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08/14/2004 Archived Entry: "Hernandez Wins, Perez Loses in Fireworks Galore at ‘Hawthorne Heat’!"
Hernandez Wins, Perez Loses in Fireworks Galore at ‘Hawthorne Heat’!
By Juan C. Ayllon at Ringside
A victorious Hernandez (R) poses with promoter, Dominic Pesoli
(Cicero, Illinois): In an unseasonably cool summer, there were whispers that the Fourth of July fireworks weren’t all that great this year in Chicago, as well as a few outlying suburbs. Those people should have been at Hawthorne Park on Friday, August 13th where there were concussive fireworks aplenty! Situated on the infield of the Hawthorne Park Race Track, a boxing ring with lights on scaffolds and a tarp strung overhead in case of rain sat beneath a cloudless sky and entertained a packed and enthusiastic crowd with its unmitigated action.
In the main event, Illinois State Middleweight Champion “Macho” Miguel Hernandez, 158, (11-1-0, 7 KO’s) successfully defended his crown by unanimous decision against one tough Rudy Lovato, 154 (19-26-4, 5 KO’s) in a bout that initially looked like a walkout, but ended up surprisingly competitive.
Lovato (R) ducks under Hernadez' haymaker right
Round one began one-sidedly enough: Hernandez dominated throughout after driving Lovato to the ropes, absorbing half a dozen rabbit punches to the back of the head before he chased a very mobile Lovato about the ring for the remainder of the round. Hernandez stunned him with a couple of rights as he battered him about the ring.
In round two, Hernandez pressed hard while Lovato circled, jabbed and tried to avoid being trapped on the ropes. Hernandez never-the-less stunned him again on several occasions. Fighting defensively, Lovato was warned twice for low blows.
In round three, Lovato decided to fight back more, landing bursts of combinations in between assaults by his heavier handed tormentor. However, Lovato was warned for another low blow.
There was a lot more give and take in round four; Hernandez to put him away with wicked hooks, straight rights and uppercuts, but Lovato landed some hard countering rights and lefts of his own. Hernandez appeared to edge in terms of total output.
Round five saw Lovato continue to counter very well in spots. After absorbing a drubbing on the ropes, Lovato bounded off the ropes with a potent right. Still, the tide appeared to favor the heavier handed and busier Hernandez.
Lovato (L) attacks Hernandez on ropes
In round six, Hernandez continued to press, landing some heavy hooks to the body and leaden rights. However, Lovato continued to land his share of hard rights and hooks as well. The crowd was energized by the increasingly competitive bout before them.
In round seven, Lovato was deducted one point for a low blow. Tapping his protector cup with his right, Hernandez attacked with a fury. However, Lovato refused to fold, occasionally taking the lead in heated exchanges in this increasingly gritty and crowd pleasing battle. To his credit, Hernandez remained composed, making adjustments, boxing and jabbing more than in previous bouts. He continued to dominate in terms of quantity and quality of punches landed.
Round eight was compelling as Hernandez sought to close out the show in dramatic fashion and Lovato fought back with a fierce savagery. The end was never in doubt, as Hernandez won by scores of 78-73, 78-73 and 77-74 for a unanimous decision victory for Miguel Hernandez.
Lovato (L) and Hernandez (R) share a moment after their bout
Afterwards, Hernandez shared his thoughts on the bout:
“It was a good fight for me. I fought a seasoned pro in Rudy Lovato. He had 54 fights, fought guys like Campos, Hurtado and Antonio Diaz and went the distance with them—well, Campos stopped him—he fought a lot of good veterans.
Remember, I only had nine amateur fights. I took the fight to see where I was at. Today, I think I proved I could box and I could punch because I hurt him. At the weigh in, he told me that he was going to give the crowd a show. He came to fight, I put my part, he put his part [in the fight].
He hit me low several times! [Laughing] I’m glad I already had my three boys!
Hopefully, we can see how I do next time. I come to fight my best every time out. If I’m going to lose, let them take it from me!”
In the most electrifying bout of the evening—and arguably Chicago’s best bout of the year—Luciano “El Gallo Bravo” Perez, 145 (9-0-0, 8 KO’s), fought valiantly, but came up short in his bid for the Illinois State Welterweight Title, losing by majority decision to Juan Buendia, 146 (3-0-0, 2 KO’s).
Buendia (L) and Perez (R) engage in a heavy exchange in a corner
Luciano “El Gallo Bravo” Perez entered in to the sprite horns of a mariachi band preceding him. The crowd, largely Hispanic in makeup and already riled up by the main event, cheered and whistled in lusty approval.
Previously, ex-Olympian and undefeated junior welterweight prospect David Diaz (24-0-0, 13 KO’s) told this writer that Perez hit so hard that the way to spar—or fight—Perez was to box him. Juan Buendia defied this logic and surprised all by ‘fighting fire with fire’; he took the fight to Perez, from the get-go, out-landing him with heavy rights and lefts to head and body. The quicker puncher of the two, Buendia repeatedly backed up Perez, then covered, ducked and countered as Perez stormed back. As the round progressed, Perez appeared to begin gaining traction as he came back strongly. It seemed only a matter of time until Luciano notched another knockout.
In round two, an upset appeared to be in the making, as Buendia attacked Perez, smothered a lot of his power punches by staying closer inside and not allowing Perez to get proper extension, blocked others and absorbed several. At one point, Perez was warned for a low blow. Even as Perez mounted an effective attack, Buendia seemed to always have an answer.
Round three witnessed the two heatedly exchanged blows. In the midst of heavy fire, Perez dropped Buendia with a heavy low blow and was deducted one point as he recovered. The action resumed about a minute later and the two attacked one another with a fury.
As the two exchanged furiously, Perez landed what appeared to be a heavy hook on the beltline. However, the referee ruled it a low blow, escorted Perez to a neutral corner and docked him another point for a low blow!
Perez punishes Buendia along ropes
Resuming, the two lathered up the crowd into a frenzy as they slugged toe-to-toe. Buendia landed a heavy right that appeared to stun Perez momentarily. A moment later, however, Luciano was on the attack. It appeared that Buendia was outscoring Perez in a very tight round. No doubt, the two deducted points exacerbated his growing lead.
In round four, the two exchanged heavy rights, with Buendia apparently in charge one moment and Perez the next. The more accurate puncher, Buendia appeared to edge out another round.
Round five saw a more conservative Buendia elect to jab and circle. Meanwhile, Perez, ever the bull, stalked and swung for the fences. It appeared that Buendia was resting and, other than a potent right at rounds end and some jabs, did very little of effect. This was Perez’ round.
Buendia (L) smashes Perez with a heavy right
However, in round six, Buendia attacked with a vengeance, driving Perez to the ropes with rights and lefts. At times, it appeared that he was on the verge of a stoppage victory, snapping Perez’ head to and fro and landing with frightening ease. However, every time he unloaded, Perez came back with a counter offensive, winging booming lefts and rights with ill intent and driving back his foe momentarily. Still, it seemed that many of Perez’ blows caught air, arms and shoulders or simply were rolled with enough such that their effects were somewhat mitigated, while many of Buendia’s blows landed flush sending sweat cascading. Body shots that had dropped sparring partners and opponents alike were not bowling over Buendia this night!
Again, in round seven, Luciano sought desperately to stop his antagonist. However, Buendia’s wink and smile over Perez’ shoulders to his corner spoke volumes about his confidence. He was well prepared for this fight. Using his edge in speed, he appeared to outland his stronger foe, even as he pressed the attack.
Illinois Regulations Supervisor Joel Campuzano (L) looks on the newly crowned Illinois State Welterweight Champ, Juan Buendia!
Round eight appeared to be the fight in a microcosm, as Buendia repeatedly beat Perez to the punch, snapped his head back, ducked, slipped and absorbed what landed. For his part, Perez fought back time and time again with powerful, two-fisted surges. Unfortunately, it appeared that he just couldn’t catch Buendia squarely on the point of the chin for that kayo that he so badly needed.
The official results bore out the closeness and intensity of the fight: the scores read 76-73 for Buendia, 76-74 for Perez and 75-74 for Buendia, resulting in a majority decision victory for the new Illinois State Welterweight Champion, Juan Buendia!
Afterwards, nursing his badly swollen right hand with a bag of ice, Luciano Perez disclosed that he had injured his hand in the fourth round. He said, “I hit him and I felt it hurt here and here,” pointing to the big knuckle of his right middle finger and elbow, respectively. Consoling his friend, Miguel Hernandez said, “He wants a rematch!”
Luciano Perez' badly swolen right hand
Trinidad Garcia, 151 (3-0-0) fought a surprisingly effective Cory McCants, 150 (2-9-0, 1 KO) ---whose record was deceptively bad—garnering an unpopular majority draw in the process.
In round one, McCants appeared to surprise with his fast hands and heavy rights, appearing to edge Garcia in the first round, landing sneaky, fast punches well. Garcia surged in the closing moments of the round with a two fisted assault.
Demonstrating a sterling jab, McCants initiated round two by landing a crackling jab and subsequent rights and hooks to the body and head. However, Garcia appeared to be the busier of the two as he repeatedly pressed matters, trying to establish dominance. The better punches belonged to McCant’s, but the higher volume belonged to Garcia.
In round three, McCants began stringing together some very sharp combinations. Garcia fought back hard, but was warned for a low blow. McCants landed a very heavy left hook to Garcia’s chin and some very hard hooks to the body. It appeared that McCants was wresting control of the bout in this round. Hands to his side, he waited to pot shot his antagonist coming in.
McCants said, “It’s show time now!” at the beginning of round four. Angered, Garcia charged with a two fisted attack, driving him first to one corner and then the ropes on the opposite side, but caught a potent right hand to the head for his efforts. The two exchanged. Moments later, McCants lost his mouth piece. After it was replaced, Garcia resumed a more disciplined attack. Garcia pressed while McCants seemed content to potshot and land single hard shots. This may have been a crucial mistake, as Garcia maintained a superior work rate. McCants landed a big right as the final bell rang.
The judges scored the bout 38-38 and 39-37 for McCants, and 38-38 even, which resulted in a roundly booed majority draw.
Featherweights Ivan Rodriguez, 122 (pro debut) and Le Shaun Blair, 122 (2-4-0) entertained in a scrappy battle that resulted in a unanimous decision victory for Rodriguez:
Blair gave Rodriguez, a former Golden Gloves standout from Waukegan, Illinois, a rocky initiation to the pros, landing a handful of potent rights and lefts in a fierce first round. At rounds end, a somewhat confused Rodriguez walked to the wrong corner.
Rodriguez punishes Blair with a wicked right
In round two, Rodriguez seemed to be coming into his own when an unintentional collision of heads forced a temporary halt to matters. Once fighting resumed, the two exchanged furiously. After absorbing a very heavy right, Ivan charged a retreating Blair and knocked him down hard into the ropes with a wicked left hook. Moments later, he knocked him down again.
Round three was very spirited. Rodriguez appeared to be surging, but caught his share of rights over the top. The round ended with Blair pinned against the ropes and the two firing with abandon.
In round four, Rodriguez knocked and off balance Blair partially through the ropes. The two exchanged furiously, although Blair appeared to be holding a great deal more. At rounds end, Rodriguez again knocked Blair partially through the ropes and, after they’d been separated by the ref and reset, bombed away against Blair, who was fighting off the ropes in the closing moments of their bout. The scores were 39-36, 39-35 and 40-34 for a unanimous decision to Rodriguez. Afterwards, when asked how he was doing, manager Pat Doljanin said, “Much better now that this [Rodriguez’ first pro fight] is over!” Indeed. Although sporting a very pleasing and aggressive style highly suitable to the pros, Rodriguez may want to be more careful about avoiding those sneaky rights.
Former Golden Gloves star Francisco Tafoya, 131, started off his professional career with a bang, landing a pair of lead rights and a right hook dropping opponent Roberto Sisco, 129.5 (0-3-0), in the first. He stunned Sisco with a short series of punches initiated with a right and punctuated with a hard left hook. Sisco rose, but fell back into the ropes. Clearly unable to continue, the ref waved off the fight at 2:19 into round one.
David Estrada (L) TKO's Tony Kern with a left hook
David “The Weezel” Estrada 161, (5-1-0, 3 KO’s), made matters a short night, knocking down outgunned Tony Ray Kern, 165 (11-18-0, 5 KO’s), knocking him down three times with strong left hooks for an automatic technical knockout victory at 2:51 into round one.
After this last bout, the mariachi band struck up a closing chorus, a nice touch that was not lost on those in attendance. Clearly, the crowd was appreciative of the special evening afforded them this night. A general sense of great satisfaction and camaraderie permeated the crowd as they gradually dispersed, some visiting and shooting pictures with fighters afterwards. A group of normally dignified Illinois regulatory officers including one Joel Campuzano was spotted uncharacteristically hooting and hollering as they careened on a golf cart through the curved underground passageway linking the infield to the racetrack stands after most of the fans had gone home.
Local fight fan, "T", says seeing the fights live are simply the best!
One of the regular customers of Pesoli events, a man who makes it a point to greet this writer at virtually every Pesoli event and who goes by the nickname, “T” , summed up the general sentiments of the crowd in saying, “I always come out for these fights. They’re the best. It beats paying $60 for some Pay-Per-View!” It certainly does, especially on a night like tonight.
Photos by Juan C. Ayllon
