Expect the unexpected at a Quinones Promociones Boxing Show
In Sunday’s Main Event they had fan favorites Cristian “Ruso” Olivas and Manuel “Showboy” Garcia standing toe to toe banging away to see who would be the last man standing. In the end, it was Olivas coming away with the hard-earned victory.
On March 25, 2018, one of the many South of the Border Boxing Promoters, Gabriel Quinones of Quinones Promociones was busy setting up shop for another thrilling show. To impress his patrons, the company’s CEO knew he’d have to pull out all the stops and contract even more exciting scrappers, heavy hitters, to wow a crowd that would certainly be distracted by family commitments on Palm Sunday. And so these crowd pleasers came from near and far.
In the opener, it was the 25-year-old super welterweight Nicholas Jefferson (5-0, 4 KOs) from Tacoma, Washington taking on 24-year-old Tijuana native Santiago Arreola (0-0) who had the misfortune of making his Pro debut against the very polished, no-nonsense Jefferson.
Up goes the arm of the victorious Nicholas Jefferson (l) who controlled the action from the outset. With the win, Jefferson improves to (6-0 with 5 KOs) while Arreola drops to (0-1).
In Bout #2, they had Francisco Soto (0-0), assuming the role of David trying to impose his will on Goliath, Brahmavigi “Rowdy” Montgomery. With Montgomery standing well over six foot tall and having this tremendous reach advantage, he could have been throwing his punches from the parking lot across the street and still hit Soto.
Pre-fight the 32-year-old 163 lbs. Francisco Soto (l) and the 31-year-old 156½ lbs. Brahmavigi “Rowdy” Montgomery (r) await the start of their contest with referee Juan Morales Lee.
After just one round with Montgomery, Soto found himself befuddled: “Any suggestions Coach? With his reach advantage, I can’t even get near the guy and yet here comes another of his long-range, accuracy-plus blows to my head.”
Up goes the arm of the victorious Brahmavigi “Rowdy” Montgomery after his one-sided victory over Santiago Arreola. With the victory, Montgomery improves to 3-1-1, 2 KOs.
Before the start of Bout #3, 27-year-old cruiserweight Marquice Weston (12-1-1, 6 KOs) from Tacoma, Washington, who stands 6’7″ tall faced off with the much shorter 22-year-old heavyweight Luis “Birrias” Rodriguez from Tijuana, B. C., Mexico (4-16-2, a victim of 7 KOs). Last-minute instructions from veteran referee Juan Morales Lee may have involved a plea, “Please, listen to my instructions! I don’t want to see you kill this guy.”
(bottom right photo) “If I stand perfectly still and be quiet, maybe he won’t see me. Fat chance of that happening when you have these rolls.”
We can only imagine Luis Rodriguez’s thoughts as he landed on all fours, ‘Since I have yet to land a glove on my opponent, I believe it’s safe to say this fight is not going to end well.’
We’ve all heard tales of the brave soldier going off to war. Well, Luis Rodriguez (r) also went to war and somehow survived against this clone of heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder.
In Bout #4, scheduled to go six rounds, it was 26-year-old super welterweight Steve “Hands of Gold” Villalobos (6-0-1) from Federal Way, Washington with tattoos from head to toe going up against 20-year-old Luciano “Cuate” Hernandez (2-0, 1 KO) from Tijuana.
Let’s just say Mr. Villalobos was more than ready for his meeting with Luciano Hernandez. Reason being, in his last match, which was four months and seven days ago, Villalobos had his undefeated streak end by a fellow by the name of Eduardo Torres by way of the dreaded “Mixed Decision Draw”, a decision that is tough for both fighters. Then, throughout the Holidays, Villalobos had to deal with it. In training, he began to hit the heavy bag even harder and when running, he’d run faster and longer.
You couldn’t even make a spot a tea in the time it took Villalobos to destroy Hernandez. Soon after the opening bell, Hernandez had nowhere to run and was backed up against the ropes.
Excited about his redemption, Steve Villalobos immediately climbed the ropes to salute the crowd. With the win, he improves to 7-0-1, 6 KOs, while Luciano Hernandez drops to 2-1.
Bout #5 featured 20-year-old, 183 lbs., cruiserweight Eric Murguia (l) of San Fernando, Calif. who is coached by Edgar Ponce. His opponent was a light heavyweight, 28-year-old Juan Sandoval (r) of Ensenada, B. C., Mexico who weighed in at 171 lbs. 15 ounces.
With the differences in their age and weight, it set your mind to thinking which boxer has the advantage? Murguia (1-0, 1 KO) with his 11-pound weight advantage or Sandoval (0-1) who should be in his prime at 28 years of age and likely be the more seasoned fighter. Truth be known, Murguia, who began to box at an early age, and competed in a ton of USA Amateur events, was far and away the more experienced, more polished and seasoned boxer. As an amateur he won three USA Amateur Boxing National Titles plus three Regional titles. In Sandoval’s debut in April of last year, he weighed 174¼ pounds, which tells us he might be trying to come down in weight to compete in the super middleweight division.
This bout turned out to be a one-sided affair with the more polished Eric Murguia (l) earning his second win by dominating Juan Sandoval (r) who now drops to 0-2.
In Bout #6, they had 47-year-old, 6’3″ tall, 291 lbs. southpaw, Super Heavyweight Roberto “Bully” White from Las Vegas, Nevada by way of Winston-Salem, North Carolina (6-12, 6 KOs) a victim of 10 KOs, who had gone 1-11 in his last 12 matches, going up against local favorite, 28-year-old Benjamin “El Pareja” Hernandez (0-6) of Tijuana, a victim of 5 KOs who weighed in at 237 lbs. which qualified him as a heavyweight.
Before the opening bell of Bout #6, super heavyweight Roberto “Bully” White (l) met up with his opponent heavyweight Benjamin Hernandez in the center of the ring to receive final instructions from the referee in charge Fernando Renteria.
After dominating the first two rounds, White began to slow down and appeared to be running out of gas. This gave the younger Hernandez his opportunity to suddenly come center stage and take the final rounds. With this development, the judges had no other recourse but to score the bout a Draw.
What more could he or anyone say, Roberto White had simply run out of petrol.
At the end of Bout #6, we saw two arms going up to signify the “Draw” between Super Heavyweight Roberto “Bully” White (l) and heavyweight Benjamin Hernandez.
Bout #7, scheduled for 4 rounds, featured super middleweights, 25-year-old Emiliano “Shark” Rodriguez (2-0-0, 2 KOs) from Van Nuys, Calif. (l) and 22-year-old Romario “Little Joe” Ovalle (1-0, 1 KO) from Tijuana (r) who both weighed the same exact 167 lbs. 8.8 ounces.
After checking over the boxers’ credentials, there were more than a few indicators that led you to believe this would be a walk in the park for Rodriguez. Afterall, he was taller and leaner than his foe. He had been the star quarterback of the local College Football team and as an Amateur boxer was both a Ringside and Golden Gloves champion. In the other corner, you had Romario “Little Joe” Ovalle who was three years younger, shorter and appeared to be more brawny. In fact, from the last time Ovalle fought (10-28-2017) he had gained six pounds.
Something you rarely see in boxing – as soon as that opening bell sounded, Emiliano “Shark’e” Rodriguez (l) did the unexpected, he made this quick dash at his opponent as if coming out of starting blocks.
From that point on, there was nothing but fireworks. Each and every punch that was thrown appeared to have “knockout blow” written all over it. Then, after Rodriguez rocked Ovalle, his head went through the ropes.
Different sport, don’t give him any ideas! Someone in the crowd suggested, “The Shark should have followed up with a knee to the buttocks to send Ovalle through the ropes.”
Ovalle rebounded and came right back at Rodriguez with a blow of his own, one that surprised the over-confident Rodriguez. It surprised him enough that he ended up touching the canvass with his glove which resulted in the referee issuing him a standing 8-count.
Feeling that he now had Rodriguez in trouble, Ovalle followed up with another all-out attack in which he caught Rodriguez with another blow that had Rodriguez go down on the canvas in the fetal position. As a result of that punch, Rodriguez perhaps needed more time to clear his head, perhaps the time it takes to count to nine, the necessary time to clear away the cobwebs. But, the referee in charge, Fernando Renteria, saw it differently and decided it was time to stop the bout.
(left) Concerned parties attend to the downhearted Emiliano Rodriguez, while to his right, the exuberant Romario “Little Joe” Ovalle leaned over the ropes to chat with a dear friend.
Romario Ovalle certainly stands tall after this most exciting victory over such a formidable opponent as Emiliano “Shark’e” Rodriguez from Van Nuys, Calif. All photos: Jim Wyatt
As a professional boxer, it’s painful to lose any fight and especially when it’s your very first loss, a fight you felt you should have won. Only Emiliano Rodriguez can tell you how he felt at this moment.
Bout #8, scheduled for four rounds featured two, local, 19-year-old middleweights from Tijuana. Both gentlemen weighed in at the exact same weight 158 lbs. 11.7 ounces, (left) Edgardo “Zurdo” Velazquez (5-0, 5 KOs) and (right) Oliver “Revilo” Israel Dominguez (0-0) who was making his Pro Debut.
For this one, the Promoter tried his best to make it a level playing field, but plain and simple Velazquez’s talent and experience has reached another level. A level beyond what a rookie has to offer.
After the early stoppage we see referee Fernando Renteria raising the arm of the victorious
Bout #9, scheduled for six rounds, featured 30-year-old cruiserweight Britton “Great Britt” Norwood of Las Vegas, Nevada (5-2-1, 4 KOs) taking on 36-year-old Ruben “Bubi” Porras of Guanajuato, Mexico, a victim of 19 knockouts.
Prior to the opening bell for Bout #9, the combatants Britton “Great Britt” Norwood (l) and Ruben “Bubi” Porras (r) receive their final instructions.
After a while, it appeared going the distance was Bubi Porras’ main, perhaps only, goal and if that meant holding throughout the fight, so be it. It had become his most employed strategy.
By the third round, Ruben “Bubi” Porras began to use tactics he learned from watching NFL Football like tackling your opponent.
In the third round, after numerous knockdowns, Porras claimed he had had enough.
After the third round stoppage, we see Britton Norwood being declared the TKO winner.
Bout #10, scheduled for 4 rounds featured promising super lightweight, 28-year-old Jose Zamora “Mega” Soto (8-0-0, 6 KOs) from Inglewood, Calif. taking on 23-year-old Isaac Galindo from Tijuana (0-7), a victim of 4 KOs.
As the fight progressed it was easy to see that Jose Zamora Soto was the slicker boxer and this bout was never in doubt. All photos: Jim Wyatt
Before the start of Bout #11, boxers Alan “Demonio” Carrillo (8-2, 6 KOs) (left) and Julio Raul Alcantara Majors (1-2, 1 KO) (right) receive final instructions from referee Juan Morales Lee.
After it became clear that Majors was taking far too many blows in this one-sided affair, referee Juan Morales Lee stepped in to stop the contest. Here we see the veteran referee raising the arm of the victorious Alan “Demonio” Carrillo.
With this match-up between Cristian “Ruso” Olivas and Manuel “ShowBoy” Garcia being such a sought after fight, it seemed destined to be a classic and it was. These two gents banged away for the entire eight rounds.
In the end, it was Cristian “Ruso” Olivas (l) coming away with the hard-earned victory over Manuel “ShowBoy” Garcia.
Is there anyone like him? Who doesn’t appreciate the high jinks of this sports journalist? More than halfway through this classic back and forth struggle between Cristian Olivas and Manuel Garcia, Pascual Campomanes of La Voz del Boxeo, decided it was the proper time to deliver one of his soliloquies, on point monologues, to put the bout in perspective. Not since Howard Cosell have we been treated to this type of shenanigans. Cosell, an American sports journalist, widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality, said of himself, “I’m arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff.” Campomanes could be all that for the millennials.
Next time you’re at one of these Boxing shows in Tijuana make sure you look all around you and take in all the sights whether they be exciting, funny, or possibly warm and fuzzy like this photo of the four gentlemen who have a lot of history together: (l to r) former standout boxer Manuel Velazquez, boxing coach Luis Lorenzo, Quinones Promociones Promoter Gabriel Quinones and the boxer/close friend they were celebrating – Cristian “Ruso” Olivas.
In the final bout of the show, Bout #13, the promoter had 26-year-old Luis Maoten Arcon (left), alias Hands of Gold, the former 2016 Olympian from Venezuela who now hails from Coachella, Calif. by way Guarico, Venezuela. Arcon, now training with Marcos Caballero, the father of Pro standout Randy Caballero who is now signed by Golden Boy. They now train at the famous Coachello Valley Boxing Club. Arcon had no problem making his Pro Debut against a veteran of 30 Pro Bouts, Dario Medina (2-25-3) who hails from San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. Now married with two children, it really didn’t matter who Arcon faced on Sunday because he would have had a ton more experience. As an Amateur, Arcon had a little over 200 bouts and competed in both the Pan American Games and the 2016 Olympics and was also active in AIBA’s World Series of Boxing. In other words, Luis Arcon has paid his dues and he’s now ready to compete for a world title. Need we mention that on Sunday, Arcon won easily over Medina.
At the conclusion of his Pro Debut versus Dario Medina (right and below), Luis Arcon (left) had win #1 of many on his way (hopefully) to either a lightweight or super lightweight title.
