. He went on to say, ìI still had some fight left.î But four clean shots to the head in five seconds forced Ref Raul Caiz, Jr. to mercifully halt the proceedings in a very good stoppage.

Marquez was compact and very patient last night, and I donít really know who can beat him. Maybe only his brother, Juan Manuel, one of the featherweight champions.

And when asked to relate his feelings about coming from a fighting family, Marquez ruled out any clash with his brother. He stated, ìThere is a lot of responsibility coming from a family like mine.î And given his display, his brother must be very proud.

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