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05/22/2005 Archived Entry: "GARCIA STOPS WELLS, JONES STOPS DAVIS IN EXCITING BREWSTER-GOLOTA 'BATTLE IN CHICAGO' UNDERCARD!"
GARCIA STOPS WELLS, JONES STOPS DAVIS IN EXCITING BREWSTER-GOLOTA 'BATTLE IN CHICAGO' UNDERCARD!
By Rita Figueroa at ringside
Wells (left) recoils from Garcia's attack (Edward Zajac Photo)
CHICAGO, May 21, 2005 – The first fight of the night was a 6 round Welterweight bout between Devon Alexander (3-0 2KO’s) and Felix Lora (6-1-2 2KO’s). Working the corner for Alexander, trainer Kevin Cunningham, and walking in with Alexander, Cory Spinks. Alexander showed more skill while Lora continued to stalk for the entire bout. A straight right hand in the 3rd had Lora holding on to the ropes to avoid a knockdown. Had Alexander put together more combinations, he could have made it an early night, but he took his time and won it on all 3 scorecards 58-56 twice and 59-55 for a unanimous decision.
The second bout of the evening was a 10 round Bantamweight attraction between the current WBC Fecarbox Champion, Genaro “Poblanito” Garcia (32-4 20 KO’s) and Gerardo “El Locomotora” Espinoza (28-7 26KO’s). This seemed to be the classic boxer – puncher match up, with Garcia being the puncher. Being the aggressor left him open to be knocked down in the 5th round, but the knockdown only seemed to energize him, as he seemed to come back stronger. Espinoza landed some hard right hands in the 6th, but Garcia kept coming. Round 8 saw some great exchanges between the two, and by the 10th, the constant pressure by Garcia had Espinoza holding on. Final scored were 97-92 and 96-93 for the winner by unanimous decision, Genaro “Poblanito” Garcia.
The third fight of the night was a 12 round WBC Welterweight Championship Eliminator between Miguel Rodriguez (26-1 21KO’s) and Carlos Baldomir (4-9-6 12 KO’s) with the winner being the mandatory to face Super Zab Judah. This fight went the distance as both fighters kept the pace even for most of the fight. Rodriguez had the better movement, but Baldomir was more aggressive and landed the harder shots. The judges agreed and scored the fight 116-112 twice and 116-113 all for the winner and WBC mandatory for Zab Judah, Carlos Baldomir.
The fourth bout of the night was an exiting 12 round match up between Alejandro “Terra” Garcia (23-1 22KO’s) and Rhoshii “The Mongoose” Wells (18-1-2 11KO’s) for the WBA Super Welterweight Championship – Interim Title. This is the second meeting for these two. Back in Sept, 2003, Garcia won by a corner stoppage after Wells got caught with some shots in the 10th.
The fight started with Wells using his jab, and at times stunning Garcia with it, and the more aggressive Garcia landing some hard body shots. Both threw punches after the bell to end the third that saw a more action packed round. They continued the pace in the fourth round, and Garcia had Wells hurt throughout the round. Garcia had Wells hanging on and dragging Garcia through the ropes, but the referee did not call it a knockdown and Wells went to the corner clearly hurt. Both fighters took a rest to start the fifth. Wells landed a nice shot and Garcia spread his arms as if the say “That’s it?” Wells landed a nice right hand and Garcia invited him in. Wells did not comply however, deciding to stay on the outside to box. Garcia went down from a bunch to the back of the head to start the 7th that was not called a knockdown. Garcia landed his own clean right hand in the 8th putting Wells down. Wells got up, and the two exchanged. Wells giving just as much as he was taking, momentarily trapping Garcia on the ropes. Both were warned for hitting low in the ninth, and pace slowed a bit until Garcia landed a series of right hands and unanswered punches putting Wells down again. The ref called a halt to the bout at 2:52 of the 9th. Winner by TKO – Alejandro “Terra” Garcia.
Jones (right) and Davis exchange blows (Edward Zajac Photo)
The upset of the evening came in the scheduled 10 round Cruiserweight bout between Kelvin “Koncrete” Davis (21-2 16KO’s) and Guillermo “El Felino” Jones (31-3-2 24KO’s).
Jones used his jab to keep the Tyson styled Davis at bay for the first round. Much of the same in the second and third, Davis was loading up for that one hard shot, while Jones continued with the jab and uppercuts. Two straight right hands by Jones had Davis on very wobbly legs to end the third, barely making it back to the corner. The fourth saw Jones using his jab, and landing a huge uppercut that clearly had Davis hurt again. Jones continued to land, and the ref jumped in to stop it at 42 seconds of the fourth round. Winner by TKO, Guillermo “El Felino” Jones.
The walkout bout was a 4 round scrap between Super Middleweights James Johnson (1-0 1KO) and Larry Russell (0-1). This was a fight between newcomers, with Johnson showing more skill. Winner by TKO at 2:18 of the second round, and improving to 2-0, James Johnson.
It certainly was a wonderful night of boxing in Chicago. Let’s hope this is the start of bringing big time boxing back to the Windy City!
Rita Figueroa with Roy Jones, Jr.
