According to our count, Uzcategui sent Jackson to the canvas six times

Jose Uzcategui celebrates with his fiance Cathy Maldonado while holding his daughter Krysmar after successfully defeating Julius Jackson at the Cowboys Dance Hall in San Antonio, Texas. Photo: Ron Cortes/Getty Images

Prior to Tuesday evening’s bout between Jose “Bolivita” Uzcategui (23-1, 19 KOs) of Merida, Venezuela and Julius “The Chef” Jackson (19-0, 15 KOs) from St. Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands, at the Cowboys Dance Hall in San Antonio, Texas, several boxing pundits reckoned, “Jackson should be able to get past Uzcategu without a problem.” How wrong they were.

On Tuesday night, Uzcategui walloped his opponent from pillar to post until veteran referee Tony Weeks felt Jackson had taken enough punishment. Watching the fight on the big screen TV at Uzcategui’s home gym, Undisputed Downtown, I watched as fellow gym members started jumping for joy when they saw Jose’s mastery over Jackson. One of the gym’s three owners, Rocco Joel, suspended in time and jaw dropping, was totally captivated by what had just transpired, while others were in this state of euphoria.

Tuesday night, back in Jose Uzcategui’s home gym, Undisputed Downtown, gym mates, friends, plus all three of the gym owners watched intently as their dear friend battled it out in San Antonio, Texas. Photo: Jim Wyatt

All eyes were glued to the TV. Photo: Jim Wyatt

Referee Tony Weeks: “Whoa! Tackle football is on the gridiron, not in a ring.”

The very same boxing pundits who envisioned a win for Jackson likely based their forecasting on what transpired in Omaha, Nebraska, back on June 28, 2014 in the Korobov vs. Uzcategui bout. If you watch the HBO Boxing After Dark highlight reel from that fight, you’ll see Matt Korobov exchanging heavy blows with Uzcategui and winning by an unanimous decision in that 10 round slugfest.

What has changed since June 28, 2014? Uzcategui, along with his better half, Kathy Maldonado, had themselves a baby. To make ends meet, they had to move to Tijuana and rent a modest apartment. They also decided to change gyms and trainers and put their faith in a new trainer, Jose Cital, the head boxing coach at Undisputed Downtown in San Diego. Refocused, Uzcategui then had to get up early each day and like the multitude stand in line to cross the border. As a result of this renewed dedication, he began sharper and harder. There was no way in hell, that he was going to lose to Julius Jackson. Being a success took on a new meaning as soon as his newborn arrived.

Next up? There’s been talk about Uzcategui joining the Money Team. In preparation for Tuesday night’s fight, Uzcategui and his coach Jose Cital spent two weeks in Las Vegas as a guest of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and sparred at his gym with some top notch people. With his win over Jackson, all those earlier talks about fighting people in the top 10 become a reality.

Photos from after the fight show there is not a mark on the champ as he poses for a photo with his coach Jose Cital and Nutrition Expert Brandy Augustine. Later that night, already feeling the difference of having deep pockets, Jose splurges and takes the entire family out to eat at an expensive restaurant. Jose Cital did the very same thing. He just had to buy this very expensive and oversized lawn chair.

More about Uzcategui’s transformation and the gym that made it possible in our follow-up article.