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Figueroa Stops Nery In 7th;
Roman Defeats Espinoza
By William Trillo @ Ringside
Photos: German Villasenor
In the Main Event on Showtime Boxing Super Bantamweight
Brandon Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KO’s) broke the heart of
Luis Nery (31-1, 24 KO’s) with a stunning seventh round
one punch KO. This fight was an all-action affair as
both men had their moments, but in the end a new
champion would be crowned.
In the early rounds it looked as if Nery was in control,
he was confident and was landing hard punches. But
Figueroa was able to weather the storm and was more than
capable of delivering his own brand of punishment.
As the fight reached the middle rounds the action
remained at a furious pace. Both fighters put the
pressure on but in round six it was the Figueroa attack
that began to get the best of Nery. If there was a
defining moment that Figueroa took over, it was late in
the sixth.
Then in round seven as the men were in a heated exchange
Figueroa hurt Nery and put him in reverse. Figueroa
jumped on that retreat and in moments a left hook
underneath to the liver put Nery down for the ten count,
he could not get back to his feet and a new champion was
crowned at the 2:18 mark of round seven.
Officially Figueroa snagged both the WBC World Super
Bantam & WBA Super World Super Bantam Titles.
Commenting after the fight Figueroa stated, "It feels
amazing, this is a dream come true. I know everyone
doubted me, but here I am with the belt. It's all thanks
to hard work and dedication. You saw tonight what I can
do. I brought it to him and the hard work paid off. We
did our homework. We did a great job in the gym and just
took it to him.The plan was to break him. Joel Diaz told
me to pressure him and that he wouldn't last. That's
exactly what happened.”
The Semi-Main Event between Super Bantamweights Daniel
Roman (29-3-1, 10 KO’s) and Ricardo Espinoza (25-4, 21
KO’s) turned out to be a grueling ten round battle that
saw blood spilled all over the ring, most of it
belonging to Espinoza. On paper it looked like Espinoza
might have the bigger punch but when the fight was over
it was clear Roman was the fighter with the sharper
(take term literally) punches.
In the early rounds Espinoza brought the pressure but a
composed Roman remained calm as he put together a
strategy to slow the tough Espinoza.
Suddenly Roman was landing good uppercuts on the inside
that were landing upstairs and downstairs. Body punches
began to slow Espinoza and the right hands to the chin
by Roman were picking his opponent apart. This scenario
would play out over and over again as the fight went on.
In the sixth round Roman wobbled Espinoza with a good
combination. In round seven Espinoza was in trouble
numerous times. How he survived that round is anyone’s
guess.
By round eight Espinoza’s nose was streaming blood. It
looked as though Roman was going at him with a meat
cleaver as the crimson flow was everywhere. Roman was
now in complete control and was manhandling a weary
Espinoza.
Things looked so bleak for Espinoza that the doctor was
asked to have a look at him before the start of round
nine. After getting the “all clear” from the Doc,
Espinoza went out for more punishment. It was all Roman
all the time in the latter rounds.
Roman closed the show in impressive fashion as he never
let a wounded and desperate warrior back into the fight.
Showing his true champion pedigree Roman made sure he
was going to go home with the victory.
Final scores accurately reflected the tale of this ten
round fight as judges’ scorecards, all in favor of
Roman, read 97-93 & 98-92 twice. It was a dominant
performance by Roman who was rightfully given this
unanimous decision win.
Reflecting on his win Roman said, “This win is a step
closer to getting back on top and getting a world title
once again. I knew he was a tough fighter who hit hard,
so I had to fight smart and make adjustments. I started
to get my distance and started fighting my fight and
controlling the ring. Once I did that, everything
started to fall into place. I was surprised he went the
distance, but he has a lot of heart. He’s a tough
fighter. I’m the mandatory, so I want a title shot now.
I want the winner of the main event.”
In a true slugfest Super Featherweights Xavier Martinez
(17-0, 11 KO’s) and Juan Carlos Burgos (34-5-2, 21 KO’s)
gave the fans in Carson, California a good old fashioned
barn burner. Every fighter on the rise to the top needs
to face and defeat a proven warrior. Likewise, for a
veteran in the twilight of his career it is imperative
to teach these young up and comers a lesson. Regardless
of the lopsided scores, both fighters achieved those
goals tonight.
This fight was bombs away from the moment the opening
bell rang all the way until the final bell brought this
scorcher to an end. Martinez showed he is a true
competitor as he gave Burgos a real shellacking. On his
side Burgos proved he has weapons of his own, including
a granite chin. At times it appeared maybe the aging
Burgos was too tough for his own good, but no one will
ever question his juevos.
In the end all the judges scored the fight 99-91 much to
the dismay of the crowd and this reporter who thought
Martinez won, but by a much smaller margin.
After the fight Burgos said, “I was shocked. I was
surprised. I did not think I only won one round. The
public opinion and the fact that the fans were booing is
what I take with me today. The fans spoke louder than
the cards. I am glad to have given them an exciting
fight.”
On his victory Martinez stated, “It was a fun fight. I
know the fans enjoyed the fight. I thought I could have
done better, but I was landing clean, hard shots
throughout. Even when he was throwing, I was slipping a
lot of them and catching him. I showed I can hang in
there with tough fighters. I do have a rivalry with
Chris Colbert. That’s not a secret, everyone knows that.
If we can make that happen, that would be cool. That
would be a really fun fight for both of us. He’s a
boxer, I come forward. We will cause a lot of fireworks
with that one.”
Lightweight Jose Valenzuela (8-0, 6 KO’s) had little
trouble with Nelson Hampton (7-4, 4 KO’s), in fact he
had no trouble at all. With a beautiful left hand to the
body and then over the top, Valenzuela dropped Hampton
like a sack of potatoes. The ref didn’t bother to count
as Hampton was out. Officially the bout came to its end
at the 2:59 mark of round one.
Super Flyweight Gabriela Fundora came out in victorious
in her Pro Debut over a game Jazmin Valverde (2-2, 2
KO’s). Final scores all in favor of Fundora read 39-36 &
40-35 x 2.
Super Lightweight Justin Cardona (5-0, 3 KO’s) opened
the show by dropping James De Herrera (4-7, 3 KO’s)
three times in the first round leaving the ref no choice
but to bring an end to the bout at the 1:20 mark.
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