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05/27/2008 Archived Entry: "Jason Davis Gets By Leo Martinez"
Jason Davis Gets By Leo Martinez
By Ricardo Ibarra
Photos by Mike Blair
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Davis (left) lands the right on Martinez
In what turned out to be a tougher fight than expected, Vancouver, Washington’s Jason Davis (10-1-1 2KOs 141 lbs.) scored a ten round unanimous decision over journeyman Leo Martinez (13-11 6KOs 138 lbs.) this past Saturday May, 24th at the Emerald Queen Casino of Tacoma, Washington. The bout headlined Brian Halquist Productions’ sixty-fifth show at the venue.
Davis, who was coming off an impressive showing last March, had a good start to the bout as he used his jab and lateral movement to stay away from his opponent’s wild swings. Martinez, an awkward brawler with a solid right hand, continued to press forward, leading with right hands. By the third round the continuous pressure of Martinez seemed to be bothering Davis. The local prospect abandoned his movement and elected to trade with his opponent, finding success on occasion, but also leaving himself open for counters. As Martinez closed the distance and began to land more often, Davis began to clinch a lot, making the round an ugly one.
In the fourth and fifth rounds Martinez found his mark with greater consistency, landing repeatedly with overhand rights. Davis, usually a quick, defensive fighter, seemed to have trouble staying away from his opponent’s punches. As the rounds wore on, Davis was forced to clinch to maintain control on the inside.
The seventh round was a pivotal one for Davis. Snapping his jab and moving side-to-side, the crowd favorite began to find his rhythm once again. The aggression of Martinez did not stop, but, Davis found the answer in the form of a sharp counter left hook. For the remainder of the fight Davis controlled the range and peppered his opponent with straight rights and left hooks. The official scores read 98-92, 97-93, 97-93, giving Davis his tenth professional victory.
As the career of this northwest prospect progresses he finds himself falling into a rut of inconsistency. After an impressive victory over the awkward Derrick Moon last March, Davis struggled to maintain his momentum and did not look like the same fighter in this most recent outing. Much of that may have to do with the face first style of the tough Leo Martinez, but it seems clear that Davis has a few things to work on before he takes a major step up in competition.
Armstrong (left) presses Gutierrez on the ropes
The co-main event of the night was by far the best fight of the night as Jr. Middleweights Cedrick Armstrong (7-1 2KOs 154 lbs.) and Enrique Gutierrez (10-3 8 KOs 152 ½ lbs.) engaged in six non-stop rounds of back and forth slugging.
Both fighters began the bout working behind their jabs, but quickly found themselves in the pocket trading big power shots. Armstrong, the shorter fighter, had an edge on the inside, though not by much, as he blocked and fired with intensity to his opponent’s head and body. Although they were close, Armstrong managed to carry the first three rounds with a higher connect rate.
In the fourth round Gutierrez found an edge as he maintained his distance and worked from the outside. Armstrong came out strong in the fifth and quickly closed the distance, forcing Gutierrez to fight on the inside.
In the final round the Tacoma fight crowd was treated to an intense, wild exchange as both fighters stood their ground, trading vicious punches in the center of the ring. The final tallies read 58-56, 58-56, 57-57, awarding the majority decision to Vancouver, Washington’s Cedrick Armstrong.
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Finney(R) hurts Biechler
Fighting out of Sun City, California, Mike Finney (1-0 1KO 237 lbs.) made his professional debut in rather easy fashion as he dished out a one-sided beating over Travis Biechler (2-7 2KOs 212 lbs.) of Denver, Colorado.
From the start of the fight, it seemed that Biechler was in for a rough night against the taller Finney. A hard uppercut caught Biechler flush on the face, unleashing a stream of blood from his nose. Finney rushed his opponent, opening up with wild over hand rights and lefts, battering Biechler around the ring.
A right uppercut forced Biechler to take a knee. Biechler made it up before ten, but his corner had seen enough.
The fight was mercifully stopped at 2:18 of the first round.
In a fight that shows how much records can be deceiving, Dustin Guillemin (2-4 151 lbs.) scored his second professional victory with an impressive second round stoppage of Jacob Ruffin (1-10-2 153 lbs.)
Coming into this bout with a record of one win and four losses, not much was expected from Guillemin. The stocky Jr. Middleweight surprised everyone when he quickly began to display some solid boxing skills. Jabbing and maneuvering his way inside his opponent’s longer reach, Guillemin scored with precise left hooks and right hands. A hard straight right put Ruffin in serious trouble mid-way through the first round. Ruffin tried to stay away, but Guillemin angled his way inside and continued to land with effective right hands.
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Guillemin (left) lands a left on Ruffin
In the second round Guillemin worked well behind his jab and quickly stunned his opponent once again with a hard left hook. A left hook followed by a right uppercut sent Ruffin down to the canvas. Ruffin made it up, but he was clearly on shaky legs. The referee allowed the action to resume, but only momentarily as Guillemin put Ruffin down again with a three punch combination. The referee waved the fight off at 1:46 of the second round.
Ben Metts (1-0 1KO 139 lbs.) of Beaverton, Oregon made an impressive entrance into the professional boxing ranks as he disposed of Damian Wilson (1-2 137 lbs.) inside of the first round. Metts used a solid jab and good combination punching to quickly take control of the bout. Moving effectively in and out of the pocket, Metts asserted himself with three and four punch combinations. A hard uppercut forced Wilson to take a knee mid-way through the round. After a mandatory eight-count, Metts swarmed his opponent, opening up with hard hooks to the head and body. A left hook-right hand sent Wilson down for the final time. The referee waved it off a 2:47 of the first round.
In the evening’s opener, Rafael Umarov (1-0 160 lbs.) made his professional debut, pitching a four round shutout over fellow novice Tim Kane (0-1 164 lbs.) Umarov took control of the fight early, pressing behind his jab. He continued to work behind his jab throughout the fight, while his opponent looked to land power punches. In the end the busier and more precise Umarov carried all four rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.
Brian Halquist Productions and the Emerald Queen Casino have a busy month of June planned as they look to expand the variety of fight sports featured at the venue. On June 7th the casino will feature an MMA card, while boxing is back on June 28th.
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Metts pressures Wilson (right)
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Umerov (left) and Kane mix it up
