 Huerta upsets Reyes!
Top Rank action at the Plaza Hotel an appetizer for Saturday's "Collision Course"
Ringside report by
Trinidad Guzman
Photos by
Chris Cozzone
Headlining a Top Rank card at the Plaza Hotel and Casino last night in Vegas, 4 to 1 underdog Miguel Angel Huerta (21-6-1,14 KOs) dropped lightweight prospect Rolando Reyes (21-3-2, 13 KOs) in the opening round of their scheduled ten round bout en route to a hard fought split decision win.
Huerta came out in the 1st, switching from orthodox to southpaw—a crafty tactic that proved successful when a straight left hand landed flush on Reyes’ chin, knocking him to the canvas. Reyes was able to reach his feet at the count of five, but the early knockdown would set the tone of the entire bout.
Despite the stunning first round knockdown, Reyes did not lose his cool and, coming out in the second frame looking to counter the aggressive underdog. Remaining southpaw for most of the fight, Huerta concentrated on Reyes’ midsection, dropping thunderous body shots whenever he could pin him on the ropes.
 After tasting the canvas early in the fight and fending off wicked body shots, Reyes felt it was in his best interest to box Huerta, countering him as he came in wildly, throwing caution to the wind. He had his best rounds when he stuck to this fight plan, often landing crushing right hands that hit their target with great force.
Although he was being countered with great accuracy, Huerta never wavered and continued to press forward after Reyes. His aggressive stance in the bout forced Reyes to wait longer before letting his hands go, allowing Huerta to outwork him.
By Round Seven, the smell of an upset was in the air, but Reyes did not attempt to try and score something big that might change the momentum of the fight.
In the late rounds, Huerta continued to outwork Reyes, trying desperately to land another bomb that might floor his foe. Meanwhile, Reyes, who had great success when he let his hands fly, never fought with a consistent game plan that would allow him to pull out a victory. In the end, his lack of punch output allowed the aggressive Huerta to come away with the unexpected split decision win, by scores of 96-93, 96-93 Huerta and 96-94 Reyes
Bravo vs. Bernal
 In the co-main event of the night, Omar Bernal, (25-5-3, 18 KOs) and Norberto Bravo (18-8-2, 12 KOs), both tasted the canvas in the second round of their scheduled eight round super featherweight bout—but, ultimately, neither fighter would be awarded the victory because after the grueling fight was completed the official decision was announced as a draw.
The first round of the bout was less than spectacular, with both fighters waiting excessively long before getting their shots off. Bravo pressed forward for most of the round, but there was very little sustained action.
In the second round, both fighters made up for the lack of punching in the opening frame. Bravo rocked Bernal with a one-two combination to the head, which had the Mexican on unsteady legs. Bernal quickly struck back, scoring the first knockdown of the night when a flush right hand dropped Bravo to the seat of his pants.
Bravo did not appear to be in serious trouble and patiently sat on the canvas until referee Vic Drakulich reached the count of five. Once he reached his feet, he immediately went back into battle and scored his own knockdown with a thudding left hook to the noggin of Bernal.
Bernal also did not appear to be in serious trouble and quickly rose to his feet just as Bravo had done seconds before.
Over the course of the next few rounds, the two fighters concentrated solely on power punches, and both had success landing cleanly. In the fourth round, one of those powerful bombs from Bravo opened up a cut over Bernal’s right eye. With blood trickling down his face, Bernal was starting to show the first signs of slowing down.
In the fifth round, Bravo took advantage of his opponent slowing down, landing a powerful jab-right hand combination to the head that sent Bernal crashing into the ring ropes. Bravo quickly jumped on his foe landing another shot before referee Drakulich could jump in to call an official knockdown.
Bravo was sent to a neutral corner and Bernal was given his count. But after finishing the count, he surprised everybody by deducting a point from Bravo for hitting his man after a knockdown was ruled. The point deduction turned a 10-8 round into a 10-9 round—and, in the end, that extra point was required for Bravo to have secured the victory on the cards.
By Round Seven, the power shots that Bernal had absorbed to his head and body were badly taking their toll. His punches had lost a lot of their steam and he was starting to hold Bravo whenever he got inside. If the fatigue factor was not enough for Bernal to deal with, he was also forced to battle on with a severely bruised face.
At the conclusion of the slugfest, most ringside observers had Bravo coming out on top, but as is often the case in boxing, the three ringside judges saw a different outcome and declared the bout a draw by scores 76-74 Bravo, 77-73 Bernal and 75-75.
Undercard action
In other action, super lightweight Masakazu Satake (20-3-4, 13 KOs) overcame a slow start to knock out veteran Ubaldo Hernandez (19-13-2, 10 KOs) in the sixth round of their scheduled ten round bout.
Satake started the bout very slowly, moving around the ring, but offering little in the way of offense. Hernandez was no firecracker himself, and did just a little bit more then Satake through the first few rounds.
When Satake did decide to let his hands go, it was clear that Hernandez would not be able to hang with the Japanese fighter. Satake had surprisingly quick hands and cracked Hernandez at will whenever he decided to punch. Hernandez attempted to put up a fight, but his willingness to absorb the punishment from Satake would not last long.
Hernandez started to show a little give in the fifth round when referee Vic Drakulich warned him for a low blow shot and he immediately landed another horrendous low blow that buckled Satake over. His illegal stunt cost Hernandez a point and it appeared that the tide was beginning to turn in favor of Satake.
Satake would require only one more round to force Hernandez to quit. He landed a nice flurry to the head that sent Hernandez to the canvas where he just sat there waiting for the referee to reach the count of ten.
Once the count had been completed, he half-heartedly tried to act as if he were trying to beat the count, but it was obvious to all those in attendance that he had decided six rounds of work was enough to “earn” his paycheck.
Official time of the stoppage, 1:01 seconds of round number six.
Pro debuting lightweight Victor Ortiz (1-0, 1KO) made quick work of the more experienced Raul Montes (1-3, 1KO) knocking him out in the very first round of the fight.
The southpaw Ortiz came out blazing and quickly took the fight to Montes. He was able to connect with his right jab and land flush left hands on his green opponent.
Sensing that he could easily hit Montes without worrying about anything coming back at him, he pinned Montes on the ropes and unleashed a flurry that promoted Referee Toby Gibson to jump in and save Montes from any further punishment.
The official time of the stoppage, 2:01 seconds of round Number One.
Not to be out done, pro debuting lightweight John Lewis (1-0, 1 KO) knocked out his previously undefeated opponent Miguel Rocha (1-1-1, 0KO) in the very first round.
At the sound of the first bell, the 24-year-old Lewis came out and threw a lightning quick left hook that wobbled Rocha. It was clear from this point in the fight that Rocha did not have the speed to compete with Lewis.
Lewis continued to rip blistering jabs and right hands that had Rocha fumbling all over the ring. One of those thunderous right hands connected flush on the chin of Rocha, sending him to the canvas.
There would be no getting up for Rocha and referee Toby Gibson would count him out at 1:31 seconds.
Super lightweights Gustavo Tapia (11-16-3 4KOS) and Richard Best (5-9-3 4KOS) put on a mind-numbing six round contest, with Tapia coming away with the unanimous decision win.
Tapia started the opening round cracking Best with everything he threw. The trouble was, he had absolutely nothing behind his punches. Best was content to try to evade the light arsenal that was coming his way but rarely offered up his own shots in return.
Round after round, the same scenario played out, with Tapia outworking a sluggish Best for three minutes—then they’d do it all over again.
It is hard to fault Tapia for the overall dismal performance of the bout because he was the only fighter that was willing to let his hands go.
After the six completed rounds, Tapia received the well-deserved unanimous decision win, by scores of 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55.
In attendance: WBO welterweight champ Antonio Margarito
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