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02/23/2008 Archived Entry: "Favio Medina Beats Santos Pakau in a Memorable Fight"
Favio Medina Beats Santos Pakau in a Memorable Fight
Story and Photos by Ricardo Ibarra
Medina (at left) lands a left while swapping blows with Pakau
Local favorite Favio Medina (17-1-2 7KOs 146 lbs.) had his hands full this past Thursday, February 21st at the Couer D’Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho. What many thought would be an easy assignment for the young prospect turned out to be a bloody back and forth battle as New Zealand native Santos Pakau (27-6-1 10KOs 145 lbs.) gave a solid effort in a losing bid for the C.A.M welterweight title.
Both fighters began the bout at a slow pace, patiently looking for openings. Pakau maneuvered around the ring flicking his jab, while the notoriously slow starting Medina looked for an opening to counter with his right. The slow pace picked up early in the third round as a big right from Medina caught Pakau flush on the jaw and sent him falling to the canvas. The knockdown seemed to energize Pakau as he abandoned his boxing and pressed forward with a sustained attack. Many of his punches missed, but, what did land caught the attention of Medina and backed him off for the remainder of the round.
The fourth round was fought on even terms as both fighters traded hard punches. Medina found his mark with his hard right hand throughout the round while Pakau stepped in and out of the pocket with crisp one-two combinations. A big left hook from Pakau caught Medina on the chin and seemed to have him in some trouble to close out the round.
Medina found his legs in the fifth and took over the bout with effective, hard punching, mainly with his right hand. Pakau showed his determination throughout, maintaining a quick pace and making the fight exciting, but, while Pakau made most rounds competitive, Medina seemed to have a slight edge in the middle portions of the fight.
By the championship rounds, both fighters were covered in blood, bleeding from the nose, and exhausted from ten rounds of back and forth fighting. Pakau, perhaps sensing that he was behind, opened the eleventh round with renewed vigor. He snapped his opponents head back with crisp jabs and right hands. A big left hook midway through the round buckled the knees of Medina and sent him reeling back to the ropes. Medina fired back wildly, to the delight of the crowd, as the two fighters engaged in a brutal back and forth exchange. Pakau closed out the round landing repeated uppercuts and stunning his opponent once again.
In the final round, Medina showed why he has such a loyal following in the northern Idaho region. Visibly exhausted, with his nose seemingly broken and bleeding profusely from it, Favio Medina rushed his opponent, letting his hands go, throwing hard punches from all angles. Pakau fired back, trading punch for punch. The bout would end with both fighters swinging wildly and the crowd voicing their approval with a standing ovation.
The judges’ scorecards read 119-109, 114-113, and 119-109.
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Cruz (right) presses Sukerow
In the semi-main event Darelle Sukerow (14-15-1 5KOs 141 lbs.) out-boxed fellow journeyman fighter Arthur Cruz (21-17-4 11KOs 141 lbs.) over eight rounds. Sukerow used his legs and excellent head movement to avoid his opponent’s punches. He controlled the majority of the bout with precise counter punching, countering with 3 and four punch combinations throughout. Cruz never stopped coming forward though, and found some success in the eighth round with his right hand. Unfortunately in that same round Sukerow landed a perfectly timed left hook that dropped Cruz for an eight count. The judges’ scored the bout 79-72, 80-72, 80-71.
A three year lay-off can do major damage to a young fighter’s progression. Rebuilding any momentum previously built-up can be hard. But, after a long stretch of inactivity, Mark “the Machine Gun” Woolnough (17-5-1 5KOs 168 lbs.) seems to be picking up right where he left off. He added his third straight victory in six months with a lop-sided six round unanimous decision victory over awkward Manny Castillo (13-15-3 5KOs 167 lbs.). Woolnough turned in a workman like performance as he patiently controlled the bout with a steady stream of jabs and straight lefts out of a southpaw stance. Castillo had no answer for the precise and persistent work of his opponent as he took a beating down the stretch. All three judges scored the bout 60-54.
Leo Bercier (5-5-1 4KOs 222 lbs) was able to pull himself out of certain defeat with a fifth round TKO over Ija Flapping Eagle (2-1-1 2KOs 266 lbs), building on his reputation as one of the most exciting fighters out of the state of Montana. Flapping Eagle set the tone of the fight from the outset as he pressed Bercier, letting his power punches go and landing solidly to the head. Bercier fired back, trading with his opponent and paying the price as he took repeated right hands. A hard, looping right sent Bercier down for an eight count. Bercier, seemingly out on his feet, survived the onslaught of punches from his opponent by using lateral movement to avoid further punishment. He was able to find some success with solid body punches behind his jab. In the second round both fighters traded momentum as Flapping Eagle pressed the exchanges while Bercier tried to maintain his distance. A big right hand from Bercier had Flapping Eagle on shaky legs to close out the round.
Flapping Eagle did not let up in the third round as he pressed the action. Bercier answered back with solid shots to the head. Mid-way through the round Flapping eagle made the unfortunate choice of dropping his hands in a taunting manner, daring his opponent to hit him. Bercier did what any fighter should do in that situation…oblige the request. With his hands at his sides, Flapping eagle took four vicious hooks to the head before moving away. A straight right from Bercier sent Flapping Eagle to the canvas. He would get up only to be knocked down once again at the end of the round.
In the fourth round Bercier pressed the attack early, hoping to end the fight. Flapping Eagle proved to be a tough opponent, though, as he took Bercier’s best shots and kept throwing back. Bercier’s early efforts left him vulnerable, as he seemed to punch himself out midway through the round. Both fighters seemed exhausted, but Flapping Eagle was able to pull ahead in the round with hard uppercuts and hooks. Both fighters started the fifth round huffing and puffing, but throwing punches, trading wildly as the crowd screamed in appreciation. The bout would come to a sudden end as Bercier let loose with a vicious right hand-left hook combination that put Flapping Eagle down and out. The referee immediately waved the fight off at 2:08 of the fifth round.
Anderson (left) lands the uppercut
Local Heavyweight hopeful Skyler Anderson (8-1-1 5KOs 246 lbs.) had an easy night, scoring a second round TKO over game but out-matched Justin Wrede (2-9-2 2KOs 237 lbs.) Anderson easily picked Wrede apart with quick, accurate counter punching, battering his opponent around the ring for the full duration of the bout. In the second round a left hook sent Wrede to the canvas. Wrede would beat the count, but, the referee mercifully stopped the bout seconds later to avoid any further damage. The end came at 2:14, awarding the second round TKO victory to the always impressive Anderson.
Jorge Barajas (5-0 2KOs 150 lbs.) of Idaho Falls, Idaho made a successful comeback after an eight year hiatus from the sport with an impressive TKO over Jess Salway (2-9-1 152 lbs.). Barajas turned in a solid performance, pressing the fight early on, and working behind his jab. He was able to repeatedly find a home for his right hand and left hook combinations. He had a Salway down twice in the first round and three times in the third before finally putting him down for the final time in the fourth round. The end came at 2:14 of the fourth round.
In the evenings opener, Sean Burke (2-0 2KOs 242 lbs.) of Orlando, Florida remained undefeated with a second round TKO over Gary Temple (226 lbs). Temple, who was making his pro debut, had a good first round, pressing early on and finding the mark with effective shots in close. In the second round, Burke took over with crisp one-two combinations. A quick right hand to the head sent Temple down for an eight count. Temple made it up but was quickly deposited on the canvas for the last time with a jarring overhand right to the chin. The referee called a halt to the bout 1:28 of the second round.
The House of Fury at the Coeur D’Alene Casino did not disappoint the packed, raucous crowd. As always Moe Smith put on a stellar show. Fightnews.com correspondent Sam Ditusa presented the longtime promoter with the Northwest promoter of the year award.
The next show is scheduled for May 3rd. You can get your tickets at the Coeur D’Alene Casino box office.
