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Negrete Takes Decision At Belasco
By William Trillo & Albert Castillo
Photos: Marlene Marquez
Bantamweights Oscar Negrete (18-1, 7 KO’s) and Diuhl Olguin
(13-10-3, 9 KO’s) put on a nice give and take battle in the
main event on The Golden Boy promoted card held at The
Belasco theatre in Los Angles California. From the get go
this one was a close quarters scrappy affair that gave the
fans more than their money’s worth.
Headbutts early in the bout raised some knots on the
fighter’s heads but both men worked through the welts to
slug it out over the course of the eight round stanza.
Negrete used constant pressure and punches in bunches to
keep Olguin on his toes all night. On the flipside Olguin
was not to be deterred and was throwing sharp punches that
kept Negrete honest. It was nip and tuck over the entire
fight.
The battle was close but in the end the judges saw it
unanimously in favor of Negrete, 78-74 and 79-73 twice.
With the victory Negrete keeps himself relevant in the
Bantamweight mix.
"I feel excellent," said Oscar Negrete. "I give all my
respect to Olguin because he's a tough fighter who came to
win. He's a warrior and can take a lot of punches. I feel
I'm now ready to fight for another world title shot. I'm
back at 118 pounds where I belong, and I want the
opportunity."
Super Featherweight Rigoberto Hermosillo (12-0-1, 9 KO’s)
was given a bit of a test early by a tougher than expected
Ernesto Guerrero (29-23, 19 KO’s). Hermosillo may have been
winning rounds but Guerrero was not going to be a pushover.
In fact Guerrero may have stolen a round or two with his
determination.
Early in round five Hermosillo landed a low blow that sent
Guerrero down in agony. After taking few moments to collect
himself, Guerrero was ready to fight on. Curiel wasted no
time as he jumped on Guerrero and tagged him flush with a
good left hook to the body. This time Guerrero would not be
getting up. The liver shot was too much, Guerrero took the
10 count. The bout came to a grinding halt at the 2:30 mark
of round five.
“I haven’t fought in over a year. So it took some time for
me to find my distance. But then I eventually found it and
stopped the fight. I’m back and I’m ready to get better.
It’s up to what my team but I’m ready for anyone.”
Super Welterweight Raul Curiel (4-0, 3 KO’s) used fine
boxing skills and focused aggression to dismantle Demetrius
Wilson (2-8) inside of two rounds. Looking much bigger than
his foe, Curiel punched his way through the smaller yet
determined Wilson.
A quick left to the body and uppercut to the chin sent
Wilson down to his knees in round two. The bout would
continue but Curiel jumped all over Wilson. With discretion
being the better part of valor Wilson’s corner had the bout
stopped at the 2:13 mark.
With the likes of Trainer Freddie Roach and Manager Frank
Espinoza in Curiel’s corner the expectation are high for the
young fighter from Mexico. Coming off his dominant
performance this may be a young fighter to keep your eyes
on.
“He was kind of awkward and had an unorthodox style. His
shorter height was also a factor that’s why it was kind of
hard to find him. Then I got him with the hook to the body
and an upper to the head. Then I finished the fight. I felt
a big difference training with Freddie Roach. I felt very
strong.”
Super Welterweight Blair Cobbs (7-0-1, 5 KO’s) was less than
impressive as he defeated the long in the tooth Juan Rivera
(28-21, 18 KO’s). One would think the undefeated Cobbs would
have little trouble dispatching the last minute replacement
senior citizen from Mexico, but the truth is Cobbs didn’t
ever land anything of significance. For that matter the best
blow of the night came in round four and that was a punch
thrown by Rivera.
It’s unfortunate that Rivera was years past his prime,
otherwise he would have easily handled Cobbs. Instead it was
all he could do to land a blow or two and protect himself.
To Cobbs credit he does dance around pretty well and is a
lock to be a future Dancing With The Stars contestant. For
his lack luster effort Cobbs was given the unanimous
decision nod with scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice.
“I felt strong going into this fight and I got the win,”
said Blair Cobbs. “I’m going to continue working hard in the
gym with the goal to be better each time I enter the ring. I
can’t wait to get back in the ring”
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