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09/20/2008 Entry: "Montano Edges Gonzales in Technical Decision Win, Perez stops Lopez in Four!"
Montano Edges Gonzales in Technical Decision Win, Perez stops Lopez in Four!
By Juan C. Ayllon at ringside
Photos by Kristy Wawersik
Michael Gonzalez (left) and Ramon Montano mix it up in a close and brisk exchange
CICERO, Ill., September 19, 2008 – With only one knockout win in his ledger of 15-5-2, Ramon Montano was quick and skillful enough to go the distance in losing a majority decision at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas to then-World Boxing Council Lightweight champion David Diaz in March 2008. This night, that was enough to get Montano, 26, past largely untested rising prospect Michael Gonzalez, 29, with a technical decision win in six rounds at Cicero Stadium.
Coming in with a goatee and red, white and blue trunks, Las Vegas, Nevada’s Ramon Montano (139 lbs. at weigh-in on Thursday, and with a record of 15-5-2 and 1 KO) was the popular favorite with the largely Mexican fanbase here at Cicero Stadium over Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s Puerto Rican Michael Gonzalez, 29, (138 lbs., 10-4-1, 9 KO’s).
There's an air of anticipation with the kicker of the Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry deftly highlighted by ring announcer Thomas Treiber, as there is a large constituency of Mexican fans here in Cicero.
Montano (right) slugs as Gonzalez covers up
The bell rings. Montano presses behind the jab in round one. He pounces with both fists pumping as he drives his opponent into a corner. Gonzalez counters with both fists, but his surge is drowned out with a large chorus of “Meheeco, Meheeco, Meheeco!”
They trade turns playing matador to the other's bull. Almost forebodingly, referee Gerald Scott warns them to watch their heads as they inadvertently collide. Montano finishes round one with a dominating flurry of lefts and rights.
The two trade at rings center to kick off the second stanza, with Montano digging hard shots to the midsection and Gonzalez countering with crisp blows to the head. Montano is the more accurate of the two, blocking and dodging most incoming and making Gonzalez pay with loud, smacking blows to the waist and occasional shots to the head.
Gonzalez jars Montano with a left hook to the head, which only stimulates Montano to turn it up into overdrive, surging in the waning moments of round two.
As the third round gets underway, Montano slips on some water in a corner, which is wiped clean by a cornerman at Scott’s call.
Montano is superior to Gonzalez in terms of speed and overall skills, as demonstrated by his chops in a sequence in which Gonzalez backs him into the ropes with a series of jabs, only to miss badly with his payoff right. Moments later, it’s Gonzalez who is eating crisp lefts and rights to the head.
Still, Gonzalez lands a sharp right on Montano’s head at rounds end.
Gonzalez lands a smashing left hook to the chin of Montana
Now in the fourth, Gonzalez lands a clean sharp right to the chin after absorbing a two-fisted strafing over and under. They trade furious blows. Montano digs a wicked right to the solar plexus that repels Gonzalez. However, coming back, Gonzalez stuns with a quick right over the top. It’s developing into an intriguing firefight as Gonzalez is now timing Montano better.
Noting the change in momentum in the fifth, Montano walks left, then right, turning this younger bull in front of him who is landing more frequently with potent lefts and rights to the head. Gonzalez backs him to the ropes and lands a glancing right and left to the chin. Montano flurries back. As they trade, there’s a sickening clash of heads. Suddenly, there’s a generous smattering of blood on Gonzalez’s back and the fight stalls for a few moments as a doctor examines a short, deep gash over Montano’s head. Resuming, Gonzalez and Montano trade blows for a few seconds before the bell ends the round.
In between rounds five and six, referee Scott waves the bout over.
Gonzalez jumps up on the ropes three of the four corners of the ring, his arms raised overhead in victory, and is booed for his efforts.
In his polished high tenor voice, officious ring announcer Thomas Treiber bellows over the P.A. that since the cut occurred after the fourth round, it goes to the scorecards. The crowd murmurs in anticipation for several long minutes.
A dejected Montano sports a deep cut on the ridge of his right brow
Finally, the news: “Ladies and gentlemen, due to a severe laceration to the blue corner…” the judges have ruled. They score the bout 48-47 for Montano, 48-47 for Gonzalez, and 48-47 for Ramon Montano, giving Montano a split decision win. The crowd explodes in cheers.
Acknowledging Bolo Punch Boxing Hour’s Chris Guzman’s ringside comment that there were no clear-cut decisions this evening, Judge Jerry Kruse – who’d scored it 48-47 for Gonzalez – said, “Nobody got robbed tonight.” No, they didn’t.
Luciano Perez (left) pounces on Devin Lopez in a corner
It’s funny how women’s intuition often trumps man’s bravado. Prior to their entertaining co-main event, a confident Devin Lopez said of his shorter, hard swinging opponent, Luciano Perez – who appeared a bit fleshy in moving up from welterweight to junior middleweight for their bout – “I’ll do my very best, try as hard as I can and we’ll see what the end result is. I hit hard…if I see him hurt, I’ll try and knock him out.” Then a handful of minutes before the bout, my eyes met with those of Lopez’s wife, which betrayed fear for the safety of her beloved.
Those fears had some merit, as Michoacan, Mexico’s by way of Chicago Perez (154.5 lbs., 15-8-1, 13 KO’s) dismantled Lopez (155.5 lbs., 7-3, 6 KO’s) inside of two rounds.
As round one unfolds, it’s unclear who is predator and who’s prey, as the normally aggressive Perez is tentative versus his taller foe. Perez pumps the jab and knocks Lopez back with a right and left to the midsection. Lopez stands at ring center and waits. He blocks most incoming. Perez bounces a grazing left hook off his jaw. Yet still Lopez stalks, jabs occasionally and looks for the prime opening for his right fist. And misses with another right.
Perez lands a walloping left hook to the jaw, another right, and a left to the side in the second. Turning it up, Perez flurries and jars with a heavy right that bloodies Lopez’s nose.
Like a shark smelling blood, Perez unleashes a frenzied attack. Bulling Lopez into a corner, he slams a booming right to the side of the Lopez’s head, hurting him badly. Trapped against the ropes and propped up by the incoming missiles, Lopez absorbs about four more concussive blows before referee Celestino Ruiz wisely halts the bout at 1:17 into round two.
Referee Celestino Ruiz raises Luciano Perez's hand in victory as Garfield Park trainer Jorge Hernandez (left) looks on
His nose bloodied, shaken but intact, Lopez slumps against the ropes momentarily and, grasping the ropes on both sides, rights himself in the corner and chats with Ruiz. He’s survived Hurricane Luciano and, now that the storm has passed, may return safely home to Merrillville, Indiana with his wife in tow.
The Undercard:
Cedrick Agnew (right) covers as Terrance Smith throws the jab
Chicago’s promising and undefeated light heavyweight Cedrick Agnew (178 lbs., 8-0, 4 KO’s), who won the Vacant World Boxing Council Continental Americas light heavyweight title over Rayco Saunders in May, fought very conservatively in edging out Joplin, Missouri’s Terrance Smith (180 lbs., 5-7-2, 4 KO’s) over six rounds.
The darker and more compact African American of the two, Agnew wore gold and red trunks, while Smith – who was broader and fuller through the belly of his larger muscles – sported red trunks with white trim.
The first round looks promising, as Agnew jumps in behind a left hook to the head, driving Smith to the ropes and follows with a right. Smith counters with a quick left-right combination of his own.
Suddenly, it’s a chess match. What just happened? Did Smith show Agnew some unexpected power? Is he fearful that he may join the growing line of undefeated prospects who unceremoniously lost their perfect records?
Smith is mesmerizing as he moves his head side to side in a slow, serpentine manner and probes with his left glove extended, looking for the slightest opening. Agnew seems transfixed, maintaining a high and tight guard. With seconds left in the first, Agnew unloads, jarring with a lunging left hook to the head, followed by a right. The bell rings moments later.
Smith probes with the left and fires a right early in the second. Agnew follows with a fast left-right, and Smith counters. Agnew likes to lead with the left hook.
Agnew is stalking. Smith retreats and spears with the occasional jab. Smith drives a hard right to the solar plexus, bounces a left hook off the jaw, and a handful of other blows to close the round as Agnew covers up.
Agnew opens the third round jabbing. Smith is measuring with his jab. Agnew jumps in with a left and Smith just misses with a right.
Agnew presses slowly behind a high guard. A right grazes Smith, who counters with a left to the jaw and escapes. They trade in brief bursts.
Agnew (left) on the attack
Smith jiggles his head side to side and lands a stiff jab to the head early in the fourth. Agnew presses forward. A sneaky lead right catches Smith to the face – who digs a straight right into Agnew’s midriff moments later. Agnew is opening up more now. Turning southpaw, Agnew bounces a stiff straight left off Smith’s head moments before the bell.
Smith fires a four-punch volley that lands on Agnew’s gloves, prompting Agnew to go, “Pbbbbbbbt!” early in the fifth. Picking up the pace, Agnew just misses with a hard straight right and fires a blistering four-punch volley that catches shoulders and gloves at the bell.
Agnew rakes Smith with four blows including a straight right to the head in the sixth. Much more aggressive this round than rounds past, Smith nails him with a hard left hook as he turns it up. A hard right catches Agnew down the middle, prompting him to retaliate with a two-fisted counter attack. A right is blocked and another digs to the chest of Smith. Smith rips to the body and mocks.
Smith (left) attacks with the left uppercut as referee Gerald Scott looks on
Agnew ducks under a wide right and is caught off balance by a left hook, nearly stumbles, and retreats from the swarming Smith to center ring. There, he gathers himself for another counter surge. He shimmies his hips and coils up for a launch. But, it’s not to be, as the bell rings. The two embrace and share a few words of mutual admiration.
Afterwards, Agnew kneels in the corner above me and as before the bout, says a silent prayer.
Judges scored the bout 57-57, 59-55 and 58-56 for Cedrick Agnew, who managed a majority decision win.
In a barnburner, Chicago’s entertaining all-offense light heavyweight Gerald Taylor (169 lbs., 4-0, 2 KO’s) suffered his first loss against Colona, Illinois’ durable opponent, Jeffrey Osborne (167.5 lbs. 5-11-2, 2 KO’s).
The shorter, densely muscular black Taylor, who looks like a bad, bad man, wore gray with black trimmed trunks, while the spiky haired blonde Osborne wears black trunks with white and yellow trim. Judging on appearances alone, if this was a spaghetti western, sure, Taylor would wear the black hat, but all bets would be on the villain.
Not surprising, it’s trench warfare form the get-go in the first round, as Taylor throws ponderous lefts and rights. he walks into a right uppercut
Taylor is punishing Osborne with lefts and rights in close. It’s obvious he’s going for a first round knockout.
Suddenly, Osborne drops Taylor with a looping right!
Taylor receives a standing eight count. Resuming, the two tangle at close quarters. Taylor swings for the head, while the more seasoned Osborne digs to the body.
Swinging for the fences in the second, Taylor rocks Osborne, who retreats to the ropes and covers. They stand shoulder to shoulder trading. A left hook by Osborne dumps Taylor into the ropes. They trade in close.
And then, bang! A right hook by Taylor drops Osborne, who receives an eight count.
Rising, Osborne smothers Taylor’s blows, alternatively tying up, throwing short punches. Osborne again rakes the middle with a four-punch combination. Taylor digs a hard right to the middle near rounds end.
Taylor wings wide left and right hooks and jars with a left uppercut in the third. Mixing it up, Osborne digs some hard rights to the belly. Osborne bounces a right and left off Taylor’s head as Taylor batters. Then turns Taylor to the ropes. Taylor pushes his way free and the two combatants trade single blows leaning head to shoulder. Pinning Taylor on the ropes, Osborne rips to the body, lands a hard left hook to the head—drawing cheers from the crowd—and catches one in return as Taylor muscles him to the adjacent ropes.
Osborne bounces a stiff jab off Taylor’s chin in heated action in the fourth. Resuming the trench warfare, Taylor rakes Osborne over and under in close. Osborne surges back in close. He leans his body and uses his head a little to pin Taylor again in a corner, he digs a right and left to Taylor’s sides and, later bounces six lefts and rights again off Taylor’s midsection.
To everyone’s surprise, Taylor kicks off the fifth round up on his toes and throwing the left jab. Momentarily. Then he unloads on Osborne who covers in a corner doing a white man’s version of Ali’s “Rope a Dope.”
Now it’s Osborne’s turn. He batters for a while. Then Taylor walks him back across the ring. They grapple in close. A right uppercut snaps Taylor’s head back. More leaning and shoving at close quarters. Osborne digs lefts to the belly, ducks under a wide left and leans in close.
Taylor storms out in the sixth and final round with both fists flailing, but is tied up and ripped to the body. More lefts and rights to the belly and a left to the head by Osborne!
In close, Osborne rips to the side. Taylor catches him with a sneaky right, but Osborne falls back in. Getting some distance, Osborne rips to the head with a left right that draws a collective “Ooh!” from the crowd. Taylor is pinned to the ropes and Osborne is whaling to his body.
Taylor powers out, only to be pushed back to the ropes again. More blows to the midriff by Osborne. Taylor can’t get his punches off! Exhausted, they trade a few cumbersome blows at the bell and embrace afterwards.
Judges score the bout 57-56 for Osborne, 58-55 for Taylor, and 57-55 for Osborne, who won by split decision.
“He was tough, he was strong,” said Osborne afterwards. “However, I gave him the ‘Rope a Dope’ and could feel him tiring. I could hear it in his voice when he was talking…I was tiring, too, but I was in good shape. I wish my timing was better—I didn’t get enough sparring in before this fight.”
Chicago’s gutsy, but shopworn Miguel Angel Figueroa (4-6-1, 3 KO’s) did his best, but it wasn’t enough against Crystal Lake, Illinois’ Jeffrey “The Big Frog” Curran (135.5 lbs., 1-2-1, 1KO), who stopped him in three rounds.
This was a badly faded Figueroa who, in the opinion of this writer, could have easily dispatched Curran in his best day. However, that was a long time ago. The punches have accumulated and his shelf life has expired.
As with many boxers who linger too long in the ring, that fact is apparently lost on Figueroa, who wades in swinging in the first with his patented slow, wide-swinging face-first attack. He takes the fight to Curran, who’s fleeter and faster with his blows.
Swarming, Figueroa sways from the force of sharp counters but continues to press. He’s already got a small nick on the bridge of his nose. Suddenly, Figueroa drops to his haunches from a left hook and receives a standing eight count from referee Gerald Scott.
The fight resumes and it’s not too long before Figueroa falls again from a hard left jab. He receives another standing eight count. The bell rings.
Nonplussed, Figueroa swarms awkwardly in the second with wide hooks and uppercuts. Buffeted by blows, like a Piper Cub plane encountering heavy turbulence, he sways this way and that.
Cheers give way to laughter. That’s right: Like Curran, some people in the audience are openly laughing at Figueroa. How sad.
Still he plugs on. He lands a very wide hook to the head and misses badly with a wide right. He lands a late right hook to the head a moment after the bell, prompting more derisive laughter from Curran. Still, this round, Figueroa threw – and landed the greater preponderance of blows.
The third round follows a similar pattern and referee Gerald Scott deducts one point for a low blow by Figueroa who, like the U.S. Army’s M-16 rifle, is effective not due to accuracy, but by filling the air with bullets – or in the case of Figueroa, punches – fired in the general direction of opponents. They trade, Figueroa lands some, and lurches about from flush return shots to the head by Curran.
”Stop it! Stop it,” shouts reporter Guzman.
The bout continues a little longer, Figueroa landing, but catching and lurching a little more. Referee Gerald Scott waves the bout off after Figueroa catches a few more, halting the bout at 1:38 into round three. Curran wins by TKO.
Kicking off the evening, St. Louis, Missouri's little “Dangerous” Danny Williams (135 lbs., 3-0, 3 KO’s) undoubtedly spent more time braiding back his hair than fighting, as he terminated Whiting, Indiana’s Michael Thomas Maley (136.5 lbs., 1-4, 1 KO) early in the first round.
Wearing silver and black trunks, Williams started out aggressively, catching Maley (who sported a five o’clock shadow and gold trunks) with a pair of lead rights early and another seconds later. Stalking his taller foe, he lashed out with another straight right to the head. Maley collapsed. He rose after five to six seconds, but he wore the expression of a thoroughly beaten fighter. Referee Celestino Ruiz intervened, halting the bout at 1:11 into round one.
Promoter: Dominic Pesoli's 8 Count Productions
