Girls carry the show at Sky Ute
The guys lack, and Serrano comes back

Ringside report/photos by Chris Cozzone

If last night’s card had been a battle of the sexes, the girls would’ve gone home with the trophy and the guys, with black eyes, for in three of six bouts, the girls wowed the crowd of 900 at the Sky Ute Casino in Ignacio, Colo.

In the showcase fight of the evening, former world champ Laura Serrano made a re-entrance as foe Tracy Byrd made her exit; Monica Lovato and Sharon Gaines fought a toss-up sixer; and Layla McCarter played a ringwise matador to a charging Victoria Cisneros . . .

All the while, the local males failed to produce a tenth of the cheers.

The main event walkout bout

In what was billed as the main event (for some reason), local Durango fighter Miguel Gallegos, normally a crowd-pleaser, dulled the crowd by trying to fight sharper and smarter, winning a unanimous decision over Denver’s Dave Hernandez (3-3-2, 2 KO), who gave him plenty of trouble.

The first round was a fairly active one, but after three thrilling women’s bouts, it was obvious that this bout was going to be anticlimactic. Both fighters missed, almost as much as they threw, but Gallegos, the busier, won the round on nothing more than a couple right hands that came close to connecting.

Both fighters tried to mix it up in the second, with Hernandez refusing to back down from Gallegos, who, by the second minute, fell back to strictly counterpunching despite three initial fights as a thrilling come-atcha slugger.

The third was a better round for Hernandez, who, by know, must’ve known he wasn’t outclassed despite his opponent status. With Gallegos playing the waiting game, Hernandez took a round despite the local‘s attempt to turn things around in the last few moments.

Hernandez stepped up in his role as aggressor in round four, throwing more while Gallegos was tame in his counter-punching, but he took the fight back in the last round, albeit through more unexciting countering.

At the end of five, all three judges had it for Gallegos, 49-46, who won the fight but lost a bit of appeal, upping his record to 3-0-1, 1 KO. Hernandez evened his score to 3-3-2, 2 KOs.    

“He was a heavier puncher so I tried counter-punching,” Gallegos said. “But I was satisfied with the win.“

Lovato Gaines split win

After three sweat-free wins, Espanola’s Monica Lovato faced Sharon Gaines of Las Vegas, her toughest foe since losing to Julie Ruvalcaba in 2004—and was able to, just barely, pull it off with a split decision win after six tough-fought rounds.

The first could’ve gone either way. While Lovato landed the cleaner shots, and jabbed more often, it was Gaines who made the bout, fighting from an awkward crouch that gave Lovato trouble from the start. Gaines winged a couple of loopy overhand rights that got Lovato’s attention, and in the final ten seconds, might’ve stolen the round with a flurry that had Lovato retreating.

Lovato edged out Gaines in the second stanza, her cleaner-albeit-less-frequent shots making a stronger impression on the judges’ scorecards than Gaines’ big right hands. The fight was fought in the center of the ring the entire time.

It looked like Lovato was starting to gain a bit of control in the third round over the difficult Gaines, by landing clean effective counter shots, utilizing one-two’s and hooks, and catching Gaines after she unloaded her loopy overhands.

In the fourth, however, Gaines’ wide and loopy right hands were no longer wide and loopy, but straight and true—and she took the fight out of Lovato’s hands by coming at the Espnaolan in her best round yet.

Lovato came out whirling in the fifth, driving Gaines back for the first time with big lead lefts and hooks, and the Vegas girl pocketed her big right for much of the round, giving Lovato a round.

Sensing the need to win another round, Lovato came out aggressive in the final round, trading roles as aggressor with Gaines in a round of solid action.

At the end of six, the judges were split.

One judge had it for Lovato, 58-56; another went the other way, for Gaines, 58-56; and the third had it an incredulous 60-54, for Lovato.

Fightnews/NewMexicoBoxing had it for Lovato, 58-56. Other ringsiders were split, about half for Gaines, half for Lovato.

“It was a tough fight,” Lovato admitted.

“I knew it was close. I wanted to go to her body but couldn’t get to it. She was very awkward.”

Lovato ups her record to 6-1, 3 KOs. Gaines, 9-7, 3 KOs, loses the bout but still had the best legs in the house.

McCarter too ringwise for Cisneros

In a six-round jr. welterweight bout, Las Vegas fighter Layla McCarter (19-12-4, 2 KOs) ended a year’s layoff and gave up quite a bit of weight and size, but still gave Albuquerque’s Victoria Cisneros (3-4-2) a tough-luck lesson for five of six rounds.

The far larger Cisneros was like a charging bull, but the ringwise McCarter, the diminutive matador, made it look easy, avoiding the slap-happy punches of Cisneros and making her pay every time she had the inclination to do so.

Showing oodles more ring lore than her foe, McCarter counter-punched her way through the first with cleaner shots, while evading slow-but-unceasing attempts to connect by Cisneros.

Cisneros had a better second round, but her slapping punches could not compare to McCarter’s sharp-shooting and efficient counters. Cisneros had her moments—or moment, anyway—pinning McCarter in the a corner and letting loose with shots downstairs, but it was the Vegas girl’s round, bell to bell.

It was more of the same in the third, McCarter’s experience too much for Cisneros, who refused to give up. In the fourth, however, McCarter took the fight out of Cisneros for most of the round, when she opened up the stanza by going at the larger fighter, driving her back for the first time with can’t-miss combinations. Cisneros, bleeding from her nose, came back at the end, but beating McCarter was proving a futile quest.

McCarter played with Cisneros throughout the fifth round, but took the sixth and final round off, letting Cisneros corner her against the ropes to land enough ineffective punches to win her first round. McCarter opened up at the end, but it wasn’t enough to steal the round—but she didn’t have to, anyway, for she had five in the bank.

All three judges scored it for McCarter: 58-55, 59-56 and 60-54.

Fightnews/NewMexicoBoxing had it 59-55 for McCarter, who said she’d taken the last round off after getting a cramp.

Serrano wins in return, Byrd takes flight

In the most significant fight of the night—and what should have been the main event of the evening—Laura Serrano returned to the ring after nearly three years, in a scheduled sixer against crowd-pleasing Tracy Byrd.

After the first exchange, it was evident that this bout between two evident world class former world champions was going to steal the show.

Southpaw Serrano showed a little ring rust in the first, but was not shy in mixing it up against Byrd. Working off the jab, she took on the role of aggressor, throwing right hooks and left hands but leaving herself open up the middle, which the crafty Byrd took advantage of—she was light on the jabs, but was able to score with her straight right.

By the second, the fight was proving to be a real crowd pleaser and the two went at each other in the middle of the ring for the entire round. You could see the rust flakes chip away off of Serrano, as she took the fight to Byrd, who was on the defensive, firing off an occasional jab or straight right until the final moments when she let loose with a volley that momentarily turned the fight around.

There was great back and forth action in the third round, with Byrd landing more rights and utilizing that long, effective jab in between Serrano’s barrages, making it a close round.

In the fourth, however, Serrano had her best round. Although Byrd unleashed enough right hands to keep her in the fight, Serrano was now starting to wear her down.

The fight came to an abrupt end between rounds when Byrd retired from the fight—and later, she announced—from fighting.

“This was my last fight,” she announced right after leaving the ring. “This was what I wanted, though. I wanted to go out like a champion.

“She would’ve stopped me in the next round. My legs were cramping. But she made a beautiful comeback. Us old women can still fight.”

Serrano was happy with her return.

“My goal is get ranked again, and fight for another world title,” she said.

“She was very tough, and was easier the first time we fought.”

Serrano won a decision over Byrd before her long layoff.

With the win, Serrano, bound to shake up the featherweight division of women’s boxing, rises to 16-2-2, 6 KOs.

Byrd finishes a tremendous career with a record 13-10, 1 KO.

Ignacio debuters flop . . . to the canvas

There must not be a boxing gym in Ignacio.

That’s the impression given by the performance of two local pro debuters, who were so green, they made Kermit the Frog look orange.

Needless to say, things did not go according to plan.

In the first bout, junior lightweight Herman Cueto (0-1) was upstaged by Las Vegas’ Terrence Jett (1-4, 1 KO), who, after four straight losses, finally won a fight by flooring the local kid in just 1:47.

Cuete came out the busier fighter, throwing sloppy shots. But it didn’t take Jett to realize he was in there with a less-than-dangerous fighter, for once, and he started to dish out several left hooks, then go to the body, which did the trick. Before long, Cueto was on the canvas, folded in two from a body shot.

In the second failed pro debut, heavyweight Manuel Arizmendi (0-1) had slightly better success than his stablemate, but ended up much the same way, staring at the lights above from a horizontal position, after he was put there by Sheldon Brown (1-0, 1 KO), another debuter from Las Vegas, Nev.

Arizmendi wasn’t short on heart—just skill, for he came out sluggin’ and muggin’ Brown, with little thought of defense. Brown wasn’t much better in that respect, although he showed that he, at least, had bothered to show up for training.

The two took turns throwing windmills at each other throughout the first round, and, in the second, took turns hitting, than holding, both getting winded. Brown bombed away at Arizmendi’s body and, early in the second stanza, hit the local kid with a big right that spun him around. Then, at the two-minute mark, he fired a right-left and down Arizmendi flopped to the canvas, where he waved off a ‘no mas’ to the ref at 2:03.

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