Unpredictable Boxing Show turns into a 7 hour Marathon
Fight of the Night on Friday, November 9th at the Big Punch Arena in Tijuana had to be the Jorge Brito victory over the formerly unbeaten Kevin “Diamond Boy” Torres in a 10 round thriller for the WBF North American Welterweight Title.
Not to change the subject, but it’s okay to grin when a boxing fan tells you: “Make sure you’re in your seat promptly at 7 p.m. That’s when the first bout starts. It says so right on your ticket and on the poster.” On Friday, 7:30 p.m. came and went and there was still just a sparse amount of boxing fans in their seats at The Big Punch Arena in Tijuana. And what about the officials? Well, they did have one referee plus one judge present. In otherwords, that old saying of, “only planes and trains arrive on time in Mexico,” is still valid. Time is an interesting concept south of the border and the Mexican culture is known for being a bit lax, laid-back about punctuality. Yes, on Friday evening, the Borizteca Boxing Promotions show got started late, but it ended early… early Saturday morning at 2 a.m. This meant the hanger-ons from the U.S. side, who stayed to watch the final bout, wouldn’t be getting home until close to 3:30 a.m. or later.
In Bout #1, it was 118 pound Gerardo Yescas (l) of Tijuana, Global ID 843968, coming away with the victory. Yescas improved his record to (1-0-3) by soundly defeating 118 pound Jesus Osuna (r) of Tijuana, Global ID 564298, who now drops to (1-10-1). Throughout their slugfest, Yescas landed the more meaningful, harder shots.
In Bout #2, Mario Aguirre (left) (2-14), Global ID 694915, from Tijuana who recently switched trainers to go with Juan Medina Jr. at the Bound Boxing Academy in Chula Vista, Calif., is shown touching gloves with Carlos Escobedo (0-9) from Tijuana, Global ID 770177, after receiving final instructions from referee Juan Morales Lee.
(left) After his impressive win, Mario Aguirre, looks to the heavens to give thanks.
In his four round super lightweight match, the 139 pound Aguirre was in charge throughout. To his credit, tough guy Carlos Escobedo was able to hang in there and go the distance while withstanding a tremendous amount of punishment. With the loss, Escobedo drops to (0-10), while the rejuvenated Aguirre improved his record to 3-14.
Bout #3 was a four round lightweight contest between 135 pound Marco Geronimo (left) Global ID 845650 (0-1) from Tijuana and the 132 pound Jonathan Gallegos from Durango, Mexico (right), who was making his Pro Debut. With Durango having a reputation for its venomous scorpions and being a favorite backdrop for Hollywood Westerns, it makes you wonder why Geronimo’s management team wasn’t more diligent in accepting such a challenge. They should have at least considered Gallegos’ obvious height and reach advantage.
Up goes the arm of the winner Jonathan Gallegos from Durango City, Durango. With his ring savvy, impactful skills this should be just the beginning of a promising career.
Bout #4 featured the Pro Debut of Elvis Rodriguez from Santo Domingo, the capitol of the Dominican Republic and most-populous metropolitan area in the West Indies. As a previous member of his country’s National Team, Elvis made an impressive showing at the 2015 Pan American Games. Ivan Ortiz Hernandez, his opponent on Friday night, is from Mexico City, Global ID 760771. Hernandez had a record of one win and seven losses. That being said, Hernandez had a slim to none chance of winning this contest.
With his left arm behind Ivan Ortiz’s head to stabilize him, Elvis “Kid” Rodriguez then cocked his right arm to unload a powerful uppercut to Ortiz’s jaw. The punch had so much power, you could see Ortiz being lifted up as if he were being lifted up and out of his shoes.
With the Ortiz corner allowing this beat down to continue well past an acceptable time, the responsibility of stopping this onesided fight fell squarely on the shoulders of referee Juan Morales Lee who did just that.
After the referee stoppage we see Juan Morales Lee raising the arm of the victorious Elvis “The Dominican” Rodriguez. Meanwhile, his battered opponent, now 1-8, is shown trying to cope with a breathing problem through his badly bruised nose.
In Bout #5, it was the more seasoned and more accomplished Jessica “La Reina” Juarez from San Diego, Calif. in her Pro Debut, registering a rather easy and quick victory over Veronica Cruz (0-1) of Tijuana, B. C., Mexico.
Before the start of their contest, we see the ladies, Jessica Juarez and Veronica Cruz (Global ID unavailable), meeting at center ring to receive their final instructions.
After an onslaught of punches, Cruz soon found herself in trouble and pinned down in her own corner. After the referee determined Cruz was being unresponsive, he jumped in to stop the bout and Cruz’s coach moved quickly to attend his beleagured fighter.
And so, just like that, Jessica “La Reina” Juarez’s pro career was off and running. After a decade of practice makes perfect in USA Amateur Boxing, Juarez (now 1-0 with 1 KO) has made her mark in the Professional Ranks with this first round, TKO victory.
Thanks to the Juarez team for going out of their way to pose for this memorable photo.
Still battling the cameraman, who just had to be in the face of each boxer, here is our not so wonderful photo of the combatants in Bout #6’s featherweight contest which included Eric Estrada (l), (1-0) Global ID 829165 from Portland, Oregon returning to Tijuana to face Jonathan Perez (r) of Tijuana who was making his Pro Debut.
(l to r) Here is a much better photo of boxer Eric Estrada, referee Juan Manuel Morales Lee and Estrada’s opponent in Bout #6, Jonathan “El Diabolito” Perez.
Then, serious as a heart attack, Eric Estrada went fast and furious after Jonathan Perez to secure his lightning fast win. The match was like watching lightning strike and it struck multiple times with tremendous force. In the path of the storm was Jonathan “El Diabolito” Perez, who appeared totally overwhelmed. With his latest victory, Estrada now moves to 2-0, with both victories coming by way of an early stoppage.
In case you’re interested, the punch that turned the lights out for Jonathan Perez was this fully leveraged, powerful left hook to the side of his head by Eric Estrada.
In Bout #7, it was 23-year-old super bantamweight Dilan Miranda of San Diego, 121 lbs., Global ID 829165, (3-0 with 2 KOs), going up against a gentleman old enough to be his father, Luis Francisco Martinez Cabrera, 120 lbs., Global ID 852807, (0-1) from Tijuana who in less than a month will turn 45 years of age.
We’re sorry to say that behind the cameraman is Dilan Miranda’s opponent, the partially blocked Luis Martinez. (a better photo is below) As in Bout #6 with Eric Estrada, Miranda too, wasted little time and went hard and fast at Luis Martinez to secure the quick, first round TKO victory. His supporters later joked, “We came all this way for a bout that only lasted 47 seconds?”
Miranda’s devastating blow to Luis Martinez’s chin was a solid left hook.
Some people you can read and others you can’t. In the second frame, Dilan Miranda’s thought processing was similar to a lumberjack who is conditioned to yell, “Timber”
San Diego’s Dilan Miranda (left) has his arm raised in victory by referee Juan Morales Lee after his quick TKO victory over the still dazed and confused Luis Martinez.
It’s great having friends in high places. Both Dilan Miranda and his coach Juan Medina Jr. made sure their mate had an opportunity to get a decent photo after the exciting win.
Bout #8 featured the return of Armando Tovar Jr. (9-1, 6 KOs, Global ID 727547) from an eight month sabbatical to face Hugo Montoya (4-22-1, Global ID 463404) of Tijuana.
Armando Tovar, seen here having his arm raised in victory by referee Juan Manuel Morales Lee, improved his record to (10-1, 7 KOs) after his victory over Hugo Montoya of Tijuana who now drops to (4-23-1).
Bout #9, featured two veterans, the 38-year-old Rafael “Pride of San Diego” Ramirez (20-4-2) from Spring Valley, Calif., Global ID 034275, black trunks, battling 34-year-old Alex “Osama” Valladares (4-22-1) from Loreto, B. C., Mexico, Global ID 371366, white trunks, for the WBF Super Welterweight Title of Mexico.
As if they hadn’t heard them before, veteran referee Ray Armendariz (c) gives the veterans Rafael Ramirez (l) and Alex Valladares their final instructions.
Since Ramirez no longer has the fire power to stand toe to toe with a banger, he now relies mainly on his defensive skills, the same way Floyd Mayweather Jr., Willie Pep, Mohammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard did. While eluding a heavy-hitter, these defensive strategists picked their spots and then landed the brillant counter punches. This is what Ramirez did on Friday night. He wore Valladares down and eventually scored a knockdown late in the fight to insure the victory and win the title. This strategy takes a little longer but the results are still the same.
(top right frame) We took several photos of the one of a kind, fantastic shoes that helped Rafael “Pride of San Diego” Ramirez win. Most likely you’ll be hearing more about those shoes, see ads posted everywhere on the Internet, in Ring Magazine and on TV.
After being presented the WBF Super Welterweight Championship belt, we see veteran referee Ray Armendariz reaching for Rafael Ramirez’s wrist to raise his arm on high.
Finally, we get that needed photo of both fighters, the new champ Rafael Ramirez (l) from Spring Valley, Calif. and his opponent Alex Valladares from Loreto, Mexico.
Bout #10, the 10 round “Main Event” (without a doubt “the Fight of the Night”)
On his introduction, Kevin Torres (c) enjoyed a lot of fan support from The Jab Gym in Eastlake and the House of Boxing Gym in Paradise Hills, Calif. With him in the red corner were his co-promoter Saul Rios, co-manager Christina Carillo plus his two coaches Carlos Barragan Jr. and Carlos Barragan Sr.
Before the start of Bout #10, we see Kevin Torres and the seemingly unconcerned Jorge Brito (r) receiving their final instructions from referee Juan Manuel Rincon.
Here we have the 21-year-old, 5’7″ tall Kevin “Diamond Boy” Torres from South San Diego by way of Bellingham, Washington (10-0-1, 9 KOs) Global ID 775110 facing off with another Tijuana favorite son, 23-year-old, 6’1″ tall Jorge Alberto “Chiwas” Brito from Tijuana (10-1, 7 KOs) Global ID 730255, who no doubt benefited big time from 1) his 6 inch height advantage, 2) his 5 inch reach advantage, and 3) the fact that he’s a southpaw. Torres had never faced a southpaw in a Pro fight and in the weeks leading up to this contest he spent the majority of his time helping an orthodox boxer, Mighty Mo Hooker, get ready for the defense of his WBO Super Lightweight title. Then, in the final days of his preparation, Torres did get to work one day, one session, with a young lefty. This seemed to be a recipe for disaster and that’s just what happened.
For the majority of Friday night’s fight, Brito, the taller welterweight, was able to control the action from a distance and whenever the shorter Torres got close, he would immediately grab and hold him. You can’t do much if you’re constantly in the clinches.
The early overhand left that caught the surprised Kevin Torres flush sent him reeling backwards to the canvas. Not only was Torres surprised, the entire crowd was in shock.
(l to r) The powerful Kevin “Diamond Boy” Torres and equally powerful Jorge Alberto “Chiwas” Brito from Tijuana put on quite a show. The icing on the cake for Brito came when Torres fell a second and a third time. While the second fall was considered a knockdown, the third was clearly a slip.
In the end, one judge had it close, much closer than expected, while the other two judges had Brito winning easily to make it a slam-dunk unanimous decision.
After the extremely happy Jorge Alberto Brito heard the announcement of his 11th victory by a unanimous decision, he was then hoisted up into the air and his many fans went on a cheering frenzy, shouting “Chiwas! Chiwas! Chiwas!”
After someone added the signature cowboy hat, Jorge Brito’s extremely large support staff gathered around for a photo with their hero.
Bout #11 featured Roberto “The Ram” Meza (left) Global ID 759481 (11-1, 6 KOs) from Temecula, Calif. having an easy go of it in a 10 round WBF International Title fight versus Saul Banos (14-10-2) Global ID 535813 from Loreto, Mexico, who had lost four of his last five fights. There’s not much that you can say, only that Meza, the new WBF Super Featherweight International Champion controlled the action from start to finish.
After his victory, Roberto “The Ram” Meza gets to wear his first Championship belt.
In the final bout of the evening, an eight round lightweight contest, they had 32-year-old Christopher Martin (30-11-3, 10 KOs) Global ID 364966 facing a 25-year-old journeyman boxer by the name of Yahir “El Zurdo” Patino (2-21-2) Global ID 707030. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Patino’s 13 losses by knockout.
Since Martin is usually behind the mike with his broadcast partner Marcos Villegas of BestinBoxing.com, Global Sports Streaming and Fight Hub TV, for their shows, Saul Rios, the CEO of Borizteca Boxing Promotions, wisely added someone to assist Villegas with the show’s color commentating and 19-year-old Pro Boxer Brandon “2 Smooth” Cruz, a stablemate of Martin, was the ideal choice.
Not to sound negative in regards to a boxer’s career status, but we feel Martin has errored in deciding to make a comeback. So many boxers hang around too long and take fights that in their prime they would have won easily, but now get out hustled. How did Martin do on Friday? The majority of boxing fans are in agreement, he looked out of sorts and his opponent, who likely out-punched him 8 punches to one, got robbed. Plus, it was the nefarious manner in which Martin put all his weight on his opponent’s back. His unconscienable behavior was an example of winning at all cost. That’s not how we remember Chris Martin in his heyday.
In this sequence we see Martin landing a hard shot on his opponent but then he goes overboard and pushes down on his opponent’s neck which is not good sportsmanship.
Sure it’s illegal but how else can I tire you out? Here’s another infraction which Martin repeated over and over again despite the multiple warnings from the referee. Can you imagine someone putting all their weight on you? Round, after round, after round.
“Listen up! This has got to stop!” Martin, who had been admonished previously, was now trying to play it off as such a minor thing. Usually a referee will deduct a point for such a grievous offense and yet the ref kept giving Martin one break after another.
At the end of their contest, we see Chris Martin on the right leaning on the ropes and pleased that he was able to finish out the full eight rounds. In the center of the ring, you see the vim and vigor Yahir Patino who feels in his heart of hearts that he has thoroughly whooped the veteran due to his relentless pummeling round after round.
Certain he has defeated Martin (r), Yahir Patino (l) looks out in the audience at several of his friends and gives them the hand gesture for victory. Then came the shocking news that the three World Boxing Federation judges had favored Martin in their scoring.
The look on both Yahir Patino’s face and the face of Juan Manual Morales Lee suddenly changed after hearing the first judge’s score. And then things got even worse.
At this point Chris Martin (with his head down) began to realize the ref might be so upset with the ridiculous scores that he might be contemplating throwing a wrench in the normal acknowledgement of his victory.
Sensing the ref’s downward pressure on his right arm to hold it down and deliberately ignore the acknowledgement of his victory, Martin went ahead and lifted his left arm.
The World Boxing Federation judges had Martin winning by a Majority Decision. This revelation took the negative experience to an even lower depth. It had now gone from shameful to cringeworthy. Martin, who over a remarkable career had 30 victories, was all of a sudden getting special treatment and even his broadcast mates, Marcos Villegas plus his sparring partner Brandon Cruz criticized the unfathomable scores. And the one person showing the most courage was the veteran referee Juan Manuel Morales Lee who stubbornly refused to raise Martin’s arm after the scores were announced. With all his might, he held tightly to Martin’s wrist refusing to allow him to raise it. Martin’s only recourse was to bow his head and raise his left arm.
