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'Bam Bam'
goes boom boom
Conchas talks the talk, but Sanchez walks the walk for KO win
Ringside
report, photos (and matchmaking) by
Chris Cozzone
If words
were punches, Richard “Bam Bam” Conchas would be the
welterweight champion of the world.
Against
hometown prospect Ray Sanchez III, that was all he was willing
to throw--words.
 Sanchez,
on the other hand, preferred to let his fists
do the
talking when, last night in front of a near-sellout crowd of
2,200 at the Convention Center in Albuquerque, a left hand—and a
glancing blow at that—had Conchas down and disheartened enough
to let himself get counted out at 2:32 of the first round.
The card,
billed as “Pride of Albuquerque” and co-promoted by Prize Fight
Boxing and North Star Productions, featured six pro boxing, two
mixed martial arts (MMA) and five amateur bouts.
Conchas
strolled into town promising to knock out Sanchez. On the day of
the fight, he spent the afternoon around town, and at Denny’s,
passing out autographed photos of himself, telling everyone to
come to the fight to watch “Sanchez get knocked out cold.”
“He’s got a
glass jaw and two broken hands,” he said. “I’ll knock his ass
out.”
In the
ring, the only thing made of glass was Conchas’ words—and his
heart.
After a
tentative minute-and-a-half, with Sanchez and Conchas circling
one another trying to measure up, Sanchez started to jab and
move in. Then, in the final minute, after landing a body shot,
Sanchez threw a quick straight land that glanced off Conchas’
chin.
That was
all it took.
After a
half-second delay, Conchas stumbled back against the ropes and
crumbled into a heap on the canvas. The ref moved in for the
count and while Conchas did not look like he was a finished man,
he was not willing to continue, making Sanchez winner by TKO at
just 2:32 of the first.
While
Conchas (now 4-4) plodded back to his corner, Sanchez paraded
around the ring and, taunting Conchas for his promises of a
knockout, put his glove up to his ear as if to say, “I don’t
hear you talking now . . .”
But it
didn’t take Conchas long to renew his only line of offense.
While the winner was announced, Conchas looked over at Sanchez
and said, “I let you have that . . .”
Sanchez
challenged him to mix it up yet again, right then and there, but
the verbal exchange was squashed and Conchas was hustled out of
the ring.
“I didn’t
even hit him with 100% and I thought he was gonna get up,” said Sanchez. “I
knew he was hurt but thought he could’ve gone on—but in the end,
it would’ve been the same. One more shot and he would’ve gone
down again.”
Sanchez
said Conchas’ smack talk did not throw him out of his plan.
“I’ve dealt
with that kind of mouth before. You can’t let it get to you.
They want to lower you to their standards. They want to make a
brawl out of it so you throw all your skills out the window But
I wasn’t gonna let that happen, wasn’t gonna let him beat me in
my hometown.
After eight
months of inactivity due to hand surgery, Sanchez resumes his
quest for greatness, hoping to fight for a minor title by the
end of the year. He moves his record to 10-1, 8 KOs.
Sanchez is
scheduled to fight in Mississippi next month on a Prize Fight
Boxing card.
 Co-main:
Holly gets mad, gets even
“She
should’ve taken the money yesterday.”
That’s what
Holly Holm said after her explosive victory over usually-rugged
Janae Romero Archuleta. She was referring to the weigh-in when
Holm came in a pound overweight; Archuleta’s camp had refused to
take extra money and had forced an already-drained Holm to spend
the next two hours sweating out the final round.
“She got me
mad,” said Holm—and it showed.
In the
opening moments of the bout, Holm snapped Archuleta’s head back
with a stiff jab. In the next minute, she was on top of
Archuleta, pounding her pillar to post from one corner to the
next before the ref leapt in at 1:00 to stop the one-sided
slaughter.
“She made
it so easy for me,’ said Holm. “She came out with that slow jab
and we’d been working on throwing hooks over a jab and timing
it. When I had her up against the ropes, I knew she was hurting
so I pushed for the end.”
Now a top
ten contender, Holm should inch her way up a little more with
her 7-0-1 (3 KOs) undefeated record. She expects to be on the
Sky Ute card next month.
MMA massacres
Two
no-holds-barred bouts separated the boxing undercard from the
main and co-main.
The first
one had 271-pound, 6’9” “Big” Dan Christison, of Albuquerque,
taking on 80-fight veteran from Carlsbad, Jimmy Westfall.
At first,
Christison and Westfall traded kicks and punches, showing a
fairly even exchange, until Westfall took Christison down to the
canvas. Christison was able to reverse the action and straddling
Westfall, let loose with a downpour of strikes to the head until
ref Tony Rosales stepped in to stop the bout.
Christison
was declared winner by TKO at 1:18 of the first round.
“Going all
the way to the top,” Christison says. While now 3-4, two of
those losses are to cage legend Dan “the Beast” Severn—and both
controversial losses.
“I only
want to fight the best,” says Christison, who’s goals are UFC
and PRIDE level fights.
 No
doubt New Mexico’s biggest no-holds-barred draw and best
prospect Diego “the Nightmare” Sanchez was next.
Stepping in
with just two days notice was “The Mighty Whitey,” a.k.a. “The
Adorable Keebler Elf”, Travis Beachler (now 4-3 MMA).
Beachler
gave it his best, but could do little to fend off the
“Nightmare.” After several strikes up top, Sanchez lifted the
198-pound Beachler clear off the canvas and took him down in a
ground-shaking takedown. On the canvas, he went to work,
pummeling a striving-to-survive Beachler until the ref called it
off at just :35.
Sanchez
could be the most ferocious fighter in New Mexico—boxing or in
the cage—and moves his clean record to 10-0 in MMA (1-0, 1 KO in
boxing.)
Both
Christison and Sanchez will fight in Brazil in May, against
world class opponents.
 ‘Donamite’
explodes against Condit
In a solid
all-out war, undefeated MMA monster Carlos Condit made a pro
boxing debut against fellow Albuquerque fighter Donnell
“Donamite” Wade.
Originally,
Condit was scheduled to fight Denver’s Donald Cerrone (0-1) but
the opponent bailed out the night before the weigh-in, claiming
a lower back injury—never mind that he’d been seen kicking a
heavy bag that very night.
Stepping in
last minute for Cerrone, at 11 PM Thursday night was an eager
Donnell Wade, which made this fight a toss-up match.
In the
first round, ‘Donamite’ exploded into action, taking the fight
to the taller, rangier Condit by digging in to the body. Condit
weathered the storm and threw back, but Wade showed a solid
defense, keeping his gloves up. Round to Wade.
Round Two
was closer. Condit was the busier fighter and Wade showed a bit
of tiredness, but was probably trying to pace himself for a
last-minute fight. Condit’s aggression might’ve given him the
round, but Wade’s left hooks landed nearly every time he threw
one and his flurries made the round a toss-up.
Both were
tired in the third, and despite Condit’s output, his
punches—most of them wide and loopy—were less effective than
Wade’s overhands, hooks and uppercuts. Early on in the third,
Condit’s nose started to bleed—the result of a left hook.
Round Four
had some great toe-to-toe action but Condit was tiring and
Wade’s flurries were scoring big.
At the end
of four, my card read 39-37 for Wade.
Judges were
split: 39-37 for Wade; 39-37 for Condit; and 40-36 for Wade, who
pulled it off with a split decision win.
Wade moves
to 2-1-1 while Condit, 11-0 in MMA, enters the boxing ranks at
0-1.
 Munoz
goes to work on Manore
In his
first six rounder, “Hurricane” Hector Munoz out-pummelled a very
game, and always-rugged Robert Manore through close to six
rounds before stopping him at 2:30 of the final stanza.
Munoz came
out in the first, looking for an early night, winging punches
while Manore sought to establish a game plan from the outside,
trying to jab and move. Munoz missed more than connected with
his bombs, but started to calm down and fall into a
steady-but-aggressive pace to walk his man down.
By the
middle of the second round, Munoz had bloodied Manore’s nose,
and, unable to set up shop, Manore was getting a beating.
The third
was marginally better for Manore, who fought on the retreat
against Munoz. Manore was able to land several shots, but his
punches had no effect on Munoz who was able to cut the ring off
and unleash a bit of target practice on Manore.
In the
fourth, Manore had his best round and was able to land a few of
his own, most of the time aiming for a growing mouse under
Munoz’s right eye. Despite a better round, it was still not
enough to win it and in the last twenty seconds, Munoz was able
to stagger Manore with a furious flurry.
Manore,
bleeding from nose and mouth, showed a solid chin and returned
fire but Munoz took yet another round and scored the harder,
cleaner punches.
Manore was
on his way out and sensing the end, Munoz went to work, battering
him down in the second minute. After making the count, Manore fought on the run until Munoz ran him down again and
floored him with a right hand, prompting the ref to call it
quits at 2:39.
Manore said
he’d injured his right knuckle in the early fourth round but
despite the injury, he certainly came to fight, and showed that
he can take some punishment.
While
continuing to show improvement—grit and stamina over six rounds,
and the ability to stick to his game—Munoz needs to take that
next step up in opposition now and take on a Steve Marquez or
Fernando Yguado level fighter.
The
“Hurricane” boosts his record to 7-0, 5 KOs, while Manore falls
to 3-13.
Chavez wins controversial split decision
over Mercury
Against her
toughest opponent to date, and her first six-rounder,
Albuquerque’s Jackie Chavez managed to eke out a split decision
win over Denver’s Mercedes Mercury.
 After
making her ring entrance, Mercury had to wait in the ring for
several minutes for Chavez—but backstage, Chavez’s team did not
know it was time to fight. Trainer Ray Sanchez, Jr. was just
wrapping Chavez’s hands when they got the call to get into the
ring. As a result, Chavez had to forego her warm-up and entered
the ring cold.
It
showed—it took Chavez some time to get into her zone.
In the
first round, Chavez had a difficult time getting into the groove
and Mercury’s difficult southpaw style gave her the edge. Other
than a hard overhand right thrown by Chavez in the final
moments, the round was in favor of Mercury, who established her
jab and continued to catch Chavez coming in with her left hand.
Mercury’s
right hand jab continued to keep Chavez at bay in the second,
followed by hard left hands every time she tried to fight her
way in. It was, easily, Mercury’s fight, so far.
Chavez was,
simply, unable to get in and Mercury, taunting Chavez with a
lazy right hand jab, controlled the pace. In the final 20
seconds, however, Chavez barreled her way inside and started to
land hooks and rights, but not enough to steal the round.
Chavez
retaliated in the fourth, outlanding a less-busy Mercury with
solid right hands for her first solid round. The Fifth was an
all-out war and toss-up round pitting Chavez’s short right hands
against Mercury’s devastating straight lefts.
Sensing
desperation, Chavez went all out in the sixth, pressuring
Mercury with close-quarter brawling. Mercury gave as good as she
got, but Chavez’s aggression won her the round—but not the
fight, at least on my scorecard.
At the end
of six, I had Mercury ahead four rounds to two, 58-56.
Only one
judge was in agreement (58-56); the other two had
it for Chavez, 58-56, making her the winner by split decision.
“It’s all a
learning experience,” Chavez said later. Her record moves to
7-0, with 3 KOs
Mercury was
visibly upset after the fight, and said she’d thought she won
the fight easily. Her corner vowed never to return to
Albuquerque and has offered Chavez a rematch in May—this time in
Denver.
Mercury
falls to 3-4 (3 KOs), ending a three-fight winning streak.
Brixx gets flattened in pro debut
In the
opening pro bout of the night, Albuquerque’s Joey Brixx made a
pro debut against Larry Gonzales of Denver, Colo.
Brixx and
his team knew he was in over his head against the former amateur
star from Denver, but he was confident he’d be able to score the
upset, and by knockout.
It was a
serious blunder, and after a tentative first minute, Gonzalez
went to work. A jab pushed Brixx back and ten seconds later,
Gonzalez landed his first, and only, right hand of the
night—immediately flooring Brixx.
Not only
was Brixx counted out, but he remained on the canvas for several
minutes, tended by his corner and medics.
Gonzalez
rises to 3-0, 2 KOs.
 Amateur
Action
Six
USA Boxing-sanctioned bouts preceded the pro show, opening with
a three-round thriller with 80-pound Mark Padilla of Mirabel’s
Boxing Club decisioning Adrian Maestas of Sanchez Boxing Club.
In the
100-pound category, Las Cruces PAL’s Sammy DiPace outhustled a
very game Fidel Maldonado of Atrisco’s Boxing Club. Maldonado
was tough, and landed several solid punches through DiPace’s lax
defense, but was, overall, outclassed by the nine-time national
amateur champion. DiPace remains one of New Mexico’s top
prospects in the amateur division.
The third
bout was razor thin, but judges saw Ricky Vasquez of Las Cruces
PAL edging James Piar of Esquibel’s Boxing.
In the fourth
bout, Crespin Boxing's Amanda Crespin took care of business
against Victoria Romero of Atencio Boxing. Romero was game but
Crespin put her punches together for the decision win.
Bout Five
had Archie Marquez of M&A throwing one of the best punches of
the night when a right hand floored Marcos Herrera of Los Tigres
for the RSC win in the 2nd.
Top amateur
Matthew Esquibel of Esquibel’s Boxing outhustling Suanitu Hogue
of Badoni’s for the decision win. Hogue was fearless and
continued to stalk Esquibel, who was faster and busier, digging
in with body shots and uppercuts.
Etc.
Big props
go to New Mexico’s premier ring announcer, Mike Adams, who does
an excellent job, as always; and Carmella Munoz, who brought in
New Mexico’s hottest ring girls.
# # #
Results:
Ray Sanchez III (10-1, 8 KOs) KO 1 Richard Conchas (4-4, 2 KOs)
Holly Holm (7-0-1, 3 KOs) TKO 1 Janae Romero Archuleta (3-4, 2
KOs)
Diego Sanchez (10-0 MMA) TKO 1 Travis Beachler (4-3, MMA)
Dan Christison (3-4, MMA) TKO 1 Jimmy Westfall (67-10-4, MMA)
Donnell Wade (2-1-1) SD4 Carlos Condit (0-1)
Hector Munoz (7-0, 4 KOs) TKO 6 Robert Manore (3-13)
Jackie Chavez (7-0, 3 KOs) SD6 Mercedes Mercury (3-4, 3 KOs)
Larry Gonzalez (3-0, 2 KOs) KO 1 Joey Brixx (0-1)
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