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05/06/2008 Archived Entry: "Peter Manfredo Dominates in Idaho"
Peter Manfredo Dominates in Idaho
By Ricardo Ibarra at ringside
Photos by Nowelle Ibarra
Manfredo (left) pumps the jab in Lopez's face
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island's Peter Manfredo Jr. (30-5 15KOs 169 lbs.) needed just three rounds to assert his dominance and dish out a one-sided thrashing over Othello, Washington’s Luis Lopez (14-13-1 6KOs 168 lbs.) at the Coeur D’Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho this past Saturday, May 3rd.
Lopez, who came in to the fight looking fit and in shape, employed a tactical game plan early on in the first round, maintaining his distance and jabbing out of a southpaw stance. Manfredo meanwhile stalked patiently, working behind his jab and stepping in with his straight right. In the final moments of the first round Manfredo landed flush with a thunderous overhand right, sending Lopez crashing to the canvas. Lopez beat the count just in time to make it out of the round, but as he walked back to the corner it was clear he would have to dig down deep if he was to going make it out of this fight on his feet.
Early in the second round Manfredo scored with a precise straight right, sending Lopez down once again. The game but outmatched Lopez beat the count and, seemingly resigned to the fact that he needed a miracle to beat Manfredo, pressed the fight, firing off wild, looping hooks. Manfredo capitalized on his opponent’s aggression and snapped his head back with a hard uppercut. A left hook to the head brought Lopez down once again. After the mandatory eight-count, Manfredo pressed the fight, landing with hard left-right-left combinations. Lopez gamely fired back, ending the round trading with Manfredo.
Above, Lopez bounces a left off the chin of Manfredo and, below, the two mix it up
At the start of the third round, it was Lopez who decided to press the fight. Trading on the inside, Lopez managed to hold his own with the quicker, stronger Manfredo through the early portion of the round. Midway through the round, though, Manfredo connected with a jarring left hook, buckling the knees of Lopez. Another left hook had Lopez in serious trouble at the end of the round. In between rounds Lopez’ corner-man Sam DiTusa mercifully called it, giving Manfredo a third round TKO.
Manfredo adds his second straight victory, both inside the distance, since losing to Jeff Lacy five months ago. He is scheduled to fight again in three weeks in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
Above, Medina lands the knockout blow and, below, Obregon is OUT!
In an exciting co-main event, local favorite Favio Medina (18-1-2 7KOs 149 lbs.) of Sand Point, Idaho, scored a vicious fourth round KO over Miami, Florida’s David Obregon (12-5 7KOs 156 lbs.) Medina, usually a tactical starter, began the bout at an unusually aggressive tempo, stepping in behind a hard jab and firing off quick three and four punch combinations. Medina seemed bent on scoring a knockout, but, in pressing the fight so contentiously, he left himself open for Obregon’s retaliations. A solid left hook caught Medina on the chin as he fired a looping hook of his own. Both men stood in the center of the ring trading hard hooks, giving the sold out crowd a reason to stand and cheer.
Medina took a more measured approach in the second round, choosing instead to use his jab and lateral movement to control the distance. He controlled the round with effective counter punching and a solid work rate. In the third Obregon lost a point early for low blows. Seemingly determined to make up for the deduction, Obregon pressed the fight, throwing wild punches and leaving himself open for counters. Medina scored with a left-right-left, dropping Obregon for an eight count. Medina stepped up the pressure in the fourth round, landing almost at will with big rights. Obregon wobbled as he took a right flush on the jaw, but continued to fire back. Another right pushed him back to the ropes, where Medina landed a two punch combination that disconnected Obregon from consciousness before he even hit the canvas. The referee waved off the fight off at 20 seconds into the fourth round with Obregon laying face down.
At left, Bloomfield lands a jarring jab to the head of Bercier
In a six round heavyweight bout, Villi Bloomfield (8-3-1 4KOs 226 lbs.) of Everett, Washington and Leo Bercier (5-6-1 4KOs 228 lbs.) of Great Falls, Montana met up for the second time in three months. The two fought to a four round draw in an exciting, closely contested fight back in February. Bloomfield would leave no room for doubt this time out as he took a unanimous decision. Using an improved defense, a solid jab, and good lateral movement, Bloomfield controlled the distance and managed to stay away from a lot of Bercier’s heavy punches throughout the bout. Bercier had a good round in the second when he closed the distance and drilled Bloomfield with hard hooks to the body. But, it was Bloomfield who controlled the majority of the rounds with a solid work rate and accurate counter punching. All three judges scored the bout 59-55 for Bloomfield.
Newman Lake, Washington’s Skyler Anderson (9-1-1 6KOs 248 lbs.) had an easy night, dispatching of Tyrone Muex (10-26-4 3KOs 204 lbs) inside of three minutes. Snapping his jab in Muex’s face, Anderson quickly stunned the shorter Tennessean with a left hook. A two punch combination forced Muex to take a knee, but the referee did not see it fit to rule it a knockdown. Anderson stepped in with a hard overhand right and a right hook to the body. Muex took a knee and stayed down for the full ten-count. Anderson adds his sixth knockout at 2:58 of the first round.
Santiago (left) opens up on Gonzalez
In a four round lightweight bout, Juan Santiago (4-1 3KOs 136 lbs.) of Denver, Colorado appeared to be on his way to an easy victory over Daniel Gonzalez (8-16-2 131 lbs.) before running out of gas and succumbing to the pressure of the journeyman from Montana. Santiago easily controlled the first three rounds with superior boxing skills. Working behind an effective jab, Santiago moved in and out of the pocket, peppering his opponent with quick combinations. By the third round Gonzalez was bleeding profusely, but, undeterred, he continued to apply pressure, shooting hard shots to the body at every opportunity.
Gonzalez (left) lands the right
At the start of the fourth round Santiago looked exhausted. Gonzalez immediately applied the pressure, shooting hooks from all angles at his now slow moving opponent. A series of right hooks to the ribcage wobbled Santiago and drove him back to the ropes. Gonzalez pressed, letting his hands go with a barrage of unanswered punches, forcing the referee to step in and stop the bout. The end came at 1:18 of the fourth round.
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Woolnough (right) comes forward
Canadian super middleweight Mark Woolnough (18-5-1 5KOs 168 lbs.) had a tougher time than many had expected, but he managed to take a close six round unanimous decision over Jonathan Reid (34-9 19KOs 164 lbs.) Both fighters got off to a fast start, working behind a jab and looking for an opening for their power shots. Woolnough, the southpaw, slipped in straight lefts behind the jab while Reid, the orthodox fighter, fired straight rights down the middle. The two fighters split the first two rounds with neither really controlling the momentum of the fight. In the third round a counter right followed by a hard left hook dropped Woolnough for a mandatory eight-count. Woolnough shook it off and pressed the fight, picking up his work rate and landing with quick one-twos. In the fourth round the momentum shifted in Woolnough’s favor as he took control of the bout with a precise jab and good lateral movement. Woolnough managed to stay away from Reid’s right hand and land on a consistent basis with solid one-twos. All three judges saw the bout 57-55 for Woolnough.
In the first bout of the night, Edwin Rodriguez (5-0 4KOs 165 lbs.) of Worcester, Massachusetts stopped Billings, Montana’s Michael Birthmark (1-3 167 lbs.) in the first round. Rodriguez walked his opponent down early, stepping in with power shots. Birthmark fired back wildly and paid the price as he ate counter punches from Rodriguez. A left hook on the chin dropped Birthmark for an eight count. The referee allowed the action to resume, but only momentarily as he was forced to jump in and save Birthmark from further punishment. Rodriguez scored the first round TKO at 2:46.
Promoter Moe Smith and the Coeur D’Alene Casino put together an excellent Cinco De Mayo celebration, complete with live Mexican music. The venue continues to deliver some of the best fight cards in the Pacific Northwest.
