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04/11/2008 Archived Entry: "Molina Schools Perez, Torres Knocks Out Leon at ‘Odeum Rumble!’"
Molina Schools Perez, Torres Knocks Out Leon at ‘Odeum Rumble!’
Photos and Report by Juan C. Ayllon at ringside
Molina (right) bounces a right off of Perez's jaw while avoiding his counter swings
VILLA PARK, Ill., April 11, 2008—Through the loud cheers at the Odeum Expo Center, a growing chant boomed, “Carlos, Carlos, Carlos!”
Before them, a clean-shaven, bald, smoother muscled kid stood in the eye of the storm, not only handling the missiles lobbed his way by the more sinuous, menacing fighter sporting the flat top and goatee, but repeatedly snapping his head back.
With four knockouts in a record of 9-4-1, Carlos Molina, 24, wasn’t known for his punching prowess, yet here he was trading blows with Luciano Perez, 29, a known banger who in a losing effort (by majority decision) last November nearly knocked out Carlos Baldomir—just 17 months removed from his World Boxing Council Welterweight Title. And Molina was consistently coming out on top.
Of course, it helped that, unlike crude brawling Baldomir, Molina had decent skills. Moreover, when Perez punched, they were ponderous blows often thrown like he was swinging a club, a machete, or pitching a fastball thrown without the benefit of a quick, disrupting left jab to set up the heavy artillery.
Perez (right) bounces a right uppercut off the jaw of Molina
Ironically, Perez had some of his best success around the sixth when he incorporated the jab and drove Molina to the ropes. But by and large, the jab was missing in action. Unless you’ve got speed and reflexes like a prime Roy Jones, Jr., that’s a cardinal sin when facing someone of Molina's caliber.
And no one, but no one, would mistake Perez for Roy Jones, Jr.
That point was painfully obvious in the second round, when Molina was out-speeding and out-landing Perez to such an extent that Perez grew disgusted, stuck his chin out and waved him in. Molina continued to circle and pepper, catching a ponderous right but handling it well.
Perez (right) traps Molina on the ropes and rains down blows as referee John O'Brien looks on
In the third, Perez was consistently eating rights down the middle and hooks to the side of the head. Stubbornly pressing forward, Perez caught Molina in a corner and appeared to hurt him with a thudding right to the side. A brawl broke out. Fighting his way clear of the ropes, Molina made it a point to dig ripping body blows of his own as the two traded furiously.
Molina continued to land crisp rights down the middle and duck, sidestep and block most incoming as he completely outclassed Perez in the fourth.
Obstinate, Perez continued to plod forward, sans the jab, throwing looping power punches.
Molina staggered Perez with a right cross, followed by a straight left to the head in the fifth. However, rather than wilting, Perez stormed back with a furious assault, trapping Molina on the ropes behind a barrage of heavy lefts and rights thrown at head and body. Molina covered and fought back hard with both fists. He forced the bout to the middle of the ring and, coming on, dumped Perez into the ropes with a straight right to the head at rounds end.
Molina (right) sends spray flying off Perez's head with a jarring left hook to the jaw
Catching hell in the sixth, Perez again trapped Molina in a corner, but mostly caught elbows and gloves. The moment passed. Molina repeatedly snapped Perez’s head back with smashing rights in a toe-to-toe exchange in which referee John O’Brien had to pull Perez away from after Perez hit him after the bell.
So withering was the pace that at the end of the seventh, a weary Perez hung onto Molina, who finished strongly.
Molina (right) pins Perez to the ropes and batters away in a climactic finish
Granted, Perez rode that punchers chance to the very end, but in the eighth, Molina cemented his outstanding effort as he landed the more effective—and greater preponderance of—blows in a feverish finish that had the audience shouting.
Their faces said it all. Perez had abrasions and swelling, while Molina looked unmarked. That impression was further underscored by the judges, who scored it 78-74, 80-70 and 77-74 for Molina.
“That was some clean bout,” referee John O’Brien said, laughing. “The head, elbows, the low blows.”
To be sure, O’Brien issued more than his share of warnings over eight rounds: For Molina, it was coming in with his head; for Perez, the warnings focused on pushing down Molina’s head, throwing elbows, and keeping the blows above the waist. It was rugged and gritty, but—yes—it was truly entertaining. Just ask the audience.
With that win, things for “King” Carlos Molina, who owns a draw and a decision loss to undefeated prospect Julio Caesar Chavez, Jr., look a tad brighter. Weighing in at 156 lbs. on Thursday, he now stands at 10-4-1, while the stock of Perez (156.5 lbs.), who may want to reexamine his approach or most certainly face a future as designated rugged and entertaining, but limited opponent, slips to 15-8-1 and 13 knockouts.
Molina and Perez both hail from Chicago, Illinois.
A momentarily stunned Torres (left) finds himself backed against the ropes as Leon pounces
At first, it appeared that Othello, Washington’s undefeated light welterweight prospect David Torres (137 lbs., 19-0, 13 KO’s) might be headed toward defeat, as the slick and hard-punching lefty, Oscar Leon (138 lbs., 27-7, 17 KO’s),--who hails from Cartagena, Colombia—jarred him with some very hard lefts to the jaw. In the latter two rounds, Torres seemed to be adjusting—and landing—with increasing effectiveness. However, no one suspected that the bout would terminate in such fashion.
Taking abuse in the first half of round one, Leon stunned Torres with a left counter that lifted Torres’s lead foot and later, jarred him with another straight left to the head toward rounds end.
Leon (right) batters away while Torres slugs back off the ropes
In the second, Leon hurt Torres with a hard left to the head and unleashed a rugged flurry on the ropes. They traded back and forth. At rounds end, Leon trapped Torres on the ropes and the two swapped blows furiously, having to be broken after the bell.
Torres (left) pressures while Leon throws the right hook
Leon seemed content to retreat as Torres pressured, circling out and waiting to catch Torres coming in and turning it up several notches in the latter half of the rounds.
Torres (right) jars Leon with a right hook to the head in a heated exchange in a corner
Torres appeared to stun Leon with some jarring hooks to the head. Still, as they slugged back and forth, there was a sense that Leon may strike again with dangerous effect.
And then it happened.
Torres stands over a fallen Leon above and, below, referee Gerals Scott counts out Leon
Trading in a furious exchange just off the ropes in the fifth, a short right smashed home to the chin of Leon and, like that, he dropped to his knees. Shaking his head, Leon was counted out by referee Gerald Scott at 1:20 into the fifth round.
A victorious David Torres has his hand raised by referee Gerald Scott
“He was a tough fighter,” a weary Torres said. “I tried to stop moving to my left.”
Yusef Mack (left) on the attack vs. Zamora
With the baseball season just underway, Philadelphia bomber Yusef Mack (176 lbs., 23-2-2, 15 KO’s) put in some good batting practice against Sonora, Mexico’s Ernesto Alonzo Zamora (175.5 lbs., 15-13, 11 KO’s), ultimately stopping him in two.
Mack bombed and hurt Zamora several times in the first round. However, Zamora weathered the storm and was battering away at Mack on the ropes at rounds end.
Mack (left) lands a right to the head of Zamora
Resuming his attack and battering Zamora repeatedly early in the second, Mack tired and laughed as Zamora launched his own counterattack on the ropes. Unfortunately for Zamora, his shoes appeared to be leather soled and didn’t provide good traction on the canvas.
Recharged, Mack mounted another attack and, in the process, dug a low right uppercut into Zamora’s lower abdomen.
Mack (right) pummels Zamora on the ropes
Referee Gerald Scott gave Zamora several minutes to recover. However, it did Zamora little good, as Mack tore into him at rings center and sent him stumbling into the ropes. Looking closely into Zamora’s eyes, Scott waved off the bout at 2:16 into the second.
Scott said, “[Zamora] was way too outclassed. The guy was way too sharp for him. He was getting hit with heavy shots and he couldn’t hurt him. I gave him an eight count, and he had had enough.”
Fonfara (left) and Castillo trade blows
In a scheduled six rounder, popular Polish middleweight by way of Chicago Andrzej Fonfara notched another win, although this one was marred. The more effective of the two, Fonfara won via disqualification over truculent Manuel Castillo.
Castillo (right) bounces a right off of Fonfara's foul protector
The first round was unusually foul-filled, with Fonfara hitting Castillo several times when Castillo slipped to the canvas. In turn, during a clinch, the shorter Castillo leaped up and tossed his left shoulder into 6' 2" Fonfara’s jaw. Stepping back from their brawl, Fonfara found more success as he boxed from long range.
Fonfara (right) goes after Castillo
The two went at it hard in the second. On the ropes, Castillo trapped Fonfara’s head under his left arm and popped him behind his back with his right. Energized, Fonfara fired up his attack when they resumed. In a clinch after some harsh trading inside, Castillo jumped up again and tried bouncing his shoulder off Fonfara’s jaw again. Referee Celestino Ruiz gave him a strong warning.
Suddenly, Castillo came at Ruiz, then Fonfara. Ruiz had enough, waving off the bout at 1:20 into round two for unsportsman like conduct.
With the win, Fonfara rises to 10-1 with 3 knockouts, while Castillo, hailing from East L.A., California, slips to 13-16 with 5 knockouts.
Titsworth (right) punches down on an incoming Popoca with his right
Omaha, Nebraska’s Trenton Titsworth (143 lbs., 2-0-1, 2 KO’s) gave Chicagoan Ivan Popoca (143 lbs., 5-0-1, 5 KO’s) quite a battle in losing by four-round decision. Towering over his shorter adversary by a close to half a foot, he used his long arms to smother Popoca in close and catch him with jarring uppercuts and hooks coming in.
However, as advertised, Popoca came to fight. And with World Boxing Council Lightweight Champ David Diaz in his corner, he took the fight to Titsworth with great relish.
Titsworth jarred Popoca with a heavy right coming in during a fiery first, a round in which both landed hard blows and wrestled in close.
In the second, Popoca delighted the crowd as he repeatedly batted Titsworth’s head back and forth in some heated infighting. That is, when Titsworth wasn’t completely smothering his attack with his long arms. Toward rounds end, however, Titsworth landed a couple more jarring blows to Popoca’s head coming in.
Getting mauled on the inside in the third, Titsworth forced Popoca to hold with a jarring uppercut and follow-up hook to the head. Popoca continued to pressure on the inside.
Popoca (left) bounces a left hook off the jaw of Titsworth
Popoca continued to pressure and draw roars from the crowd with stunning overhand shots as he landing the more frequently in close, but again getting jarred with a couple sharp uppercuts coming in.
Working his corner, World Boxing Council Lightweight Champion David Diaz (right) helps Ivan Popoca remove his right boxing glove after the fight
Judges scored the bout 38-38 and 39-37 twice for a majority decision victory for Ivan Popoca.
Martin (left) lands a devastating right to the chin of Upchurch
Upchurch (right) teeters...
...falls...
...And is out!
“He’s my buddy,” said heavyweight contender Fres Oquendo over the cell phone. “Tell him I said, ‘Hi.’ He was my sparring partner and helped me prepare for my upcoming fight.”
Oquendo was describing Chicagoan Terry Martin (200 lbs), who bears a striking resemblance to Mike Tyson in face and body and, appropriately was dubbed “Mini-Tyson” by several at ringside.
With a record of 16-4 with 10 knockouts and 4 submissions in mixed martial arts—Martin made quite a splash with the crowd in his pro boxing debut, knocking down Ricardo Upchurch (194 lbs., 0-1) twice, the second time for good with a screeching overhand right.
Upchurch was out!
Referee O'Brien tends to Upchurch after the stoppage
An enthusiastic fan celebrates with Martin after his victory
Referee John O’Brien waved off the bout at 47 seconds into round one.
In the show’s opener, Chicago lightweight Juan Antonio Gonzalez (135 lbs., pro debut) and Washington D.C.’s Harold Ikemfuna Orji (133.5 lbs., 1-0) pitched an entertaining give-and-take scrap over four rounds.
In the end, judges ruled it 39-37 for Orji, 39-37 for Gonzalez, and 39-37 for split decision winner Harold Orji.
Celestino Ruiz served as referee.
Heavyweight contender Andrew Golota mugs for the camera at ringside
* * *
Dubbed "The Odeum Rumble," this event was promoted by 8 Count Productions, in conjunction with Miller Lite, TCF Bank and AeroMexico.
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