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Diego De La Hoya Writing His
Own Story
By William Trillo
Photos: Marlene Marquez
Featherweight Diego De La Hoya (14-0, 8 KO’s) took a page
from the book of his namesake cousin and dug a left hook to
the body of Arturo Badillo (21-10, 19 KO’s) early in round
four and that was all she wrote, Badillo could not get back
to his feet. This was pretty much a clinic for the young De
La Hoya who used good hand speed along with a great
counterpunching to completely dismantle Badillo before he
rendered him unable to continue with a the classic hook to
the body. The fight was halted at the 1:11 mark of round
four.
Since Oscar’s retirement there has always been the search
for the next “Golden Boy” but those shoes have never been
filled. It’s pretty clear we now do have the next "De La
Hoya" and all signs point to this kid being special.
After the fight a proud Oscar De La Hoya said, “It’s my
mission to bring boxing back and although Diego is a De La
Hoya he is going to write his own story.” There’s a
confident look in the eye of The Golden Boy promoter front
man. Oscar’s company is coming back strong and if all goes
according to their plan boxing will be back by June and
Golden Boy Promotions will be leading the way.
On his loss Badillo commented, “I knew about Diego de la
Hoya’s fighting style, and I was prepared to fight a very
tough opponent. I felt comfortable in the ring in the first
couple of rounds. I don’t feel hurt but that shot in the
liver really harmed me. Unfortunately, those things happen
all I can do is go back to the gym and train for my next
fight.”
In his post fight comments a jubilant Diego announced, “At
first, the excitement got the best of me and I was trying to
look for a knockout but in the second round I realized I was
going to play in to his game. I decided to change the pace
and take my time and just play it safe. By the third round,
I realized he was getting tired and that’s when I decided to
take advantage and dedicate the 3rd round to knocking him
out.”
Super Featherweight Carlos Morales (12-1-3, 6 KO’s) was cut
and bleeding over his right eye before the mid rounds. Omar
Tienda (14-2, 8 KO’s) started bleeding from the bridge of
his nose two rounds prior. That’s the kind of fight this was
and the fans were treated to a battle of courage and will.
By the eighth round Tienda had a gash over his cheek and the
swelling around the eyes of Morales helped tell this story.
No one was taking a backwards step in the grueling war. The
toe to toe slugfest appeared close and both fighters raised
their hands in victory when the final bell rang. But when
scores were read it really wasn’t as close as it seemed as
Morales was given the nod on all cards 100-90 twice and
99-91.
After the fight Tienda stated, “I first came here expecting
a different outcome. One thing I can say is that we were
both warriors in the ring. He’s a strong fighter and I know
that we will be able to develop a friendship outside the
ring.”
On the fight Morales said, “I was hoping to knock him out in
the 5th round but he proved to be a tough fighter and I had
to outbox him. Even though he cut me up, I knew I was being
effective with my punches and was breaking him down slowly.
I know 2016 will bring opportunities for me in the ring.”
Super Featherweights Nicolas Arce (7-0, 6 KO’s) and Luis
Ruiz Lizarraga Jr (5-8-1, 2 KO’s) opened the Etrella TV
broadcast with a six round slugfest that had the fans
roaring throughout the fight. Lizarraga gave it everything
he had but it was not enough to hand Arce his first defeat.
Both fighters had their moments but in the eyes of the
judges it was the young prospect Arce who was dishing out
the most damage. Final scores all in favor of Arce read
60-54 and 59-55 twice.
On his victory Arce said, “My opponent was well trained and
came out to fight with his high endurance. I came for the KO
but I’ll settle for the unanimous delicious. This is
motivation to keep on training to win those big victories,”
said Arce of his win. “My fans love coming to see me fight
because they can tell in my style that I love life and think
it is too beautiful and too short to waste.”
Super Featherweight Francisco Esparza (3-0) outslugged and
outworked his way to a four round unanimous decision over
game veteran Antonio Martinez (5-3-3,4 KO’s). Judges tallies
read 40-36 twice and 39-37 with Esparza getting the nod on
all cards.
After the fight Esparza confidently stated, “I’m feeling
great now that I’ve got another big win. My strategy is all
in staying low so my opponent can’t catch me. I’ll be back
in the gym ASAP working hard and hopefully moving on up on 6
rounders."
Super Lightweight Oscar Duarte (5-0-1, 3 KO’s) dropped
Archie Weah (1-5) with a mouth piece launching right hand in
round one and then went on to win a unanimous decision over
four rounds. Final scores read 40-35 twice and 39-36 all in
favor of Duarte.
On his victory Duarte said, “It felt great to knock down my
opponent in the first round but I felt really tied up. My
strategy for the rest of the fight was to just keep going in
there strong and keep my composure. I’m looking forward to
training really hard and improving after this win."
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