[Previous entry: "'Road Warrior' Johnson Back Home to Face Moore!"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "'Gladiator' and 'Executioner' together again"]
07/14/2007 Archived Entry: "Lorenzo Out-hustles Cardenas, Hilario Draws with Martinez in Sizzling Action"
Lorenzo Out-hustles Cardenas, Hilario Draws with Martinez in Sizzling Action
Photos and story by Juan C. Ayllon at ringside
Lorenzo (right) fires away at Cardenas as referee Tim Adams looks on
CHICAGO, July 13, 2007—The Congress Theatre had a regal but worn air to it, as missing chunks of plaster revealed fissures and small splotches of white on the painted dome high above the boxing ring. Some would say, like the sport of boxing, surely its best days are long gone. However, judging by the loud roars of the throng and the heated action under the bright television lights, you’d never know the difference.
In the main event, Irvington, New Jersey’s super Featherweight Francisco Lorenzo (130 lbs., 28-4, 14 KO’s) out-worked, out-sped and out-punched durable and game Baudel Cardenas (131 lbs., 17-9-2, 6 KO’s), who hailed from Los Mochis, Mexico, in an entertaining scrap over 10 busy rounds.
Round two featured rugged body shots thrown by both. Three had a lot of pitched infighting, which seemed to favor Lorenzo; Cardenas appeared to need more room to punch effectively. Lorenzo slipped to the mat at rounds end.
Cardenas knocks Lorenzo back with a left hook
The crowd erupted in the fourth when Cardenas shook up Lorenzo with a series of lefts and rights to the head. However, just as he was coming on, referee Tim Adams interrupted the surge to secure some loose tape on Lorenzo’s glove. The two returned to trading, with Lorenzo not only back in form, but actually knocking Cardenas back on his heels with a left as the two finished the round closely.
In the fifth, Lorenzo landed a sneaky overhand right that drew “ooh’s” from the crowd in another tightly contested round. It was clear that by the sixth round on that Lorenzo was out-landing Cardenas four to one.
While Cardenas landed hard punches in patches, it simply wasn’t enough to offset the bullish Lorenzo, who clung to an inside game of fighting like a tiger gripping meat.
Judges scored the bout 97-93 twice and 99-91 for Francisco Lorenzo, who won by unanimous decision.
Hilario (right) drills Martinez with a right to the jaw
In the co-main event, it didn’t take St. Louis Park, Minnesota’s knockout artist Wilton Hilario (128.5 lbs., 8-0-0, 7 KO’s) too long to figure out that he was in a battle, as sasn Luis Potosi, Mexico’s Juan Martinez (129 lbs., 12-5, 8 KO’s) charged out, kept him on his heels, and banged him about the head. Hilario experienced notable reddening of his face, catching more than he was accustomed to in a nip and tuck round, which Martinez appeared to edge.
Martinez smashes a right to Hilario's head
Rounds two and three erupted in fireworks, as the two traded. Martinez pinned Hilario to the ropes and rained lefts and rights, snapping Hilario’s head back with a hard right. Coming off the ropes, Hilario returned in earnest, landing a punishing right of his own as he stormed back. A punishing looping left sent spray from Martinez’s head and another. Just as he came on, Martinez jarred him with a looping right to the jaw of his own. Both traded hard, but the momentum appeared to favor Hilario slightly in the third.
The fifth, sixth and seventh were particularly spirited affairs. In the sixth, Martinez pounced with a barrage of headshots that woke Hilario up. Hilario stormed back and the firefight renewed.
In the heated eighth and final round, Hilario landed a left to the lower ribs that hurt and nearly doubled over Martinez. He landed it again and yet again. However, in the face of Martinez’s superior output, would it be enough? The two traded long and hard, bell-to-bell.
After the final bell, a tired Hilario shook his head and said, “I don’t know. He ain’t all that.”
That’s not quite how the judges saw it, who scored the bout 77-76, and 75-75 twice. Gerald Scott served as referee.
Hilario (left) and Martinez pose for the camera following their bout
Judge Emily Cain—who scored the bout a draw—said afterwards, “I gave him (Martinez) the first two rounds. Then (Hilario) came out of nowhere. He seemed a lot stronger and Martinez seemed off-balance.”
Garcia (right) swarms Rodriguez in close
Chicago's Francisco Rodriguez (118 lbs., 8-1, 6 KO’s) and Laredo, Texas' Alejandro Garcia (119.5 lbs., 5-4, 4 KO’s) waged another war that had the fans yelling from beginning to end, with Rodriguez ultimately prevailing over the distance.
As the two engaged quickly in the first round, Garcia bothered, then jarred Rodriguez into the ropes with a sneaky and quick right to the head. Rodriguez stormed back with both fists and the two exchanged on fairly even terms for the rest of the round.
Garcia (right) recoils from a left
In the second, Rodriguez circled to his right—away from Garcia’s right—and speared with a potent right jab. Landing a hard right to the chin, he sent Garcia stumbling back. The two engaged in potent bursts. Rodriguez appeared to have an edge this round.
Rodriguez’s rally continued through the third when, suddenly, he was caught with a left hook and then a right to the head. Stunned momentarily, Rodriguez upped his output, but began neglecting his jab—which his corner loudly reminded him about and which created openings for Garcia’s booming counters toward the end of the round.
Garcia (right) digs a heavy right to Rodriguez's body
In the fifth, Rodriguez staggered Garcia with a pair of rights and pounced. However, Garcia fought back hard and caught him careless with a couple hard counters in close.
Fighting closely all the way, Rodriguez had seized upon the key to this fight: setting up with the jab, and a using a smart combination of footwork, boxing and punching. Simply brawling wasn’t going to get it done against the fierce Garcia.
Rodriguez (left) about to land a right to Garcia's head in one of many heated exchanges
If there were any doubts about Rodriguez’s control of this bout, he erased them in the sixth and final round, battering Garcia’s head to and fro with potent rights and lefts and drilling the body now and again for good measure. Garcia was always dangerous, winging his right with full force, but couldn’t mount an effective counteract to his swarming adversary. Judges scored the bout 60-54 and 59-55 twice for Francisco Rodriguez. Pete Podgorsky served as referee.
Joshua Rodriguez (left) storms out early, but finds his success short-lived as Fonfara (below right) takes controll with a finality
He was game and aggressive, but ultimately overmatched against cool-shooting Chicagoan Andrej Fonfara (153 lbs., 5-4, 4 KO’s). Coming out hard, Davenport, Iowa’s Joshua Rodriguez (151 lbs., 3-1, 2 KO’s) soon had his nose bloodied and, in the second, was on the receiving end of a systematic thrashing. Backed to the ropes, Rodriguez was drilled with a whistling right to the head. He dropped hard on the seat of his pants. He rose quickly. However, against his bitter protests, referee Gerald Scott halted the bout.
Asked why he stopped it when he did, Scott said, “Because, he was getting beaten up. I didn’t want him getting killed in there!” Time of the stoppage was 1:03 into round two.
Esho (left) and Diaz mix it up above and, below, bleeding from a cut above his eye, Diaz caromes a hard right off Esho's chin
Michoacan, Mexico’s Guadalupe Diaz (146 lbs., 2-1-1) surprised many when he spoiled the pro debut of Chicago’s George Esho (140 lbs.) by scores of 39-37 twice and 40-36 in a hard-fought scrap. Early on, it looked like a rout by Esho, but that changed. Cut on outside of right brow in the second, Diaz turned up his work and battered Esho enough in a close bout, rocking a tiring Esho several times in the third and fourth.
Rungea (left) and Rodriguez mix it up on the ropes
Waukegan, Illinois’ Ivan Rodriguez (121 lbs., 7-3-1, 3 KO’s) and Quatre Bornes, Mauritius’ Vineash Rungea (122 lbs., 2-7-2) put on a barn-burner of a fight, with Rodriguez maintaining the superior work rate throughout. Rodriguez repeatedly hemmed Rungea to the ropes and battered away and when Rungea managed to get breathing room to fire, often circled out, reset and moved back in. Judges scored the bout 60-54, 60-54, and 60-54 for Ivan Rodriguez.
Above, Garcia (right) drops, then finishes Sanders, below, in the second round
Oxnard, California’s Miguel Garcia (127.5 lbs., 8-0-0, 7 KO’s) wasted little time, popping back Ft. Wayne, Indiana’s Reggie Sanders’ (130 lbs., 12-40-5, 2 KO’s) head in the first, working over the body and head, dropping him with a flurry of head shots in the second and finishing him with sharp lefts and rights to the head, as referee Pete Podgorsky waved off the bout at 2:23 into the second round. Garcia won by knockout.
If this evening’s fights—produced by Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions and Bob Arum’s Top Rank—are any indicator, both the Congress Theatre and live boxing have a bright future.
The Bronx's exciting welterweight contender, Jeffrey Resto, who beat Roberto Valenzuela at the Cicero Stadium last March, was in attendance this evening
Popular undefeated Chicago super middleweight Donovan George (second from right), his father, Pete (far right) and friends enjoy the fights from ringside
