Tonight all the talk stopped and the fists and talent told the story as the knockout king Marcos Maidana (34-3, 31 KOs) took on the Riverside Rocky, Josesito Lopez (30-6, 18 KOs) in a main event that was for the WBA Intercontinental welterweight title. In fact, four titles were on the line throughout the night. This main event was for a scheduled 12 rounds.

The event took place in the outdoor venue of the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. and was put on by Golden Boy Promotions. It was televised on SHOWTIME, with some of the other fights being offered up on SHO EXTREME for even more viewing pleasure for the fans. Those who bought a ticket helped to make this a record crowd of 8,629 fans.

Would Maidana show off his experience of being in the ring with the big boys, or would Lopez prove that he deserved to be here? We saw a good first round with both men getting in a few shots. So much for a feel out round, they went right to it, exchanging punches without fear.

The second was active from start to finish, as they both continued their onslaught. Maidana got the best of Josesito in the second, and his speed was obvious. But true to form, Lopez kept coming forward, bouncing back from the hard body shots he received from Marcos.

In the third Maidana would have control, Lopez would take it back, Marcos again, then Josesito. He was the last to land some really hard shots on Maidana in this round. What a great fight at this early juncture. The two men were giving it more than their all.

The fourth was all Josesito. That makes it sound bland, so let me go further. Lopez tattooed Maidana with both hands, and twice it looked as if he had Marcos down. But the crafty veteran stayed on his feet. Lopez was fighting for it all here, and he was dishing out the punishment.

The fifth went to Maidana. He got Josesito on the ropes and began to pepper him with body shots. Lopez held on and finished out the round. Maidana picked up where he left off, putting Josesito on the canvas. Minutes later he just attacked Josesito and the referee jumped in to stop the fight at 1:18 of round six. Maidana retained possession of his WBA Intercontinental welterweight belt in this, a fight that is already being mentioned for a Fight of the Year candidate.

At the time of the stoppage, two of the three judges had Lopez on top while the other one had Maidana. And even though there was a split as to who was on winning at the time, the numbers on the three scores were equal, 48-47.

“El Chino” made his way to the microphone at the post-fight press conference. “I’m very happy to have won a fight that was very, very difficult for me. I want to thank my team, we had a very difficult training camp and we worked very hard. I want to thank Golden Boy and SHOWTIME.

“My sparring partner Brandon Rios is back there, thank you very much for the sparring. One thing I learned from him was the resistance and to be physical. He’s very physical. He pushed me and I had to respond.

“Lopez never slowed down; there wasn’t a moment, he just never slowed down. But he didn’t really hurt me; his punches just stung a little. I just kept fighting hard and going forward. There was a moment in the fight that I got hit on the leg (later they said hip) and it numbed my leg.

“After that he landed a couple of good body shots and got me with some head shots. Thank God he doesn’t hit that hard, ‘cause he would’ve knocked me out. I went back to the corner and told Robert (Garcia) ‘I can’t feel my leg,’ and Robert told me that we came here to go to war, so to go to war! I paid attention, and that’s what I did.”

As for what he thought of Garcia as a trainer, he said, “We understand each other and do great work together. And those are the results. He did not try to change my style, he just perfected my style.”

And would he be willing to fight Lucas Matthysse? “Oh yes, of course. Matthysse who?” That drew laughs from the reporters in attendance.

Then Josesito made his way up. “It was a good, tough fight just like we expected, and I felt good in the ring. I know I hurt him, both upstairs and to the body. Maybe I was a little too cautious in trying to get him out of there.

“I’m a little uncomfortable with the decision of the stoppage. He caught me with a good punch, nothing to deny, but definitely not something to stop a fight over. We’re two known warriors that fight themselves out of situations like that.

“So I was very displeased with the stoppage. With the knockdown, I did get caught and felt a little buzzed, but took the time to recover. I could have gotten up a lot sooner, but I took my time like a veteran. I’ve had 36 fights, so I know the ins and outs of boxing. So I took the count, came back up; I was a little shaken up, there’s nothing to deny, he’s a hard puncher, but I felt they should have let me fight my way out of it.

“I could have covered up or fought my way out. I didn’t feel like I needed to take a knee, I have enough experience to know when to take one. I hate losing, it sucks. But when the decision’s out of my hands and I feel I can keep on fighting, I’m very displeased with that.”
 

What followed that great bout was another exciting one and the co-main event between Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs) and Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12 KOs). The fight was for the vacant WBA interim super welterweight title, and was also to go a scheduled 12 rounds. This was a much anticipated fight, and did not disappoint.

The fans were behind Angulo from the get-go, with “Perro” chants all around the arena. Alfredo started pressuring Lara right from the start and was able to land some good body shots on him. But about midway through the round Lara got in some strong shots to the head of Alfredo, pushing him back.

In the second Alfredo came out strong again, but by doing so he leaves himself open to the heavy hands of Erislandy. But both men were able to do good work in the round. By comparison, the third started off a tiny bit slower but then Alfredo went back to the body. And as what has been happening, he pays for that with shots by Lara. But the slow pace didn’t last long, as the last half of the fight was nothing but action. Angulo was able to penetrate the defense of Lara and not get hit as much, obviously a good plan of action.

Lara was consistent with one thing; you have to chase him down. But shortly into the fourth round Erislandy went down by a big left hook thrown by Angulo, sending the sellout crowd into a frenzy. This was the first time that Lara had been down in his career.

In the fifth Lara became a moving target that was very hard to hit. He was also finding his range on Angulo just fine, and connected with some really good punches, and one more time sent Alfredo back.

Six down, six to go in the exciting contest. Round seven saw Angulo having to chase Erislandy, which was the norm for this fight. But Alfredo was still able to land those body shots, throwing many more than we had seen in the past.

The eighth was a bit of a sloppy round without a lot of leather landing particularly hard. In the ninth a left hand by Angulo put Lara on the canvas again. Erislandy came back, but the damage was done – another knockdown for “El Perro”.

Round 10 was going along the same way the rest of the fight had, when all of a sudden Angulo turned his back on Lara. At that point the referee had no choice but to wave the fight off at 1:10 and Lara raised his hands in victory. With the sellout crowd not knowing why and very unhappy, even throwing a drink into the ring, we quickly learned that the fight was stopped due to injury to Angulo.

At this point nobody knew why Angulo had walked off to his corner. The answer? Either a broken orbital bone on the left eye of Angulo or some other structural damage to his eye. The pain was immediate and intense, and the eye and area above it was grossly swollen.

The scorecards at the time of the stoppage read 85-84 twice for Lara and 86-83 on the third for Angulo. This fight was there for the taking for either fighter. Regardless of what the injury exactly is, what an awful way to have to end a very thrilling and extremely close fight. Immediately afterwards, Alfredo went to the hospital for X-rays and whatever treatment would be needed.

At the press conference, manager for Angulo Michael Miller said, “I hope everyone realizes that Alfredo is a warrior. I think the crowd got their money’s worth. “El Perro” is gonna be “El Perro”, nothing really changes about him, he’s gonna strap it on with anybody. I think Alfredo is one of the most exciting fighter at 154, but you can’t win every time, and that’s the way it went tonight.”

Trainer Virgil Hunter came up next. “I take my hat off to Lara, he did what he was supposed to do, he was a master boxer. We had a plan going in to offset that and I feel the plan was coming into fruition. We knew that Alfredo, being his third fight back, was still learning under a system.

“We knew there were some things we could do to Lara but we knew it was a dangerous situation. I’m very emotional about Alfredo – the things that he’s been through – he’s a real man. I’m down with him until he decides that he doesn’t want to box anymore. He’s one of the most incredible human beings that I’ve ever run across.

“God forbid that he doesn’t have anything that is career-jeopardizing. He’ll come back, and I expect he will take it to another level. He’s been progressing all the time and I’m really proud of him. At the same time I take my hat off to Team Lara.”
 

The first fight that was on prime time television was the fight for the USBA junior middleweight & WBC Continental Americas super welterweight titles. This one was between the veteran Demetrius Hopkins (33-3-1, 13 KOs) and the youthful and undefeated Jermell Charlo (21-0, 10 KOs) Once again, this one was scheduled for 12. Hopkins had mentioned that this is a do or die for him.

The boo birds came out early in this fight – after the first round. The two men were not making the fans happy – something that occurred several times during the evening. But actually, these men were exchanging blows and showing that they were pretty evenly matched.

There was a fight in the stands during the third round, and many of those in attendance got more intrigued with that than what was going on in the ring. Must admit, I had to watch too, until three of them were escorted out by security. Back to the action.

As we moved into the fourth, nobody had been really hurt yet as they both continued to share punches with each other. While they were close, the sixth was a good round for Hopkins, as he got off his best punch of the fight so far.

There were a lot of punches thrown in the eighth in this very aggressive round. Charlo would be the aggressor, and then Demetrius would connect with a well-placed glove. Hopkins continued to connect with his right in the ninth, and the tenth was another that showed good exchanges from each. This was back and forth like a tennis tournament.

This was the name of the game until the end, and we went to the scorecards. All of the judges saw the fight the same way; 115-113, for the winner Charlo. He became the USBA light middleweight title holder. But make no mistake, the fans were not at all happy with that decision, and they were not shy in voicing that opinion.

Jermell later said, “I got good comments and bad comments, but at the end of the day I got the ‘W’. I’m 21-0 now, and I’m learning and still growing. I’m patient in the game of boxing; you have to take your time. So I’ll go back to the drawing board when I get back home and learn from this.”

On earlier action on SHO EXTREME, Japan’s undefeated Yoshihiro Kamegai (22-1-1, 19 KOs) took on Venezuela’s Johan Perez (17-1-1, 12 KOs). This was the first title fight on the card, and was for the vacant WBA International welterweight title. The fight was scheduled to go 10 rounds. At the final press conference Kamegai had asked fight fans to root for him even though he was Japanese.

The fans might have wanted to be on his side, but as far as the fight went, it was all Perez. In the first couple of rounds Kamegai looked tight, as he threw very few punches. In contrast, Perez threw a lot, and while all of them did not connect, he was very active.

At the end of the second round Yoshihiro got in a really good right hand. But in the rounds that followed, Kamegai just could not find a way to let his hands go and connect.

Round five, and still all the control was in the hands, literally, of Johan. If Yoshihiro finally connected he would get pummeled in return. Round eight was by far the best by Kamegai, but the final two rounds went back to Perez. The scores were varied, but all for Perez; 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93, giving the unanimous decision, as well as the WBA International welterweight title to Perez. This also gave the man from Japan his first loss.

Heavyweights took to the ring as the undefeated Gerald Washington (8-0, 5 KOs) stood across the ring from Sherman Williams (35-13-2, 19 KOs). This fight was for a scheduled eight rounds. Washington towered over his opponent at the weigh-in, and this fight looked as if it should be no problem for Gerald.

There was a lot of booing during this fight; the capacity crowd seemed to like to do that on this night. They expected and demanded more from the fighters. The first round was a slow one, but in the second, two big right hands by Washington put the shorter but heavier Williams down. It seemed as if it would be a short night for the former USC football player.

But that was not to be, as the men plodded their way through the eight rounds. Gerald was the obvious talent in here, but the veteran Sherman was just not going to let Washington end the fight early. We went to the scorecards, and all the judges saw the fight the same; 79-72 for Washington.

In the television swing bout, the almost-always smiling 2012 Olympian Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz Jr. (6-1, 3 KOs) faced off against Rigoberto Casillas (8-11-1, 6 KOs). No smiles in the ring though, Diaz was all business. This was a featherweight bout scheduled for six rounds. Once again, another fast-paced fight. The second round was nonstop. Jo Jo was connecting with many left hands and Casillas was lucky to withstand them. It was the same in the third. Diaz was just on fire in there. So much so that, out of concern for their fighter, Casillas was not allowed to come out for the fourth round. TKO win for Diaz.

Junior lightweights were up next as Ronny Rios (21-0, 10 KOs) faced off against Leonilo Miranda (32-6, 30 KOs) in a fight scheduled for 10. Looking at the numbers this looked like a good, stiff test for Rios, as his Sonora, MX opponent came in with a very good record. Even though Miranda had lost five of his last seven fights, they were against strong opponents.

This was another action-packed fight from both men. Miranda was more than willing to stand right in there and take punishment, and Rios was more than happy to dish it out to him. But make no mistake; Leonilo was able to get in his own shots as well.

The rounds were pretty much the same. Miranda could land 5-1, but if Rios got it one, the still-sparse crowd would yell. But it was Rios who controlled the action and had the heavier hands.

The fifth round was the best for Ronny. To clarify, Miranda had no rebuttal at all. Rios was having his way for the entire three minutes, causing the corner of Leonilo to keep their man with them and not let him come out for the sixth. Rios got the TKO victory.

The likable and talented Jamie Kavanagh (14-0-1, 6 KOs) fought Adolfo Landeros (21-32-2, 10 KOs) in a junior welterweight bout scheduled for eight rounds. But Kavanagh had other ideas. He dominated Landeros in the first round, and the second. He was throwing and connecting with hard left hands to the body, and lefts and rights to the head of Adolfo.

The onslaught of Jamie did not stop in the third, and Landeros had no answer for the punches. His corner stopped the fight at the end of the third, giving Kavanagh a TKO victory and moving his win record to 14. Keep your eyes on the Irishman Kavanagh.

Junior featherweights stepped into the ring when Manuel Avila (12-0, 4 KOs) faced off against Jamal Parram (6-8-1, 4 KOs). This fight was for a scheduled eight rounds. These two put on a good show, giving the early-arriving fans a lot of action. The fight went the eight, and the judges were unanimous in their decision; 80-72 three times, all for Avila. Manuel extends his win streak to 12.

To start off the long evening of boxing we saw bantamweights going a scheduled four rounds when Edgar Valerio (3-0, 2 KOs) face off against David Reyes (2-4-1). The fight did go the distance, and all three judges saw the fight the same, 37-35, all for Valerio.

So, why not all of the fights came out the way most of the fans wanted them to, there was no shortage of action. We witnessed 10 fights – quite a night of boxing. Most of them really kept everyone’s attention. The weather was perfect for this afternoon and evening event. Some young stars began to emerge and many fighters kept their undefeated records just that. In short, a great night!


Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza
Barb.