Margarito obliterates Gomez!

By Mike Sloan , Victor Perea and Albert Jimenez Howell
photos: Chris Cozzone

All it took for Antonio Margarito to solidify himself as one of the best fighters on the planet was one minute fourteen seconds on Saturday night at the Aladdin Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Margarito, out to prove to the naysayers that he, not Zab Judah, belongs across the ring from Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in April, overwhelmed opponent Manuel Gomez and scored a devastating first round knockout. The crippling assault from the hands of Margarito cemented his claim as the best at 147 pounds and will hopefully pave the way for a marquee showdown with the likes of Mayweather later this year.

Margarito swarmed Gomez from the outset and planted a few decent punches on his foe's head. Gomez shook them off well and fired back as often as he could, but it was just a matter of time before one of Margarito's hand grenades detonated and ended the fight. Margarito blasted Gomez with a sinister right cross which froze him along the ropes just over a minute into the contest and Margarito, sensing an early and spectacular knockout, unleashed a hellish fury and bombarded the stunned Gomez. Two more thunderous shots rattled off of Gomez' jaw and the Nuevo Laredo, TX fighter crumbled onto the canvas. Referee Richard Steele administered a count, but waived it off after he reached "six," stopping the contest just as quickly as it began.

Margarito professed before the contest that he was out to make a statement and deliver a message to Mayweather and he did. Margarito has been fighting in the shadows of almost every other fighter in or near his weight class, a situation that has been eating away at him for far too long. Guys like Ricardo Mayorga, Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas, Miguel Cotto, etc. have all relished in fame and fortune while Margarito has had to sit back and bide his time. Margarito said a dramatic and early knockout over the tough Gomez would hopefully propel him headfirst into a lucrative encounter with one of the sport's elite.

Gomez, now 28-11-2 with 20 KOs, was disappointed in the manner with which the fight ended, citing that Steele never gave him a chance to recover. He gave respect to Margarito afterward and stated that he feels Margarito is the best at welterweight and will beat anybody he faces. But, he insisted, he would have liked to have continued and felt that Steele gypped him. Maybe someone should have pointed out to Gomez the two times he stumbled into the ropes in the thirty or so seconds after he climbed back onto his feet after the fight had ended?

Margarito improved to 33-4 after scoring his 24th knockout and said afterward that he knew Gomez would be a tough contest, but he also knew he'd stop him. He was somewhat shocked, he said, that he was able to end it so quickly and now hopes that the world knows who he is.

In the wake of Margarito's destruction of Gomez, though, it seems as though the Tijuana native has received an early Christmas gift. Bob Arum has July 29 set aside for a showdown between Margarito and the winner of Mayweather/Judah at the Thomas and Mack Center. So, basically, it will be Margarito/Mayweather if "Pretty Boy" Floyd beats Judah as expected, accepts the fight with Margarito, and signs the contract. The Thomas and Mack holds roughly 19,000 seats and the magnitude of a Mayweather vs. Margarito clash could sell it out. -- Mike Sloan

Viloria made to work to win first title defense

WBC Light Flyweight Champion Brian “Hawaiian Punch” Viloria kept his unbeaten record clear of any blemishes with a tough win over a relentless Jose Antonio Aguirre.

Aguirre who was fighting in his third straight title seeking bout, came under a vicious attack that left him on the ropes and looking for a way to get out. In the first round Viloria now 19-0 (12), came out in dominating fashion, smothering and hurting Aguirre with left hooks and straight lefts; Aguirre 33-5-1 (20), was almost non existent in the first round. The second round was met with closer action as Aguirre found his legs and began to fight back from the outside, gaining confidence as his double jab straight combinations met with no real answer from Viloria.

Viloria seemed surprised that Aguirre was coming forward so aggressively even as he continued to batter Aguirre with hard shots, leaving Viloria searching for another answer. Viloria hoped catching Aguirre with more booming straight lefts would work, unfortunately for the Champion; they only temporarily halted Aguirre’s attack.

 Aguirre was aggressively coming forward while absorbing punishment, leaving those in attendance in awe when he completely dominated the entire third round as the many Viloria fans in attendance began to wonder if Viloria was going to be in for a long night. Aguirre proved tougher than previously thought, as Viloria predicted a fourth round KO over Aguirre earlier in the week. Aguirre won the first half of the fight only to find that his valor in the ring would not be enough to overcome a hungry Champion in his first tile defense. Viloria picked up the pace in the 6th busting Aguirre’s nose and face which now showed signs of a pummeling.

In the last leg of the fight Viloria found new energy getting the crowd exited before each round began, and landing more frequent shots to a tiring Aguirre as the fight drew to a close. Viloria went the entire 12 rounds for only the fifth time in his career, as he gained more experience and knowledge inside the ring against Aguirre than even his future Hall of Fame Trainer Freddie Roach could ever teach him in the gym.

As for boxing fans wish that Brian Viloria will meet Jorge Arce on the September 16 undercard for Morales vs. Pacquiao III that is yet to be seen said Bob Arum “The Dream match up would obviously be Arce vs. Viloria in September, look for Viloria to fight in Spring again and maybe we’ll see him in September although Arce still has to get past a very tough Rosendo Alvarez on April 8th.”

 Fightnews.com scored it along with the judges 116-112. Official scores read 116-112 twice and 117-111 for the still WBC Light Flyweight Champion of the World Brian Viloria. -- Victor Perea

Chavez Jr edges Molina in close rematch fight

Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (24-0-1, 18 KOs) emerged with a majority decision (57-57, 58-56, 58-56) in what amounted to be an unpopular call by the ringside judges in the estimation of the crowd.

Accompanied by his father, boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr., Chavez Jr., 146, came into this super lightweight bout determined to avenge the only blemish on his otherwise perfect record -- his December fight against Carlos Molina (8-2-1, 4 KOs). Molina, 145.5, and Chavez, Jr. fought to a 6-round draw this past December in Monterrey, Mexico.

The fight saw relatively few jabs, as both Chavez, Jr. and Molina were more than content to engage one another in a phone booth brawl. Chavez, Jr. seemed to possess the heavier hands as both men took turns landing power shots throughout their six-round crowd-pleasing bout.

Fighting in close quarters through most of the fight, Chavez Jr. stunned Molina with 40 seconds left in round four when he landed a straight right flush to Molina's head. Not to be outdone, Molina crushed Chavez, Jr. with a left hook to the jaw in round six. In a fight that could have gone either way, Chavez, Jr. did appear to be gaining strength as the fight wore on. -- Albert Jimenez Howell

Calderon Stifles Bustos Over Twelve

Ivan Calderon, one of the shortest title holders in the history of professional boxing, easily and seemingly effortlessly picked apart opponent Isaac Bustos over twelve rounds. Calderon seized control of the contest immediately with his awkward southpaw stance, stinging right jab and pesky counter straight left hands. Bustos was never in the fight and never came close to winning even a single stanza in the encounter. To put it frankly; Calderon made it look too easy.

Calderon, from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, with only five knockouts on his pro ledger, actually wobbled Bustos a few times during their battle, but the pigmy warrior couldn't score a knockdown or a knockout. As it stood, Calderon was content on boxing Bustos from the outside and whenever Bustos was able to get close to his slippery adversary, Calderon picked him apart with virtually every trick in his arsenal. It was as one-sided a boxing clinic as one could ask for, solidifying Calderon as arguably the world's top minimum weight pugilist.

Bustos was game, though, and he tried everything he could think of to figure out or slow down Calderon, but it was no use. Bustos, from Mexico City, was too out-gunned, too ordinary and too one-dimensional to come close to winning, making Calderon look like the second coming of Willie Pep, albeit a pint-sized version. Some of the rounds were so one-sided and Calderon's defense was so superb that he almost didn't have to throw punches to win them, like Pep allegedly accomplished once. Bustos, as tough as he was, was trounced and lost a unanimous decision via tallies of 120-108 (twice) and 119-109. The only mystery in the outcome of the fight was exactly what judge Bill Graham saw in the eighth round to award it to Bustos.

Calderon improved to 25-0 (5 KOs) and has hinted in the moments after the fight that he's pondering moving up to mini flyweight to challenge the heavier and more powerful Brian Viloria sometime in the near future. Bustos fell to 24-8-3 (13). -- Mike Sloan

Kid Diamond wins by DQ

In a lightweight bout, Kid Diamond a.k.a. Almazbek Raiymkulov (21-1-1, 12 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada battled Jose Quintana (12-11-2, 7 KOs) of Puerto Rico. Both men weighed in at 138 lbs. Quintana entered the ring pouchy and his awkward movement, porous defense, and wild shots showed quickly that he was not in the same league as Kid Diamond. Diamond's ring generalship was evident from round one as he established his jab early on. Midway through round two, a Diamond left hook to the body hurt Quintana. Landing his power shots with frequency, Diamond hurt Quintana badly with a left hook to the head near the end of Round two. In the same round, Quintana had a point taken away for a low blow -- a sign of things to come! Midway through Round three, just as it looked as though a Diamond knockout victory was shortly coming, referee Jay Nady was prompted to call the fight because of Quintana's repeated low blows. Officially, the fight ended at 1:43 of Round three with Kid Diamond as the victor by disqualification. -- Albert Jimenez Howell

Martirosyan continues to impress

Super Welterweight Vanes Martirosyan seemed out to impress with a dominating victory over Las Vegan, Juan Montes De Oca who now drops to 6-9-2 (3).

Martirosyan, who improved to 7-0 (4), controlled the fight from the very beginning using his movement to jab around Oca who charged at him with wild over hand rights that hardly connected. From the opening bell Oca threw whaling hooks and over hand rights to try and catch his obviously superior opponent.

Using his wide amateur experience Martirosyan was patient and did not over pursue his exaggerative opponent; instead opting to allow Oca to put himself in a position to be easily hit. Oca connected on a wild overhand that caught, but did not hurt Martirosyan, in return Martirosyan immediately shot back with a hard hook that sent Oca down to the canvass for the first time. Martirosyan came out in the second to finish what his started, toying with Oca landing his jab straight left combination several times in the round. Oca continued to swing wildly until Martirosyan threw the hardest straight left of the night, sending Oca flat on his back and with a newly broken nose to end the 2nd round.

Shortly after the fighters came out for the third as Martirosyan continued to dominate the outclassed but game Oca, referee Jay Nady had the ringside doctor examine Oca’s badly broken nose resulting in a stoppage due to severely broken nose at 1:21 of the 3rd round. -- Victor Perea

Montano defeats Garcia

Ramon Montano (9-2-1, 0 KOs) of Las Vegas dueled Vincente Garcia (10-4, 6 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico in a welterweight showdown. The hometown Montano, 147, won an unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 39-37) over his New Mexican opponent, 147.5.

Montano's body shots were the key to his winning Round one. Although Garcia counter-punched more effectively in Round two, it was the hometown boxer's jabs and body punching that earned him the round. Round three saw Garcia stun Montano with a straight right. However, after an aggressive beginning to the third round Garcia was content to lay back and counter-punch through the rest of the round. The decision to allow Montano to become the aggressor cost Garcia the round. Round four was tough to score, but in the end Montano had done more than enough to capture the victory. - - Albert Jimenez Howell

Karras outpoints Mena in 8

In an action packed 8 round Welter Weight bout Durango, Mexico native Fernando Mena now 17-8-2 (15) faced off with Los Mochis, Mexico Jesus Soto Karras now 13-3-2 (10), in what was one of the best fights on a well rounded card.

Karras was slow to start, moving with heavy feet in the opening round while the powerful Mena picked his shots. Mena found himself being punished on the ropes towards the end of the round 1, which was one of only a few clearly won rounds by either fighter. The action went back and forth throughout the match; Mena wore Karras down using better footwork and a solid left jab for most of the first half of the fight, while Karras took his time to find a rhythm.

The middle rounds left Karras seemingly out of gas from the body head hook shots Mena continually landed; answering back with an uppercut-straight right that kept Mena respecting Karras power. Mena looked in control for the majority of the middle rounds and seemed to abandon working Karras body which he would later regret. Karras came out furiously with what little energy he had left to start and end each of the final two rounds; hurting and almost dropping Mena in the 8th and final round.

Karras however, did enough towards the end to muster a unanimous decision. Scores where 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75; Fightnews.com scored the fight 76-76, a draw. -- Victor Perea

Post-fight photos

Bonus photos