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10/20/2007 Archived Entry: "Martinez Decisions Sandoval in a Hard Fought Eight!"
Martinez Decisions Sandoval in a Hard Fought Eight!
By Juan C. Ayllon at ringside
Photos by Thomas Mathis
Sandoval (left) and Martinez mix it up while referee Gerald Scott looks on
CICERO, Ill.—He had the height. He had the reach. And, with “Chavez” emblazoned across the back of his black trunks—honoring his older brother, former WBC Super Featherweight and Lightweight champion Jesus “El Matador” Chavez—he had the name. He even had the crowd behind him. But in a fierce battle tonight at Cicero Stadium, for lanky Chicagoan Jaime “Superfly” Sandoval (131 lbs., 14-2, 12 knockouts), it wasn’t quite enough.
Across the ring in bright blue trunks and gold trim was Juan C. Martinez (131 lbs., 14-5-1, 11 knockouts), a gutsy, free-swinging boxer hailing from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, who stood a good three to four inches shorter. What he lacked in height, he more than made up for with a great ability to close the gap and land crisp blows with great speed.
A microcosm of the fight was witnessed in the first round. Martinez drew “oohs” from the crowd as he bounced a sharp left hook off Sandoval’s head. Catching a sharp left-right counter to the head, Martinez cracked a hard straight right to Sandoval’s jaw. Trading heavily, Sandoval dug a heavy left into the pit of Martinez’ stomach.
The crowd roared.
Martinez bounced a jarring right to Sandoval’s jaw.
“Don’t wait, don’t wait,” shouted boxing investor and friend, Rick Ramos, when Sandoval was backed to a corner. “Spin him out! That’s right!”
With the crowd cheering, they traded fierce blows, with Sandoval banging in a hard right to the head near rounds end.
Martinez began the second with a sneaky looping right to the head. Adjusting, Sandoval pumped the jab, established more distance and boxed better. Still, Martinez jumped in with a sharp right to his head—and another. It was a brawl once again. Martinez and Sandoval traded on even terms. Sandoval banged in a hard right-left-right combination and Martinez fired back hard at the bell slinging both fists.
Sandoval lands a left hook to the side of Martinez' head
The brawl spilled over into the third. The two swapped blows in closely. Martinez again bounced a hard right over the top. Sandoval dug a heavy left to the body and right to the head. Bouncing on his toes, Sandoval pumped the jab and rallied back with thumping blows to the body. Martinez swarmed. Referee Gerald Scott warned Sandoval to keep them up. Resuming, Martinez caught Sandoval high on the head, backing him up. Sandoval tried to gain distance with the jab, but found himself drawn into trench warfare. Sandoval surged strongly toward rounds end.
His surge continued in the fourth, where he backed up Martinez, jabbing and crossing him to good effect. Martinez jarred to the head. Sandoval flurried in close. Jabbing his way in, Sandoval pressed. The two exchanged blows. Martinez bobbled his head with a right and left.
The fifth started out more measured. Suddenly, a right uppercut by Martinez jarred Sandoval. Martinez was flashing the faster hands and landing much better this round. Martinez’ speed was definitely posing problems for Sandoval.
In the sixth, Martinez was jumping in with two and three punch combinations to the head. Martinez dug four straight blows to the midsection.
Sandoval fought back bravely, but a shade slower than Martinez. The crowd erupted with chants of “Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy!” Sandoval was being out boxed and effectively out-landed by the shorter Martinez. However, Sandoval snapped Martinez’ head back with a hard right and the two trade furiously at rounds end.
Sandoval dug deep in the seventh. Jabbing, crossing and hooking better, he took control of the first minute. They boxed at long range. Martinez bounced a hard left hook off Sandoval’s jaw, but Sandoval resumed control.
The eighth kicked off with cheers of “Sandoval, Sandoval!” echoing in the audience. Sandoval speared with a hard jab and sent spray flying from Martinez’ head with a right. Martinez countered with a sharp left to the head.
Martinez digs a right hook to Sandoval's ribs
Surging, Martinez bounced hard lefts and rights off Sandoval’s head, but Sandoval stormed back. Martinez stunned with a left to the jaw. Covering and ducking, Sandoval jabbed and fired back. Martinez landed another big left hook to the jaw. A lady shrieked. The two traded furiously to final bell, with Martinez slipping and landing more cleanly.
The judges scored the bout 78-74, 77-75, and 78-74 for Juan Carlos Martinez, granting him a unanimous decision victory.
Polyakov (right) drills Budd with a smashing right to the jaw
Ukrainian by way of Chicago, super middleweight prospect Victor Polyakov (172 lbs., 5-0, 4 knockouts) trounced Lima, Ohio’s Corey Budd (172 lbs., 8-16, 7 knockouts) inside two rounds.
Polyakov wasted no time, drilling Budd’s midriff with a solid right seconds into round one. He tore into Budd with both fists in measured bursts. Working the body, he dug a straight right to Budd’s side and another straight right to his solar plexus. As the Ukrainian Olympic team cheered, he battered Budd about the ring.
Dropping his hands to his side, he stuck his chin out three times. A big left hook stunned and another nearly dropped Budd. Battering in bursts of lefts and rights, Polyakov dominated.
Budd jabbed and threw a few rights to begin round two. However, the systematic beating resumed. Polyakov worked behind a high guard, drilling the body and batting the head with a pair of heavy hooks.
A lead right snapped Budd’s head sideways. In a delayed effect, Budd collapsed slowly to the canvas. Referee Pete Podgorski administered a brief count before waving off the bout at 1:52 into round two.
Taylor (left) steps back and prepares to counter, as Dowdy throws the left
In a short-lived rough and tumble affair, Chicago’s muscular Gerald Taylor (168 lbs., 1-0) bludgeoned out-matched opponent Tyrone Dowdy (162 lbs., 2-11) about the ring, stopping him in two rounds.
Rushing in, Taylor did a little stutter step when he caught a right to the jaw, but proceeded to tee-off on a reluctant Dowdy, wobbling him with a series of left hooks and nearly flooring him at least a half dozen times.
In the second, Taylor just missed with a huge uppercut and continued loading up with ponderous swings and again had Dowdy grabbing and holding for dear life. Stunning Dowdy with a right hook, Taylor pushed Dowdy to the mat and Dowdy received a brief count before rising. The all out assault continued. At the end, an exhausted Dowdy rested his right hand on the ropes and caught a left hook to the face before referee Gerald Scott waved the bout off at 2:39 into round two.
Agnew a split-second before he lands a crunching left hook to the ribs
It was a case of conditioning and superior boxing skills, as Chicago’s Cedrick Agnew (183 lbs., 4-0, 3 knockouts) outclassed Grand Forks, North Dakota’s hard-swinging Lucas St. Claire (182 lbs., 1-0) over four rounds.
St. Claire struck aggressively and often at the beginning of the first with furious hooks and crosses. Covering, Agnew picked up the pace in the second half of the round. A left hook to the ribcage visibly hurt Lucas. A second drew a sharp grunt from Lucas and dropped him to the canvas. Another left hook to the midriff dropped him again. Rising, St. Claire swung back with ponderous hooks. However, a left hook to the head stunned him and follow up lefts to the ribs hurt St. Claire.
In the second, Claire again came out aggressive, launching a torrent of lefts and rights while Agnew covered. St. Claire was breathing heavily through hiss mouth by about a minute into the round. Keeping his elbows in tight to protect his ribs, St. Claire weathered Agnew’s follow up. A right by Agnew rocked St. Claire. Another jarred him when St. Claire missed with a wild right hook. Picking a gassed St. Claire apart, he ate a couple blows at rounds end.
As with previous rounds, in the third, St. Claire started off furiously, this time slamming lefts and rights to Agnew’s sides. And, again, he was panting a minute into the round. By contrast, Agnew was relaxed and began picking him apart. St. Claire kept him honest, fighting back in spurts.
In the fourth and final frame, St. Claire began aggressively again, but was gassed early on. Agnew stalked and threw one shot at a time. Ignoring entreaties to finish St. Claire, Agnew appeared to be trying to bank in some rounds, slipping and blocking here, and cracking in a punch or two there. St. Claire remained the busier of the two, but it simply wasn’t enough.
Judges scored the bout 40-34, 40-34 and 39-35 for Cedrick Agnew.
After the bout, St. Claire’s manager Butch Haijicek—whose final professional bout was a decision loss to “Macho” Miguel Hernandez at the Cicero Stadium in 2005—said of St. Claire, “He wasn’t in the best of shape. I wanted him to go four rounds. But, it definitely was a unanimous decision [for Agnew].”
Cedrick Agnew said, “I was a little winded. I threw unnecessary punches. I should have gone more to the body. I got away from my game plan.”
Yet, unlike Sandoval, Cedrick Agnew's advantages and execution were enough to put him over the top.
* * *
Seen at ringside:
Female boxers Rita Figueroa (second from left), Kristen Gearhart (fourth from left) and Kristen Peterson pose with friends for the camera
On hand with popular professional female boxer Rita "La Guera" Figueroa were amateur female boxers Kristen Gearhart and Kristen Peterson, who have boxed in the Chicago Golden Gloves, plan to compete again this year, and are thinking of heading down to Nationals. Peterson said, “Nationals with women are different than with men. It’s an open tournament and you have to pay to compete in it.”
Popular local fighter Andrzej Fonfara takes in the show with a lovely lady at his side
Rita Figueroa poses with World Boxing Council Lightweight champ David Diaz at ringside
This evening's fight card was presented by Dominic Pesoli's 8 Count Productions, along with TCF Bank, Miller Beer and AeroMexico
David Diaz smiles for Juan C. Ayllon's cell phone camera at ringside
