Once-beaten
welterweight Freddy “El Riel’’ Hernandez
withstood a strong final round by Damian “Devo’’
Frias to win a unanimous 10-round decision Friday in
the main event on
ShoBox: The New Generation on
SHOWTIME®.
In the telecast’s
opening bout at Laredo Entertainment Center, undefeated
Victor “Vitino’’ Fonseca rallied to register a
ninth-round TKO over Al “The Quiet Storm’’ Seeger
in a fast-paced, hard-fought battle of world-ranked
super bantamweights. After Seeger hit the canvas from
the bout’s lone knockdown, the referee halted matters at
1:41.
The victory was the 10th
in a row for Hernandez (26-1, 18, KOs) and earned him
the World Boxing Council (WBC) Latino welterweight
title. Hernandez, who was born in Mexico and resides in
Lynwood, Calif., triumphed by the scores of 98-92 on the
three judges’ scorecards. The Cuban-born Frias (16-2, 7
KOs) of Miami, Fla., had a 12-fight winning streak end.
Fonseca, of
Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, improved to 17-0 with eight
knockouts. Entering the ninth round of a scheduled 10
for Seeger’s North American Boxing Federation (NABF) and
the vacant North American Boxing Organization (NABO)
122-pound belts, Fonseca was behind on two of the
scorecards (77-75 and a seemingly out of line 79-73) and
even on the other (76-76).
The WBC’s No.
10-ranked contender going in, Seeger (28-5, 22 KOs), of
Savannah, Ga., was taken to the hospital afterward for
precautionary reasons.
Hernandez had mostly
dominated the initial nine rounds against the southpaw
Frias, but he got caught early in the 10th
and was clearly stunned. “He definitely got me with a
good shot,’’ Hernandez, who hurt Frias to the body on
countless occasions, said. “I am happy with the win but
I really wanted to knock him out. I wish I could have
connected more.
“But Frias is a tough
guy with an awkward style and those kinds of guys are
hard to look good against. I have to go through those
kinds of fighters, though, if I want to become world
champion.’’
So why didn’t Frias,
so lethargic for much of the evening, wait until the 10th
round to let his fists go? “That’s my question, too,’’
he said. “I really felt I was stronger than him.’’
Southpaw Fonseca could
hardly believe he was trailing on points after eight
completed rounds. “I thought it was a close fight, but I
was definitely winning,’’ the International Boxing
Federation (IBF) No. 7- and World Boxing Association
(WBA) No. 8-ranked contender said. “I give Seeger a lot
of credit. He was definitely the toughest fighter I’ve
been in against. I am very happy to get this victory.’’
Highlights of
undefeated and 2008 U.S. Olympian Gary Russell Jr.’s
fifth consecutive victory – a unanimous four-round
decision over Noe Lopez in a featherweight match
– were shown during the telecast.
Curt Menafee,
Steve Farhood and Antonio Tarver
called the ShoBox action from ringside. The
executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall
with Richard Gaughan
producing and
Rick Phillips directing.
Friday’s
bouts will re-air as follows:
DAY
CHANNEL
Thursday, Oct. 28 at
11 p.m. ET/PT SHOWTIME 2
The ShoBox
telecast also will be available On Demand beginning
Tuesday, Oct. 26, and running through Nov. 22.
