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01/07/2006 Entry: "Joel Julio Flattens Kamya in Three!"
Joel Julio Flattens Kamya in Three!
Story and photos by Juan C. Ayllon
A victorious Joel Julio poses with cornermen following his sensational victory.
CICERO, IL –Before a packed and screaming crowd at Cicero Stadium, undefeated welterweight prospect Joel Julio wasted little time unloading his arsenal on Robert Kamya, spinning him 45 degrees and dropping him in the first round with a quick left-right and finishing him in the third with a flourish, capped off with a thudding left hook and a finishing left-right. Referee Gino Rodriguez waved off the bout moments later at 1:32 into round one.
Earlier, Raul Martinez stopped worthy foil Andres Ledesma at 1:35 into round eight with a preponderance of lefts and rights followed by a leaden right that dropped Ledesma hard.
As with a young Mike Tyson, the impact of Julio’s punches weren’t simply a result of sheer power, but of startling speed and combination. They landed with sudden unanticipated impact. You can’t steel yourself for what you can’t see coming. Coupled with an improved defense, good ring generalsmanship, and an improved ability to avoid getting hit squarely, Julio appears to be a real threat to the upper tiers of the welterweight division.
Following his first round knockdown of Kamya, Julio followed up with a blurring fusillade of lefts and rights that buckled Kamya’s knees and threatened to end matters, only to have the bell stave off the execution.
Clearly recovered in round two, Kamya conjured up memories of his bout versus Alex Bunema as he worked back into the fight by pressuring and putting Julio more on the defensive with his own busy two-fisted attack. To his credit, Julio circled and covered well. He also jarred Kamya with several rights and lefts.
The end came fast in round three, as Julio upped his work rate and with a flourish, capped off by a huge left hook followed by a quick left-right, terminated matters abruptly. Referee Gino Rodriguez waved off the fight moments later.
With this fight, Joel Julio (152.5 lbs.) rose to 26-0 and 23 knockouts, while Kamya (153 lbs.) fell to 15-6 and four knockouts.
Two-time amateur national champ Raul Martinez sported an exaggerated high guard and landed a crowd-pleasing left hook and swift body blows as he and Andres Ledesma engaged in a cat-quick chess match of a first round.
Ledesma banged in hard lefts and rights to the body and a chopping right to the head as Martinez pressed the action in round two. As the action heated up, Martinez landed a low blow, which drew a warning from Referee Tim Adams and a brief break for Ledesma. Resuming, Martinez jarred to the body.
Martinez continued his surge into the third, where four jarring left hooks and a right to the head, followed by a thudding left hook to the body and a big right to the head dropped Ledesma to the mat. Upon rising, Ledesma struggled on the ropes to fend off Martinez’ swarming blows to head and body. A hurtful left-right to his body dropped him again. Ledesma made it to his feet and, with the help of a timely bell, back to his corner.
In the fourth and fifth rounds, Ledesma reestablished the jab and used good movement to work his way back into the fight. In fact, in the fifth, he arguably gave as good as he got, using angles, mixing his punches well, as the shorter Martinez pressured and pursued.
This pattern continued into the sixth and seventh, as Ledesma worked the jab well in conjunction with good movement and sharp counter rights. More cautious, Martinez never the less remained the aggressor, while Ledesma sought to spear him with crisp lefts and rights coming in.
In the sixth, the referee halted the action to have a cut over Marquez’ right eye examined by the doctor. As a result, Martinez closed out the round with a furious head and body assault.
The action grew more frantic in the seventh, as the ever-present cut appeared to bother Marquez and Ledesma grew in confidence. Ledesma peppered freely with the left jab and hook and Martinez, in turn, rocked him with a huge left hook. Ledesma worked the body, caught a right to the head and was punished along the ropes. Escaping, Ledesma ducked under a wild right by Martinez, with the momentum sending Martinez to the mat.
Tightening up his form, Martinez rocked Ledesma with a furious assault of lefts and rights, finally dropping him for good with a heavy right to the head.
A jubilant Raul Martinez has his hand raised!
Referee Tim Adams waved off the bout at 1:35 into round eight.
Raul Martinez (119 lbs.) now stands at 13-0 and 10 knockouts, while Ledesma (120 lbs.) falls to 13-2-1, and eight knockouts.
Popular Chicago middleweight “Macho” Miguel Hernandez showed poise, busier hands, and better use of the jab in putting the wood to rugged Butch Haijik, who gave a good account of himself, over eight rounds for a unanimous decision victory.
Haijik showed new skills himself and pumped the jab well and often throughout, prompting 8 Count Matchmaker Jerry Alfano to say afterwards, “I’ve never seen him move like that before.” However, he also had a difficult time avoiding Hernandez’ looping right hand, as manager John Hoffman said afterwards, “He kept getting caught with it leaning back.”
Indeed. Following a cautious first round dominated by jabs and punctuated by a jarring right by Hernandez, Hernandez dropped Haijik with a whistling overhand right in the second round. Rising, Haijik was rocked by left hook and dropped again with another overhand right. However, an intervening bell stemmed Hernandez’ follow-up surge.
Hernandez dominated the first minute of round three behind looping lefts and rights to the head. However, Haijik’s head was clear and he began pumping the jab hard and fought back well. Hernandez finished the round strongly.
Haijik continued to pump the jab and score points in round four while Hernandez tried desperately for the knockout. However, when he jabbed—which he did intermittently—he found greater success in landing his preferred hooks and rights.
Hernandez rocked Haijik thrice with several jarring rights and a hook as he stepped up his efforts to get Haijik out of there in round five. However, Haijik wasn’t going anywhere and seemed to cope better with the power punches, even landing his share of straight rights in addition to the jab.
Haijik seemed to find a rhythm as he jabbed and punched in combination in round six. A particularly stiff left-right combination sparked Hernandez’ offense as the two traded hard for the duration of the round, with Hernandez’ blows carrying the heavier artillery.
Haijik’s speared with jabs and right crosses, while Hernandez circled and peppered with both hands. Haijik was the busier puncher, while Hernandez’s blows landed with greater impact.
Hernandez stormed out in round eight and sent Haijik’s mouthpiece sailing with a potent left-right to the head. The two slugged it out for a while before the referee replaced the mouthpiece. As the two slugged savagely at one another, Hernandez once again knocked Haijik’s mouthpiece out as the round came to a close.
Miguel Hernandez (left) and Butch Hajicek pose after their fight
The judges scored the bout 79-70 and 80-69 twice for a unanimous decision victory for Miguel Hernandez (162 lbs.), bringing his record to 18-3-0 and nine knockouts, while Haijik (162 lbs.) slipped to 4-5-1 and two knockouts.
Afterwards, Hernandez said, “It was a tough fight. I was trying to work my jab more. But, I’m hard headed. I could see his punches coming. He couldn’t hurt me. [However], I was worried about the head butt. I need to work on my head movement more.”
Former “Next Great Champ” finalist David Pareja made it through a scary moment, surviving a hard knockdown near the end of his bout with Derek Andrews in losing a unanimous decision.
Light heavyweight Pareja never looked too comfortable, as he alternatively maintained distance from his taller, lankier opponent—who looked a good six inches taller—and charged in with lefts and rights, often smothering his blows as the momentum and Andrews’ clinching pulled him close.
The second round appeared to set the tone for the bout: while Pareja dominated the meaningful exchanges by and large, near the end of the round, Andrews bounced two whipping rights off Pareja’s head, the second buckling Pareja’s legs and nearly dropping him. Andrews surged at rounds end as Pareja covered.
In the third and fourth rounds, Pareja grew increasingly bolder. The two sparred fairly evenly, while Andrews covered and held when Pareja charged in. Pareja, who sported a small mouse under his left eye, maintained the more effective aggression, jumping in behind lead rights and hooking while Andrews covered and tied up.
The fifth round saw Pareja storm out swinging hard with both fists and mauling Andrews about for the first half of the round. However, Andrews took exception to some roughhouse tactics and bounced three or four jarring rights off Pareja’s head as he surged back.
As the two traded jabs in the sixth and final round, Andrews landed a big left hook. A devastating right hand to the chin dropped Pareja very hard, his head bouncing off the canvas. Rising on unsteady legs, he took an eight count from the referee, who asked him if he wanted to continue. Pareja responded, “Yes,” raised his guard, and steeled himself for a furious assault. However, it never came, as the final bell rang moments later.
Derek Andrews is jubilant after his win over David Pareja
The judges scored the bout 57-56 all for a unanimous decision for Derek Andrews (178 lbs.), who rose to 4-1 (0 knockouts), while Pareja (178 lbs.) slipped to 6-2 and one knockout.
Omar Reyes strikes a pose after his victory
In a bloody war, popular Omar Reyes won a spirited unanimous decision over rugged Luis Navarro, who kept coming forward throughout.
Reyes took the fight directly to Navarro, rocking and dropping his taller adversary twice with sneaky left hooks in the first round. Navarro surged briefly in between knockdowns.
Reyes continued battering with both fists, but found himself trapped on the ropes for roughly a minute as Navarro furiously sought to mete out retribution with a furious and wild, two fisted assault. Escaping, Reyes edged in the last minute of a tightly contested round.
Navarro continued to bull forward in the third, digging several thundering rights to the side that clearly bothered Reyes, while Reyes banged heartily to the head with both fists. Closing the round strongly, hooked back to Navarro’s body hard, prompting one witness to say, “He didn’t like it to the body and now he’s giving him a taste of his own medicine.”
Navarro surged in the fourth as Reyes tired, trapping him in a corner and on the ropes repeatedly with an awkward assortment of punishing lefts and rights, forcing Reyes to cover and fight free when he could.
In the fifth and final round, with blood streaming down his face from a cut over his left eye, Navarro kept marching forward. Unflappable, he swung with malevolence and the full weight of his body even as Reyes peppered and jolted him about the head with frightening regularity.
His determination and unceasing aggression impressed matchmaker Jerry Alfano, who said that 8 Count will have to feature Navarro in future shows.
Never the less, Reyes closed the fight strongly and with a flourish, knocking out Navarro’s mouthpiece at one point.
The judges scored the bout 49-44 and 48-45 twice for a unanimous decision in favor of Omar Reyes.
Omar Reyes (128 lbs.) now stands at 2-2 (0 knockouts) and Navarro (129 lbs.) falls to 0-2.
In an entertaining scrap, debuting middleweight Reynaldo Reyes prevailed with superior work rate over opponent Ricardo Swift’s sharper counters in winning a split decision by scores of 39-37 Reyes, 39-37 Swift and 39-37 Reyes.
Reyes (162 lbs.) now has one victory, while Swift (161.5 lbs.) falls to 0-3.
Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions and Kathy Duva’s Main Events promoted this lively gate, with the main and co-main events being broadcast via television on Showtime’s “Sho-Box: The New Generation.” If the success of this show is any indicator, they’ll be back broadcasting from Chicagoland in the near future.
"Macho" Miguel Hernandez and a second pose for the camera
Popular local fighters David Estrada (left) and Jose Hernandez smile for the camera
Joel Julio holds up a fan's child as his proud father looks on
Dominic Pesoli holds the boy, a future champion, quipping, "Some
day a picture of this kid is going to be on my wall!"
John Hoffman applies an Enswell to stem the swelling
on Butch Haijik's face following his bout with Hernandez.
