Urbano Warfare!
Antillon annihilates Valdez in 1:16; Rodriguez, Trout go distance; DiPace, Han go pro

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

Beginning and ending the year in Las Cruces, N.M., Top Rank and Telefutura, once again, packed the house at Dickerson’s Barn last night with a card chock full of omens.

While, in the main event, the kayo win of lightweight contender Urbano Antillon foretells a 2008 title shot, it was the significance of the undercard that predicts a heavy impact for the city of Las Cruces.

Unbeaten fighters David Rodriguez and Austin Trout, of El Paso and ‘Cruces, respectively, scored distance wins, while two youngsters, Sammy DiPace and Abie Han, both highly-ranked amateurs, were impressive in their debuts.

The main event lasted all of 76 seconds.

Adrian “Gallero” Valdez, of Juarez, was attempting a comeback after a two-year layoff and a gimme win in August, but the leap up in weight—from feather to jr. lightweight—did not fare well for the stylist.

Not against the likes of Chihuahuan Urbano Antillon, anyway.

Just 30 seconds into the fight, while pulling away from the ropes, Valdez was caught with a left hook that instantly dropped him to the canvas. Valdez was up, just as quick as he was down, but Antillon continued to pressure when the fight resumed.

Landing several short and sweet lefts, while Valdez sought to box his way back into the fight, Antillon backed up his foe against the ropes where he let loose with a right hand that dropped the Juarez boxer. Antillon followed with a grazing right while Valdez was sitting on the bottom rope, just inches from the canvas, then pulled back on a left hook when Valdez slumped to the floor, just as Referee Rocky Burke rushed in to stop the fight.

Valdez’s corner protested the stoppage, claiming Antillon had hit Valdez while down.

“I blame the referee for allowing him to hit me while I was down,” said Valdez, now 18-6-3, 10 KOs.

“The commission should review the tape and play by the rules. The ref screwed me. I should’ve been given five minutes for the foul.”

Antillon shrugged off Valdez’s comments.

“I didn’t hit him while he was down,” said the contender, now 21-0, 14 KOs.

“He was leaning on the bottom rope—that’s fair game.”

A review of the tape clearly showed Valdez sitting on the bottom rope.

Antillon has big plans for 2008:

“I’m wanting tougher fights,” he says. “I want a title shot in 2008. And I want the winner of Pacquiao-Marquez.”

A change in the weather for El “Niño”

Going the distance for just the second time in 27 bouts, and taken to eight for the first time ever, unbeaten El Paso heavyweight David “Nino” Rodriguez had to work for a win against Alabama journeyman Marcus McGee, whose gone the distance with the likes of Jameel McCline, Malik Scott and Jean Bergeron.

The bout was reduced from ten to eight rounds last minute, to give the short swing bout—Sammy DiPace’s pro debut—air time.

Rodriguez worked his jab in the first, while McGee stayed away and played cautious. In the second, McGee opened up on Rodriguez, who took back the round in the latter half, pressing his foe with wide rights and slamming lefts to the body.

Crafty lead rights by McGee irritated Rodriguez, who started to swell underneath his left eye. Ever plodding forward, Rodriguez continued his role as an aggressor who was obviously pacing himself for a distance fight.

Big lefts to the body won the fourth for Rodriguez, but, by the end of the round, the gargantuan El Pasoan’s mouth was wide open. McGee, showing no damage and continuing to snake angled rights on Rodriguez, took the local favorite into uncharted territory when round five began. Winning his first round, McGee played off the ropes and showed no easy target for Rodriguez’s telegraphed rights.

“Put some ‘’Bama’ into it!” yelled the Alabaman’s corner as the sixth opened up—which is what he did.

Hiding behind his shoulder and frustrating the tiring Rodriguez, McGee controlled the space in the ring through the round, popping at the bigger man and avoiding the less-frequent bombs hurled his way.

Rodriguez woke up in the final two rounds, however.

While right lead counters put Rodriguez on the defensive as the seventh opened, rapid-fire combinations to the body gave the round back to the El Pasoan. Keeping McGee on the defense, albeit by a slower pace and with his mouth wide open, Rodriguez won the round by pressure.

In the final stanza, McGee edged the round with his pop-pop-slide-slide technique, neutralizing Nino’s wide attacks and countering with a long right that, in the final minute, backed up Rodriguez for the first and only time in the fight. Rodriguez returned fire in the final 30 seconds, pouring on the aggression but lacking precision.

Two of the three judges had it close, Rodriguez winning 77-75, while the third had it 79-73. NewMexicoBoxing/Fightnews (NMB/FN) scored it 77-75 for Rodriguez.

“He was tricky,” admitted Rodriguez, now 27-0, 25 KOs.

“Those right hands got to me. He’s a very defensive fighter and the problem was, I had to fight at his pace. That defensive style made him awkward to hit. I just wanted to be careful and not make a mistake—he caught me in the last round but my balance saved me.

“All in all, I think I answered some questions tonight.”

An hour after the fight, while sucking down a beer purchased for him by a local fight fan, McGee, now 19-14, 9 KOs, had plenty to say about his opponent, and what the future holds for him.

“I did what I said I was gonna do,” he said. “He’s big and aggressive but I feel great and he never hurt me.

“I wanted to put some ‘Bama’ on him, and I tagged him good in the last round in the neutral corner. But he’s a strong kid and loaded up, came back. If I’d a had ten rounds I would have had him. Ah, but I guess I could’ve been more busy.

“He’s got to step it up, though. Because there are a lot of other guys who can beat me.”

Trout reels in Esquivel for decision

With the quickie kayo scored by Antillon in the main event, the special eight-now-slashed-to-six-round middleweight attraction featuring local prospect Austin “No Doubt” Trout, made air-time.

Trout was paired up against Erik Rafael Esquivel, of Monterrey, Mexico, who, at 15-5-1 and a former minor WBC beltwinner, was the Las Cruces fighter’s toughest opponent to date.

In the ring, however, Trout made it look easy, boxing circles around the slow-moving Esquivel through all six rounds.

In the first four rounds, Esquivel could not reel Trout into the pocket. Slipping and sliding, Trout dipped in and out of range, keeping Esquivel spinning while harassing him with solid jabs. Finding openings behind his jab, Trout added big lefts that were taken well by the chin-checking Mexican.

Esquivel was finally able to land a solid punch in the fourth when he trapped Trout against the ropes, netting a left hook before Trout danced out of harm’s way. In command of the ring, Trout continued to outbox the persistent Esquivel.

While Esquivel’s shots started to land more often, Trout retained his superior ring generalship while entertaining his hometown crowd with a bit of showboat bravado.

Trout met his match in the last round, however, when his wiggling of shoulders and sticking-out-of-tongue showboating was countered well by Esquivel, who revved up the Mexican portion of the crowd by mimicking his foe. Trout punished his foe not by hooks and crosses, but by making Esquivel miss several wide punches—before finishing the fight the same way he began it: Trout’s Boxing Clinic 101.

All three scorecards reflected Trout’s mastery: 60-54 x 3.

“He was strong,” said Trout, now 13-0, 10 KOs. “Especially up the middle. I knew I had command of the ring, but my trainer, Louie [Burke] told me not to go toe-to-toe.

“He was a very good step-up for me and this fight should propel me for what’s next.”

Esquivel, now 15-6-1, 13 KOs, had nothing but praise for Trout: “This kid is good. He’s got good movement and defense.”

DiPace debuts

Also making TV time, the debut of Las Cruces’ Sammy DiPace IV was not only the most anticipated bout on the card, but the most anticipated pro debut since Austin Trout turned pro in 2005.

With an amateur record of 236-10 and 14 national titles behind him, the 18-year-old New Mexican prospect wanted to make a statement in his debut, and was, thus, matched against the iron-jawed Benito “El Presidente” Juarez of Denver. 

DiPace was out of the gate like a demon, trapping Juarez in the neutral corner with well-placed lefts, winging rights and an uppercut or two. Eating red leather, the red-faced Juarez—to everyone’s surprise—not only absorbed the excessive punishment, but sought to fight his way out of the corner.

DiPace continued his rapid, rabid pace, bashing away at Juarez who, by mid-round was badly bleeding from his nose. The free-swinging DiPace continued to pitch while Juarez continued to catch, most while covering up and leaning over, while DiPace slipped in several rabbit punches, of which he was warned by Referee Lorenzo Saiz. Somewhat stunned but as game as ever, Juarez flurried back at the round’s end, momentarily staggering DiPace just as the bell rang, but the Las Cruces hopeful walked back to his corner having taken the shot well.

Juarez came out for the second determined to have a better go at DiPace, but his granite jaw, even his southpaw style, did nothing to diminish DiPace’s tremendous onslaught. Again trapped in the corners, Juarez’s body was banged by hooks and his crimson countenance met several head-snapping uppercuts by the relentless youngster.

Again warned for rabbit punching, and for pushing his foe’s head down, DiPace kept up his attack while taking well the counter combinations Juarez was somehow able to fight back with.

The elder fighter, however, did not last long into the third.

Again, DiPace trapped Juarez, this time, in his corner. Driving double left hooks into his beaten body, and hammering the head, DiPace lowered the boom and down sank Juarez, to the canvas.

Official time for the TKO stoppage by Ref Saiz was :34.

“These smaller gloves are my style!” said DiPace, entering the pro ranks with 1-0, 1 KO. “I’ve always had a pro style and this feels great.

“But, man, he was a tough guy. I didn’t think I’d get a kayo. I hit him with everything . . . including the kitchen sink.”

Also earning the cheers of the crowd, the game Juarez slips to 1-2, 1 KO.

Mosquera swarms Shuler

In the opening bout of the night, it was East Los vs. Chuco, tattooed banger vs. tattooed banger.

In a four-round welterweight bout, Anthony Mosquera (1-0) brought enough firepower from East L.A. to give El Paso’s Cornelius “Hard Times” Shuler (1-2), the hardest time of his life.

Mosquera’s aggressive, in-your-face style had Shuler backpedaling from the opening round to the final bell. Showing poise and fluid movement, Mosquera was all over Shuler, pot-shotting him with big rights and landing enough left hooks downstairs to keep the El Pasoan on the run. Pulling straight back and pushing his desperate punches, Shuler was unable to get into the fight and was kept in survival mode for much of the fight.

Mosquera, on the other hand, was unable to keep Shuler in one place long enough to batter him to the canvas, and had to be content with a dominating decision.

All three judges gave Mosquera the win, 40-36.

Guzman outguns Guzman

Following the sign-off of Telefutura, two Guzmans went at it, in a high-action four-round junior lightweight bout that had Carlos Raul Guzman (3-0, 1 KO or 3-4-2, depending on your preferred source, Boxrec or Fightfax), of Juarez, outgunning Lupe Guzman (3-3, 2 KOs), of Lubbock, Tex.

Other than show superior aggression in the first half of the first round, Lupe Guzman lost his edge to the cleaner punching and harder hitting of his Mexican namesake.

Backed by Ranchero Ramirez and trainer Felipe de la Torre, Carlos Guzman fired more often, landing at least two left hooks that, in the third and fourth, staggered the Lubbock foe. While following Carlos around the ring, Lupe however, became gun shy in the second half of the fight, while Carlos freely opened up, taking all but one round on a judge’s scorecard.

Two judges had it 40-36 while the third had it 39-37.

Han’s hammering debut

In the final bout of the night, highly-ranked and national amateur champion Abie Han (1-0, 1 KO) made his pro debut in a bout that was, at least in El Paso, as anticipated as that of Sammy DiPace, in Las Cruces.

A solid junior middleweight, Han made short work of San Antonio’s Sergio Lara (0-1), who was also making his debut.

Han entered the ring as calm and collected as a seasoned contender, and after dropping Lara for the first time, by way of a thunderous right cross, he became even more calm and collected.

Lara was in survival mode from the beginning, with Han on the hunt. After the first knockdown, Han serenely backed Lara against the ropes, blasted him with a left, then mercilessly went in for the finish until the referee mercifully called it quits at 2:43.

“I didn’t expect to knock him down with my right,” said Han. “I just felt calm and normal. I was relaxed with the jab and wanted to work off it. The right surprised me—usually the left is my best punch.

“But working in Las Cruces has kept me at a very high level. It was exciting. Now that I had my pro debut, I want to go . . . I want to move.”

During the interview, opponent Lara gave Han his props.

“You outclassed me tonight,” Lara said to Han. “You were the better fighter. Were I come from, in San Antonio, we’re gentleman, and we admit who’s the better guy.”

Bonus photos

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