Thursday, September 30th
Club Nokia, Los Angeles, Ca. (Fox Sports Net)
Welterweights – Jesse Vargas annihilated Pablo Sarmiento, stopping him at 1:31 of the first round. A right cross followed by a left hook did the damage.
- It was the fourth straight knockout victory for Vargas, who improved to 12-0, 7 KO’s.
- It was the first time in his career that Sarmiento, whose record fell to 34-14-2, had been stopped in the first round.
- I said going into the fight that it was going to be a mismatch, and indeed it was.
Welterweights – A left hook to the body was all that was needed for Anthony Martinez to get rid of Ronnie Peterson. Official time was :52 of the first round.
- Martinez will look to start another knockout streak, as his record improved to 6-0, 5 KO’s.
- Peterson was stopped for the fourth time in row and his record is now 3-4.
- Another fight that I predicted would be non-competitive, as Peterson proved to be the bum that I said he was before the fight.
Welterweights – Jamie Kavanagh won a four round unanimous decision over Ricardo Malfavon, 40-36 on all three judge’s scorecards.
- Kavanagh simply outboxed Malfavon to improve to 3-0, 1 KO.
- It was a victory of sorts for Malfavon, who despite losing again, made it the distance for the first time in his professional career. His record fell to 0-3.
- It’s pretty safe to say that Kavanagh isn’t going to be a power puncher, but he does work out of Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym, so he will get plenty of good training to utilize his boxing skills.
Why do all of these Golden Boy Promoted Fight Night Club shows involve mismatches? The prospects on these cards learn nothing, and when they do step up in class, they get exposed. I believe Jesse Vargas and Anthony Martinez are future prospects to keep an eye on, but, really, is this the best opposition that they can find for these guys? And they show this garbage on TV? Horrendous job of matchmaking here.
Friday, October 1st
The Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, Ca. (Showtime)
Jr. Welterweights – In what was thought to be a competitive fight coming in, Tim Coleman stopped Patrick Lopez at 2:13 of the third round.
- Coleman dropped Lopez with a right hand in the second round, then finished him off with an uppercut in the third round. Coleman has now won four straight, and improved to 18-1-1, 5 KO’s.
- Lopez, who came in having won five straight, including a scintillating third round stoppage over Cleveland prospect Prenice Brewer in his last fight, was stopped for the first time in his career. His record is now 20-3.
- Coming into this fight I predicted the winner would get closer to a legit top ten ranking, and I still believe that. Coleman looked tremendous, and working with Roger Mayweather, appears to have him moving in the right direction. I can’t wait to see him in the ring again.
Lightweights – In an all action fight, Archie Ray Marquez stopped Juan Santiago at :11 of the third round.
- Marquez overcame a point deduction for a low blow in the second round to drop Santiago at the end of the same round. He then jumped all over Santiago at the start of the third to force referee Ray Corona to call a halt to the bout. His record improved to 11-0, 8 KO’s.
- Santiago was game, but simply didn’t have the firepower to match Marquez. His record fell to 13-5-1.
- I said coming into this fight that Marquez hadn’t fought anyone and this fight would help determine if he was a prospect worth keeping our eyes on. I think there’s no question about it now, as Marquez is an exciting fighter that warrants being paid attention to among the prospects. How about a date with Cleveland based lightweight prospect Yuandale Evans?
This card was the perfect example of making the fights in the ring. Coming into the night, both of the fights were “pick’em” style fights. No clear-cut winner on paper. Both looked like perfect candidates for fights that go the distance. Well that’s why they fight. Great matchmaking, and even better results.
Club De Regatas, Corrientes, Argentina (Telefutura)
Lightweights – Jorge Barrios returned from nearly a year off with a ten round unanimous decision over Wilson Alcorro by the scores of 100-95, 100-92, and 99.5-93.5.
- Barrios was never in trouble during this bout and has now won three straight. He upped his record to 50-4-1.
- Alcorro continued his ways away from his native Colombia, as he has now lost six of his last seven fights away from home. His record dropped to 28-13-3.
- Alcorro was a late replacement for this fight and it showed. Barrios has some legal problems stemming from an auto accident earlier this year that he still needs to take care of, and if he does, he can still be a player at lightweight.
Welterweights – Hector Saldivia crushed Jailton De Jesus Souza, stopping him in the third round.
- Saldiva was never in jeopardy in this mismatch, and has won fourteen of his last fifteen fights. His record is 35-2, 28 KO’s.
- De Jesus Souza came into the bout having defeated only one fighter with a winning record. His record is very misleading. It is now 12-2.
- I would like to see Saldivia get another crack at a U.S. fight.
Another Golden Boy promoted event, another night full of mismatches. Coming into these fights, Barrios and Saldivia were HEAVY favorites, and after watching the fights happen, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth.
Saturday, October 2nd
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan (No U.S. TV)
Jr. Featherweights – Ryol Li Lee pulled off one of, if the not the biggest upsets of the year as he shocked the Ring Magazine #1 ranked Jr. Featherweight Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym by twelve round unanimous decision. Official scores were 118-110, 115-113, and 115-114.
- Lee, a relative unkown, even in Aaia, effectively countered the champion all night to turn in the performance of his career. He’s won eleven in a row and will now be ranked in the top five in the Jr. Featherweight division. His record is 17-1-1, 8 KO’s.
- Kratingdaenggym, who came into the fight with seventeen straight wins, was cut twice and despite being the aggressor, couldn’t catch the challenger.
- This fight has re-match written all over it.
Castro's Kingdom 