Written by Louisa Benton, Photgraphy by Tim Warner
Top Rank, in association with Jesse James Leija and Mike
Battah Promotions, brought eight bouts to the Illusions Theater at the
Alamodome in San Antonio, TX this past Saturday night. There were surprises and
disappointments, perhaps the biggest being Kelly Pavlik’s defeat over Aaron
Jaco in the second round of a scheduled 10-round fight, simply because
fans clearly wanted to see the former
world middleweight champion fight longer than he did. But fans were treated to
some excellent matches regardless.
The main event and the most suspenseful fight of the night
featured featherweights Evgeny Gradovich (13-0, 7 KO’s) of Russia and Frankie
Leal (16-6-3, 10, KO’s) of Mexicali MEX. This extremely well-matched 10-round
fight was a nail-biter from the minute it began. Round 1 had Gradovich leading
the action, throwing long series of punches, often 5 or more in a row. Leal countered often, but was behind
Gradovich considerably simply in number of punches thrown. With the exception
of some well-executed combinations from Gradovich, the round was the least
eventful of the nine to follow. In Round 2 Leal was leading the action more,
but Gradovich was still relentless with his frequent series of multiple blows.
This round showed significantly more action, with Gradovich still dominating in
terms of numbers of hits, but the round ended with a counter from Leal in which
he unleashed on Gradovich and sent him reeling as the bell rang. In Round 3
referee Rafael Ramos stopped the fight briefly to give the first of several
warning to Leal, this time for a low blow that left Gradovich rounded over in
pain. The round ended with a lengthy punch-for-punch series in which the two
exchanged blows until the bell rang. By Round 4, the two men looked like Rock
‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, going almost punch for punch, in rapid succession,
Gradovich favoring the 1-2 combination, usually several in a row. Leal received
another warning from referee Ramos, and the round ended with the two in a
brutal exchange of blows. In Round 5, exhaustion seemed to be affecting both,
not surprising considering how many punches had been thrown. Several
opportunities arose for knockouts, for both fighters, but neither was able to
bring his opponent down. Ramos called time briefly to look at Leal’s left eye, which
was cut and badly bleeding. But despite everything, the two finished the round
energetically. Round 6 continued in similar fashion, the two beating each other
equally with unbelievable stamina. Fans were growing more and more vocal,
hoping for what seemed to be an impending knockout, though nobody could have
said from whom, as both fighters were attacking and landing ferocious blows. By
Round 7, Gradovich and Leal were both bleeding so badly it was a wonder that
either could see, but they continued with the same energy, only clinching occasionally
to rest, sometimes leaning on the ropes. But they fought on.
Rounds 8 and 9 continued the same, with both fighters
miraculously avoiding going down. But in Round 10, things turned around.
Gradovich pushed Leal to the ropes where he unleashed a brutal series of blows.
The only thing that kept Leal on his feet was the ropes, but Leal finally went
down. He beat the count, but was stumbling so badly when he got to his feet
that referee Ramos stopped the fight. Leal went crumbling down again as Ramos
held him while he fell. He didn’t get back up this time but was carried from
the arena on a stretcher. Gradovich won 2:15 in Round 10 by TKO. But Leal, as
did Gradovich, showed amazing skill, stamina, and devotion to the sport. Leal
who just a year ago upset Dallas’s Roberto Marroquin found himself potentially
fighting for his life after the match had ended. He was sent to the hospital
for complications relating to the fight. As of Sunday things looked much better
for Leal and a positive prognosis is expected. May your prayers be with Leal
for a speedy recovery.
Bout Seven featured lightweights James Lester (9-8, 4 KO’s)
of Detroit, MI and a San Antonio favorite, the undefeated Ivan “Bam Bam” Najera
(7-0, 6 KO’s), who entered the ring in his trademark sombrero. Though the fight
was scheduled for 6 rounds, it fell far short of that when Najera knocked
Lester to the mat at the end of Round 1. Lester had fallen earlier in the round
and returned to his feet, but the second time he fell he landed face down and
made no attempt to get up until referee Ramos reached 10, at which point all he
managed was to lift his head. A jubilant Najera made his rounds to each corner
of the ring to wave at fans as they cheered his victory.
The sixth bout of the night featured crowd favorite Kelly “The
Ghost” Pavlik (38-2, 33 KO’s) of Youngstown, OH and Aaron Jaco (15-3, 5 KO’s)
of Sarasota, FL in the super middleweight class. The fight was scheduled to go
10 round but ended up being one of the shorter bouts of the night. Jaco seemed impressively confident as he faced
Pavlik, who has more than twice the number of wins, most by knockout. In Round
1, Pavlik led the action from the beginning, landing an effective 1-2 followed
by a low left hook to Jaco’s chin right away. Jaco countered, but another left
hook sent Jaco to one knee. He beat the count, but a jab to his face sent him
reeling back. The round ended with much less action, perhaps both thinking they
needed to conserve energy for the 10-round fight. But 45 seconds into Round 2, another left
hook from Pavlik put Jaco flat on his back. He looked understandably
disappointed as he rose to his feet, but the fight was over, with Pavlik “The
Ghost” the winner by TKO. Pavlik is looking to return in June for an ESPN 2
date and then a big fight in the fall.
Bantamweights Ramon Bayala (0-3-1) of Rio Piedras P.R. and
local favorite Adam Lopez (2-0, 1 KO) of San Antonio, TX met in the ring for
the fifth bout of the night. This fight was frustrating for fans and for Lopez
due to all the clinching and holding from Bayala, which resulted in the fight
being stopped over and over again as referee Jon Schorle broke the two apart
and warned Bayala to stop holding. Round 1 seemed pretty even, but it became
increasingly difficult for Lopez to throw punches as Bayala grabbed and held.
The action was choppy, and referee Schorle issued several warnings to Bayala in
the first round alone. Lopez finished the round nicely with a series of blows
to Bayala. In Round 2 Lopez received a warning for hitting to the back of the
head, but he didn’t get much hitting in at all, as Bayala continued holding and
grabbing, and even at times wrapping around Lopez’s head and arms. The crowd
was annoyed, one fan yelling “this isn’t wrestling!” as Bayala’s holding,
followed by warnings from Schorle, increased. Round 3 showed a little more
action. Surprisingly, Bayala knocked Lopez down, but he beat the count and
returned to his feet, only to receive two nasty punches to the head that left
him dazed. But the clinching and grabbing started again, with Lopez looking
tired from simply trying to break free and managed to land some blows. Lopez
seemed determined by Round 4 to hit as much as possible, despite having to
repeatedly break free from Bayala. The action grew so intense for a moment that
the referee stopped the fight and sent each fighter to a corner to recover. This
was the most exciting round of the bout by far, but neither managed a knockout.
All three judges scored the fight 38-36, with Lopez the winner by unanimous
decision.
This fight was action-packed from beginning to end, Zarazua
determined to protect his undefeated record and Sanchez determined to break
it. In Round 1, Sanchez showed himself
capable of victory, landing far more hits than his opponent, with a surprised
Zarazua more than once taking a battery of hits. As the bell rang to close the
round, a smiling and cocky Sanchez returned to his corner, knowing he had done well.
In Round 2 Sanchez was scolded by the referee for a low blow, and though
Zarazua did better this round, Sanchez was still dominating. In Round 3, both
were unyielding, and Zarazua, perhaps growing more concerned about defeat,
attacked aggressively, landing several blows to Sanchez’s head that made the
crowd groan. Sanchez still led in number of hits, but Zarazua’s were better
executed. The bell rang after both took beatings at the ropes. Round 4 was
difficult to watch, as the beating intensified. Both must have been drained,
but the action in the final round was non-stop. Though a knockout seemed
imminent several times for both, it never came. The result was a majority draw,
with one score of 39-37, two of 38-38. Many in attendance felt the unheralded
Sanchez won the fight including the fighter which was the cause of an argument
between the two camps in the locker room area after the fight.
Light heavyweights Edwynn Jones (1-4-1, 1 KO) of Houston, TX
and Eduardo Alicea (3-0, 2 KO’s) of Cleveland, OH went four rounds in what was
certainly the least exciting fight of the night. Round 1 began with both
fighters hesitant to take much action at all, so much so that fans could be heard
yelling “do something! Somebody hit!” Unfortunately, the crowd’s repeated
shouts for something to happen had little effect. The remaining three rounds
continued much the same: little action and a lot of moving around the ring,
with occasional but ineffective punches. All three judges scored the fight
40-36 in favor of Alicea.
Featherweights Ricardo Valencia (1-3-1) of Houston, TX and
Saul Rodriguez (4-0, 4 KO’s) of Riverside, CA were in the ring for only 19
seconds. Valencia never stood a chance as Rodriguez charged at him, maniacally
swinging as soon as the referee said “Box.” Valencia never even managed any
punches, but could only put his hands up in defense. When the fight was halted
for a barrage of punches, the referee was holding Valencia up at the ropes and
then helped him to his corner. Rodriguez won by TKO.
Super welterweights Arturo Lopez (0-2) of San Antonio, TX
and Bryant Perrella (2-0) of Lehigh Acres, FL opened the night with a
well-matched, exciting bout.
Perrella began Round 1 forcing the action and driving Lopez
to the ropes, but Lopez countered and defended well. Perrella had the height
advantage and a long reach that served him well, not to mention a mean right
body shot that he used throughout the fight. By the end of the first round,
Lopez already looked a little worse for the wear. Lopez came back stronger in
Round 2 and at one point sent Perrella reeling with a nasty jab to the face.
Perrella answered with more body shots, some of which had the crowd groaning in
response to the loud ‘thuds’ that could be heard as he landed blows. Lopez took
what must have been some debilitating blows; one body shot left him staggering
briefly. The round ended with Perrella getting Lopez’s chin with two uppercuts.
Amazingly, Lopez came back even stronger at the beginning of the third round
and got in some effective blows on a seemingly tired Perrella. Both were a
little slower this round, but Perrella found renewed energy and kept pounding
at Lopez, who was staggering in one corner as the bell closed the round. In Round
4 action slowed considerably, both exchanging blows in quick bursts with
periods of rest. With the correct punch, Perrella could have brought Lopez
down, but amazingly, Lopez remained standing. Perrella forced Lopez to the
ropes and unleashed a series of blows to Lopez’s body and head, and the referee
halted the fight for a series of unanswered blows. Lopez angrily yelled at the
referee as the fight was stopped, wanting to go on, but the decision was a good
one judging from the blows Lopez had already sustained. Perrella won by TKO
2:08 in the fourth round.
