Story & Photos By Luis Cadiz
Saturday, February 23rd, 2008, was billed as the day
that a
"Civil
War"
was going to break out in the Coliseum Hector Sola
Bezares of Caguas, Puerto Rico. Two of the island’s
prospects in the super bantamweight division (122
pounds), the undefeated Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez with
20 fights and 18 KOs and Jonathan “Polvo” Oquendo with
14 wins, 1 loss and 9 KOs, faced off for bragging rights
as to who’s the next super bantamweight star and heir
apparent to Wilfred "Bazooka" Gomez, Puerto Rico’s
legendary champion whose glorious career was forged in
the before mentioned division. A lot was at stake for
both fighters, "Juanma" Lopez is regarded as the hottest
prospect in the Top Rank stables and is on the verge of
a world title fight against W.B.O. 122 pound title
holder, the hard hitting Mexican Daniel Ponce De Leon.
“Polvo” Oquendo was the first Puerto Rican fighter that
Golden Boy signed back in 2004 and is trying to overcome
his first professional loss against Oscar Andrade, he
was disqualified in the 6th round for low blows. If we
also take into consideration their personal issues,
“Juanma” has been beating “Polvo” since the amateurs,
neither man was ready to lose. A sold out Coliseum, well
over 6,000 in attendance, would witness the war that
would be waged in the center of the ring between these
two future stars of the super bantamweight division.
Televised Bouts:
12 rounds - W.B.O. Super bantamweight (122 lbs.)
regional title bout
Jonathan “Polvo” Oquendo (14-1, 9 KOs) vs. Juan Manuel
“Juanma” Lopez (20-0, 18 KOs)
This was supposed to have been a
�war�
and what the boxing public witnessed was more of a
“search and destroy” mission. With 20 wins and 18 of
those wins coming by way of KO, “Juanma” Lopez doesn’t
give me much material to write about?
and tonight was no exception. After a tactical 1st round
for both fighters, where Jonathan Oquendo moved around
the ring trying to get his rhythm and distance, Juan
Manuel Lopez cut off the ring effectively, deflected his
opponents shots and tried to find his distance with his
jab. The crowd was not totally satisfied with the 1st
round but they knew that it would be a matter of time
before the missiles were launched. It was much sooner
than later. In the 2nd round, “Juanma” would knock down
“Polvo” a total of three times, all produced by single
shots, the first knock down was with a left and the
other two with right hand bombs. The crowd went wild. In
the 3rd round, Oquendo tried to stay alive but Lopez
went in to
�destroy�
mode and knocked him down two more times. It was a
crushing right to the head that finished this massacre
in 42sec of the 3rd round. Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez
rises to 21 and 0 with 19 KO s, while Jonathan “Polvo”
Oquendo falls to 14 and 2 with 9 KOs. In the post fight
press conference, “Juanma” stated that he�s
ready for the title shot against W.B.O. title holder,
Daniel Ponce De Leon and that it was a matter of time
before he is crowned world champion.
12 rounds - W.B.A. Light Flyweight (108 lbs.) regional
title bout
Alexander
"El
Nene"
Sanchez (31-6-1, 21 KOs) vs. Nelson
"Fuegete"
Dieppa (24-4, 13 KOs)
This was a rematch of their previous bout that took
place January 29th, 2005, where Nelson Dieppa knocked
out Alexander Sanchez with a vicious right cross in the
11th round. That bout won
�Fight
of the Year�
honors in the Puerto Rico’s Boxing Commission’s Annual
Awards Ceremony. The same result was expected, “El Nene”
had retired in 2005 after being punished severely by
former Mexican champ, Hugo Cazeres, over the course of 8
rounds. Almost three years had gone by since Sanchez had
stepped into a ring. Dieppa would use “El Nene’s” ring
rust to his favor. It was a very, and I mean very,
cautious 1st round for both fighters. The “Boo's”
from the crowd seemed to ignite Nelson Dieppa’s
combative spark as he entered the 2nd round more
aggressive. But Alex Sanchez would not be outdone as he
won the 2nd round with powerful flurries that connected
effectively. “El Nene” had Dieppa back pedaling in
rounds 3,4 and 5 with Dieppa connecting an occasional
jab or right cross. The tides changed in the 6th as
Nelson found some distance and connected with rights,
jabs and left hooks. In rounds 7 and 8, “Fuegete”
punished “El Nene” severely with long right bombs and a
few left hooks to the head that shook Sanchez. After
receiving continuous unanswered blows in the 9th, his
trainer stepped into the ring and shielded his fighter
from any further punishment. Alex El Nene Sanchez would
not see the 10th round as he would go down with a TKO
loss. After the bout, Sanchez said his retirement was
now definite and that he would dedicate his time to
establishing a promotional company to develop young
talent. Nelson Fuegete Dieppa improved to 25-4 with 14
KO s and openly challenged the undefeated 108 pound
W.B.O. champ, Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon. The bout is
being considered for later on in 2008.
12 rounds - W.B.O. Super featherweight (130 lbs.)
regional title bout
Jose Anibal Cruz (8-1,6 KOs) vs. Roman
"Rocky"
Martinez (17-0-1, 10 KOs)
When Roman Rocky Martinez steps into the ring, there’s
going to be fight. In 2007 he won Fight of the Year
honors for the true war he waged on Daniel Azuquita
Jimenez, a Dominican prospect trained by Evangelista
Cotto yes, W.B.A. welterweight champ Miguel Cotto�s
uncle, manager and trainer. That bout was decided in the
12th round as Rocky knocked out Miguel Cotto’s gym
partner. This time, Rocky Martinez needed only three
rounds to get the job done against a very game, but
inexperienced, Jose Anibal Cruz. A straight right
floored Cruz early in the 2nd round and then Rocky
unleashed a series of right hand bombs to floor him
again in the same round. Still visibly shaken, and not
quite stable on his legs, Jose Anibal Cruz tried to get
into the fight in the 3rd round, but the damage was
done. The bout was stopped by Cruz's
corner towards the end of the very same 3rd round. Roman
Rocky Martinez improves to 18-0-1 with 11 KOs with the
TKO victory in 2min:31sec of the 3rd round. After the
bout, Rocky said that he will train very hard to take on
and defeat W.B.O. super featherweight champ, Joan
Guzman.
6 rounds - 118 pounds
Francisco Rodriguez (4-1, 0 KOs) vs. Israel
"Calaca"
Reyes (3-0, 3 KOs)
This bout is an early candidate for
�Fight
of the Year�
honors of the Puerto Rico Boxing Commission�s
Annual Awards ceremony. There were no knock downs, but
each fighter stumbled each other repeatedly during the
course of six rounds. It was literally a see-saw battle,
Rodriguez sending Reyes against the ropes in the very
1st round and then Reyes battling back in the 2nd with
constant pressure and rib busting body shots. This was a
true epic battle for it being a 6 rounder?
and it ended in a draw! The crowd was divided also in
it’s reaction to the result. Let’s do it again soon!
Non - Televised Bouts:
6 rounds - 135 lbs.
Enrique Quiñonez (4-4, 2 KOs) vs. Max Rivera (6-0, 4
KOs)
Max Rivera is an up and coming prospect that is slowly
creating a fan base here on the island. He was battling
his way to a clear victory until he was floored in the
6th and final round. He got up from the canvas and
weathered the storm. Max was pretty much in control of
the fight, until he was knocked down with a surprise
right cross. Either way, he won the bout with a split
decision.
6 rounds - 122 lbs.
Giovanni Figueroa (2-0-1, 2 KOs) vs. Juan G. Cruz (3-2,
1 KO)
Juan G. Cruz gets the upset victory with a unanimous
decision win over the previously undefeated Giovanni
Figueroa.
6 rounds - 115 lbs.
Luis Ortiz (2-5) vs. David Quijano (5-1-1, 4 KOs)
This was a rematch of their previous bout that ended in
a controversial unanimous decision win for David Quijano.
This time Quijano gets a split decision win over Ortiz.
They should avoid each other in the future.
4 rounds - 130 lbs.
Juan Luis Melendez (1-1-1) vs. Waldemar Adorno (3-2, 2
KOs)
Waldemar Adorno is a convict in the State Penitentiary
of Bayamon, Puerto Rico. In a joint venture between the
Administration of Corrections and Puerto Rico Best
Boxing, he has been given the privilege of fighting in
professional events here on the island. This is his
second bout under this program, his first bout was
October 31st, 2007, and it ended in the very first round
for Waldemar Adorno, a TKO loss. He didn�t
give up though, and he got back into the gym to bounce
back from that crushing loss. It didn’t look good for
Adorno in the 1st round as he was bounced around the
ring, but he didn�t
fall. The 2nd round was much better for him, as he
connected a couple of powerful right crosses. The 3rd
and 4th rounds were very competitive, with Waldemar
clocking Juan Luis solidly with his right.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as the judges saw the
fight a unanimous decision win for Melendez. After the
official announcement, Waldemar walked to the corner
steps of the ring and just before going down, he raised
his hands in victory, much to the crowds agreement. He
may not have won the battle in the ring, but his war has
taken a step in the right direction with the opportunity
of defeating his personal demons during training for
these bouts.
4 rounds - 140 lbs.
Samuel Santana (1-3-1) vs. Anthony Otero (0-2-1)
Anthony Otero still doesn’t know what is to win as he
falls to 0 and 3 with a unanimous decision win for
Samuel Santana.
4 rounds - 148 lbs.
Josue Torres (1-0, 1 KO) vs. Jorge Melendez (1-0-1, 1
KO)
This bout got the evening started off on the right foot
as Jorge Melendez gets the victory with a TKO win in
1min:21sec of the 3rd round.
One thing is perfectly clear after the smoke cleared in
this
�Civil
War�
and it was declared over and done with, Juan Manuel
Juanma Lopez is a superstar on the rise. One look at the
crowd present and it was evident that Juanma’s
popularity has grown significantly. Coliseums, such as
the one that housed this event, can no longer contain
the power punching prospects fan base. This is the
result of Juanma’s hard work, dedication, fan
appreciation and masterful promotional expertise from
the Rivera Bros. of Puerto Rico Best Boxing.
God Bless
Luis M. Cadiz Sr.
