No cheers for Chihuahuan champ
Bejarano ekes out split verdict over Bazan for minor WBC super welterweight belt

Ringside report by Chris Cozzone and Ricardo Trujillo
Photos by Chris Cozzone

Coming in chubby, former Olympian Cristian Bejarano might’ve won his fight, and a belt, last night, in front of his hometown, at the Gimasio Rodrigo M. Queveda in Ciudad Chihuahua, but former WBC world lightweight champion Cesar Bazan certainly walked away with the cheers of 3,500 fight fans.

The scheduled 74-round card, televised by TV Azteca and promoted by Promociones del Pueblo, was a series of stop-and-go fights that mirrored the fluctuating light system. One moment, the ring was somewhat illuminated—moments later, it was dark. So followed the action.

Of four promising Chihuahuan peleadores, three prevailed impressively, though all four won their bouts. Two local pugs—with just two or three fights each—picked up pretty green belts representing the championship of Mexico, while another thrilled the crowd in a sixer that saw the night’s best action.

As for Bejarano?

Though eking out a win over gutsy, game Bazan, his flabby physique and shabby attack plan opened up some hometown eyes—though the Chihuahuan ended the night with one of his eyes closed from his Mexico City opponent’s left hooks.

Though looking unimpressive, drawing murmurs from the crowd upon de-robing, Bejarano came on strong in the first couple of rounds, establishing a jab and countering Bazan’s unsuccessful attempts to get inside.

In the next two, however, Bazan took the fight to the hometown favorite, though Bejarano pulled ahead in the fourth frame when Referee Javier Caballero, notorious for his help in aiding hometown favorites, zapped Bazan with a one-point deduction for a low blow, with no prior warnings.

Employing dirty tactics, Bejarano battled Bazan on the inside to take the fifth, but the former champ bounced back in the sixth in what would be his best round. Big left uppercuts rocked Bejarano back, and left hooks on the right side of the face started the mouse that, by the end of the round, would nearly seal the hometowner’s eye shut. Bejarano was hurt in the sixth, and appeared tired in the seventh, while Bazan continued blasting him with uppercuts, hooks and crooked rights.

The eighth through tenth were close, Bejarano fighting back in just the right moments, but Bazan making the fight by his aggressive harassment. Seeking to even out Bazan’s attacks, Bejarano, no longer content to counter with what appeared to be harder, cleaner shots, threw elbows, a headbutt, a trip and a wrestling takedown on Bazan—which earned him a finger-wagging from the referee who was so quick to deduct from Bazan.

However, in the eleventh, Ref Caballero meted out justice by slapping Bejarano with a point deduction after the hometowner headbutted Bazan.

In the eleventh, Bejarano staged a late rally on Bazan, winning the round and turning the fight into a scoring nightmare for the judges who had to weigh Bazan’s aggression against Bejarano’s cleaner-though-less-frequent counters.

As expected, the judges were split. Two saw it for Bejarano, 115-111 while the third had it for Bazan, 116-113.

The judges weren’t the only ones in disagreement. The writers saw a slightly different fight, as well, Trujillo seeing it for Bazan, 114-112 while Cozzone, with a difference of opinion of one round, saw it for Bejarano, 114-112.

By the reaction of the crowd, the fans were unified in their opinion, booing Bejarano, who quickly scooted out of the ring for the safety of the dressing room, and cheering heartily for Bazan, who clearly showed his disappointment.

“I was robbed,” said Bazan, dropping to 46-9-1, 30 KOs.

“I nearly KO’d him. He’s a dirty fighter, and a  pig in the ring. I outboxed him, especially with my left hook.”

Bejarano, bearer of yet another one of the WBC's zillion belts available to promoters worldwide, remains undefeated at 15-0, 7 KOs.

Zaleta stops Ortiz

Unless you live in Ciudad Chihuahua, you probably haven’t heard about Victor Zaleta yet.

But you will.

The 1980s MC-Hammer-meets-Prince hairstyle and mustache of this super super flyweight prospect will probably rattle the Las Vegas crowd he is destined to fight in front of, one day, but his eerie composure and picture-perfect right hands will earn the baby-faced Mexican champ your respect.

Last night, in the first of two televised bouts for TV Azteca, Zaleta, with a rookie’s record of 2-0-1, fought for the fourth time in his pro career. We’re not sure what was more ridiculous: that the WBC sanction the bout as a Mexican title fight, or whether Zaleta was in for a massacre at the hands of 34-bout former world champion Eric Ortiz, of Mexico City.

The answer? Neither.

After an eighth round TKO victory, Zaleta, unbelievably, showed that he could hang with—and defeat—Ortiz, while, at the same time, prove he was worthy of rating himself among Mexico’s top ten super flyweights.

The shorter, stocky Ortiz showed his experience in the first, pounding Zaleta to the body and working angles. But in the second, Zaleta, unfazed, let his lands fly, boxing from the outside and landing right hands that ripped through the air.

Ortiz smothered Zaleta’s reach in the third, starting a campaign of bullying the youngster, but the Chihuahuan covered up when appropriate, then let loose with counterpunches that earned Ortiz’s respect.

The two banged away through the fourth, Ortiz winning the in-fight while Zaleta showed a winning plan at distance. Ortiz smothered the kid in the fifth, but a big left hook to the mug appeared to rock the veteran. Again, in the sixth, Zaleta’s harder punches landed with increasing frequency, but his left hooks downstairs made the round a toss-up.

Bleeding from a cut over his left eyebrow, Ortiz stepped up the pace. Picking up the seventh and eighth rounds with a relentless attack, Ortiz might’ve nudged Zaleta behind on the cards, but after the physician checked out a second cut—this one deeper, and just under the left eyebrow—in the last minute of the 8th, the fight was halted at 2:32, and the win awarded to Zaleta.

“I’m very happy with the win,” said Zaleta, now 3-0-1, 2 KOs.

“Only three fights and I’m the Mexican champ—and I was able to do it in front of my hometown fans.

“I’m going to work a little harder and bring a world title home to Chihuahua.”

Ortiz, losing his second straight bout, drops to 26-8-1, 17 KOs.

Off-TV bouts
Dorado wins Mexican belt at ‘54

After TV Azteca went off the air, early Sunday morning, a second Mexican title fight sanctioned by the WBC, was staged.

Once again, the hometown favorite was a two-fight veteran, Marco “Dorado” Reyes, who, at 2-0, was matched up against accident-prone, 17-fight veteran  Nelson “Bufalo” Estupinan, of Juarez.

The much taller Reyes picked up the first by boxing from the outside and landing two or three very crisp right hands on Estupinan, who tried to charge Reyes twice, both unsuccessfully.

In the second, Reyes floored Estupinan with a left hook. Estupinan was up at six but, soon after, a left to the temple sent him down for the count.

While down, Estupinan clutched at his left knee, as if blaming a sudden injury for the stoppage and/or inability to get up and continue.

Reyes was awarded the TKO win at :55. The Chihuahuan, now 3-0, all wins by KO, can now call himself the Mexican champion at 154.

Now 11-7, 8 KOs, Estupinan stumbles for his seventh straight loss.

Estupinan’s last four losses, all by TKO, can now be attributed to injuries, supposedly. In his last bout, it was his knee. The time before, it was an ankle. Before that, it was his right hand.

Roman gets in rounds

In a ten-rounder at featherweight, Juarez’s Miguel “Mickey” Roman pitched a near-shutout to ever-game Arturo “La Sombra” Murillo, also of Juarez.

Blasting Murillo to the body, Roman picked up the first two rounds. Murillo was down from a questionable low blow in the first (ruled an unintentional foul), and from a left hook to the chin in the second.

After the first couple rounds, the bout lacked drama, and it turned into a sparring session between two fighters who could not hurt each other.

Roman focused on the body, blasting Murillo with lefts and rights to the ribs, round after round. Murillo, however, standing right in front of the man who TKO’d his younger brother, David “Tacubayo” Murillo, several years ago, took everything he was given, and, especially, in the later rounds, bravely fought back by landing clean uppercuts and rights on Roman.

All three judges scored it lop-sided for Roman, 99-90, 98-91 and 97-93.

Roman comes back from his sole loss, upping his stats to 23-1, 16 KOs.

Murillo drops to 4-8-1, 2 KOs.

Undercard bouts
Hernandez stops Sidarta

In an eight-round welterweight bout, Juarez’s Bladimir Hernandez (9-0, 8 KOs) took out Irving Sidarta (4-5) of Mexico City at 1:50 of the sixth round.

The first few rounds lacked action, but Hernandez woke up in the fourth, landing uppercuts and backing up Sidarta with harder punches. The battering went from occasional to frequent and, in the sixth, the referee stopped the bout when Hernandez landed several unanswered punches on a huffing-and-puffing Sidarta.

Reyna remains undefeated

In a six-round featherweight bout, Juarez’s Angel Reyna (6-0-1, 3 KOs) won a six-round unanimous decision over Mexico City’s Tomas Ramirez (2-3, 1 KO).

After dropping the first two rounds to Ramirez, Reyna, a slow starter, took over the fight with his right hooks and forward movement.

Frequent head butts broke up the action, but Reyna’s aggression in the late rounds sealed the win for him.

Ferrer & Hernandez rev up crowd

In the best fight of the night, a sixer at junior lightweight, Chihuahuan crowd-pleaser Alexis Ferrel (2-0-1, 1 KO) hammered out a unanimous decision over Mexico City’s Ruben Hernandez (2-1, 1 KO).

Hernandez was the aggressor in the first, but Ferrel stopped his advances with big left hooks. A lead right by Hernandez nearly dropped Ferrel in the second, but the Chihuahuan slugger bull-rushed his opponent into the ropes.

Round three saw toe-to-toe action, with Ferrel pulling ahead with his smart aggression while Hernandez started to wilt. In the fourth, Hernandez’s nose bled freely and, in the fifth, he was forced to fight off the ropes when Ferrel continued to up his attacks.

Vargas wins decision

In a six-round flyweight bout, Manuel “Chango” Vargas (24-2, 10 KOs) won a unanimous decision over overmatched Julio Cesar Hernandez (3-8-3, 2 KOs)

It was Hernandez’s counter-punching up against Vargas’ tremendous body attack through six rounds. By the last two rounds, Hernandez’s attacks were ineffective, and it became a game of survival.

Curtain raiser

In the first bout of the evening, a four-round superflyweight bout, Juan “Coy” Vargas (1-0) won a split decision in his pro debut over Jesus Pacheco (1-4-1 1 KO).

Vargas was too strong, too young, and too big for Pacheco, but the elder pug was game to the end, coming on strong at the end when the youngster tired.

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