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12/13/2008 Archived Entry: "Francisco Rodriguez Outworks Gritty Torrance Daniels"
Francisco Rodriguez Outworks Gritty Torrance Daniels
Report and photos by Juan C. Ayllon at ringside
Rodriguez (left) attacks Daniels as referee Gino Rodriguez looks on
CICERO, Ill. – As the largely Latin crowd at Cicero Stadium cheered, a five piece band led by a large thumping drum ushered in Francisco Rodriguez’ ring entrance, perhaps an omen of the pounding he would inflict on his gritty, taller rival, Torrance Daniels.
Following a brisk first round, the second was torrid, as Chicago’s Rodriguez (118 lbs., 13-2, 8 KO’s) raked Colorado Spring’s Daniels (119 lbs., 12-6-1, 5 KO’s) along the ropes and Daniels countered with sharp rights, often trapping Rodriguez’ right arm in between his left elbow and side.
“He’s holding, he’s holding!” various members of the crowd shouted, complaining about Daniel’s tactics throughout. This resulted in several warnings from referee Gino Rodriguez.
Francisco Rodriguez had increased success banging away up close in the third round, snapping Daniels’ head back with straight lefts and an uppercut.
Although he was caught with some sharp counters, Rodriguez surged in the fourth, as Daniels seemed to fade from a systematic body beating in between the head blows.
Daniels (right) bounces a stiff left off Rodriguez' chin
Daniels went down grasping the back of Rodriguez’ knees as he pulled away after sustaining abuse early on in the fifth. Banging away at head and body, Rodriguez even threw in an elbow for good measure. Absorbing a pounding to the midriff, Daniels caught him with a crackling right-left combination and drove him back to the adjacent ropes. However, his success was short-lived, as Rodriguez rallied with another strong body pounding to wrap up the round.
Daniels caught Rodriguez with some sharp rights, prompting Rodriguez’ trainer, Jorge Hernandez to shout, “On your toes, on your toes! You can outbox him!”
At one point, Daniels turned his back and caught a punch to the jaw for his efforts. Angered, Daniels attacked with fury, only to have his arms trapped by Rodriguez for a change. Then back up on his toes, Rodriguez banged away.
The eighth and final round saw some sharp exchanges; Daniels was timing Rodriguez’ dips and ducks better, forcing Rodriguez to come inside or – alternatively – get up on his toes and re-start. It was nip and tuck as both fighters had their moments. However, Rodriguez appeared to edge in a close round.
Judges scored the bout 80-72, 80-72 and 79-73 for Rodriguez, garnering him a unanimous decision win.
“Everybody loves a winner!” trainer Jorge Hernandez bellowed as they entered Rodriguez’ dressing room downstairs. A smiling Rodriguez sat down on a plastic and metal folding chair to have his blood pressure taken by a paramedic.
An exhuberant Rodriguez has his pulse checked by a paramedic after the fight
He said, “It was a good fight. He was a bit dirty, grabbing and holding. There were several times I thought he was going to go down from body shots, but he stayed up in a corner.”
Asked about his future, he said, “I’m hoping to get a shot at a small title next year, maybe the NABO.”
Carlos Molina (left) on the attack
Chicago's Carlos Molina (146 lbs., 12-4, 4 KO’s) systematically battered and dismantled Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico's Roberto Valenzuela (47-44-2, 39 KO’s), who grew less truculent as the rounds passed, inside the distance.
Molina dominated the first two rounds, working Valenzuela over and under, especially with the overhand right. Valenzuela fired back, swinging with malevolence, but often a split second too late. Ducking and stepping to the side, Molina ripped looping blows that sounded like mallets pounding slabs of beef. Had he been born a big puncher, this bout would have ended earlier.
Valenzuela (right) fires back with a short right inside
In the third, Molina upped his work rate to the body, trapping Valenzuela against the ropes and battering away for stretches of time. For his part, Valenzuela took to trapping Molina’s left glove with his right arm and firing back when he could.
Straight right to the body,” shouted Molina’s corner man. “Yeah, that hurt,” he said, as Molina dug a left to his right obliques muscles. “Go around him. Don’t stop. Keep working. Keep that jab working! Let’s work!”
Molina continued the one-sided battering and, at 1:55 with Valenzuela trapped on the ropes, referee Gino Rodriguez halted the bout at 1:55 into the fifth round.
“He didn’t do anything…he never threw anything,” one bemused judge said of Valenzuela afterwards.
A smiling Molina said, “He was a tough kid. He could have gone another round, but the referee stopped it.”
Granados (left) bangs away at Francisco on the ropes
Cicero, Illinois’ exciting puncher, Adrian “El Tigre” Granados (139 lbs., 1-0), survived one anxious moment en route to destroying Crystal River, Florida’s Jesse Francisco (139 lbs., 2-8, 1 KO) in one round.
Granados tore into Francisco viciously with both fists. Suddenly, he was caught with a hard right to the side of the head. His face contorted, taking on a queer “Oh no!” look of distress. A scowling Francisco unleashed mean punches, pursuing him to the adjacent ropes.
Granados goes down!
Escaping, Granados retreated to the other side and was dropped into the ropes with a left hook to the head. He rebounded, but clearly, the ropes had held him up. However, referee Pete Podgorski didn’t count it a knockdown.
“As he fell into the ropes, he bounced right off and he had his balance immediately. I gave him the benefit of the doubt because I felt the punch was only a grazing blow,” Podgorski said. “He barely hit him. It more less seemed like he was trying to get out of the way and he recovered like a gymnast.”
“I think he kind of proved my point as he came right out and immediately pounded away at his opponent.”
Granados (left) tears back into Francisco as referee Podgorski observes
Indeed he did. Furious, Granados stormed Francisco, driving him to the adjacent ropes. There, he unleashed a savage, two-fisted assault, this one even more savage than the first. Winging with all his might, Granados was caught with another jarring right to the head. He wasn’t out of danger yet.
”Keep your hands up!” shouted a corner man.
Francisco grimaces from the punishing right to his side
Sliding to his right, Granados battered head and body, finally dropping Francisco with a punishing body assault. As referee Podgorski counted, Francisco – who was on all fours – threw up. Referee Podgorski counted him out at 2:08 into round one.
A gratified Granados stands in a neutral corner as a finished Francisco vomits from the effects of his body attack
Afterwards, an embarrassed Granados said, “You sometimes get caught,” but added, “I feel great!”
Noe Perez (right) mixes it up with Elijah Muhammad Linder along the ropes
Chicago’s Noe Perez, younger brother of accomplished welterweight banger Luciano Perez and winner of the 132 lb. Championship in the Open Division of the Chicago Golden Gloves this last year, he kicked off his pro debut with an electrifying stoppage victory over Miami, Florida’s Elijah Muhammad Linder.
Perez (128 lbs.) wasted no time lighting into Linder (131 lbs., 1-0), battering him along the ropes in the early moments. Getting careless, he was caught by a sharp right that stemmed his surge. However, it wasn’t long before he returned to his battering ways, jarring Linder with sharp rights and left in close. That said, he moderated his attack to include ducking and head movement.
Linder collapses under the fury of Perez's attack
Referee Podgorski intervenes as Linder takes one more shot
The battering resumed in the second, Snapping Linder’s head back with jarring rights on one side of the ring, he followed Linder to the other side and pounded him to the canvas with a smashing right to the jaw. Linder was clearly out and referee Pete Podgorski wisely waved off the bout at 1:30 into round two. Noe Perez had won his first professional fight by technical knockout.
Noe Perez (center) with his corner and older brother, Luciano Perez (second from left) after his win
Afterwards, a sweating and understated Perez stated that he never was hurt in the first round, adding that he felt, “Good—fine.”
Zepeda (left) slugs away at Williams in the final stanza
It took him six rounds to do it, but Chicago’s beloved, never-say-die Barbaro Zepeda finally got untracked, bringing the roaring crowd – which had remained relatively silent throughout – to life, repeatedly rocking and mauling St. Louis, Missouri’s Danny Williams who thus far had been shutting him out. Slamming his gloves together and yelling at his opponent, Zepeda tore into Williams, who repeatedly held in that stanza.
“It was a good fight—better at the end than the middle,” referee Pete Podgorski said smirking afterwards. Yet it wasn’t quite enough.
Williams dumped Zepeda into the ropes with a hard combination and had him holding on briefly in the second, catching the aggressive Zepeda coming in with quick rights and lefts. Williams continued to dominate in the third, with Barbaro firing some shots after the bell after knocking his antagonist back with a burst at rounds end.
Williams (right) batters Zepeda along the ropes as referee Pete Podgorski keeps a close eye
Zepeda’s normally robust offense was stymied by Williams quick and hard counters. Toward the end of the fifth, Zepeda fired a shot on the break, so frustrated was he. Then in the waning moments, Williams rocked him with an overhand right. However, he was denied his follow-up as the bell rang moments later.
Judges scored the bout 60-54, 58-56 and 58-56 for Danny Williams, 130 lbs., whose record rose to 7-0 with 5 knockouts. Zepeda slipped to 2-20-2 with 2 knockouts.
“It’s only my seventh fight. I hurt my right hand in the first, but he was a tough dude,” Williams said afterwards. “It was a good learning experience.”
Referee Gino Rodriguez looks on as De Oca takes it to Johnson
It was a battle of the Mighty Mites as Chicago’s Sergio Montes De Oca (122 lbs, pro debut) and Cincinnati, Ohio’s Quincy Allen Johnson (124 lbs., 0-1-1) didn’t waste any time, going at each other fast and furious in the first round.
Picking up from the first, De Oca really took it to Johnson in the second, gradually wearing down his stubborn opponent and jarring him toward rounds end. He ignored pleads to attack the body, however, and Johnson weathered his storm.
The drubbing continued into the third. “Body! Body!” shouted trainer Sam Colonna. De Oca obliged, driving a left and right in between Johnson’s elbows. He snapped Johnson’s head back with some quick rights.
Johnson (right) storms back
Johnson took the fight to De Oca early in the fourth, jabbing and popping him with sneaky uppercuts and rights. Then Sergio turned it on. Stalking, he jabbed and battered with rights, forcing Johnson to retreat.
“Let’s go, Sergio,” shouted female boxer Rita Figueroa.
The crowd errupts as De Oca (left) batters Johnson in a corner
Pinned to the ropes catching lefts and rights in the waning moments, De Oca asserted himself with a flourish of lefts and rights, driving Johnson back at the bell.
Judges scored the bout 40-36 thrice for Sergio De Oca.
Female boxer Rita Figueroa with a victorious Sergio De Oca at ringside
“Sergio’s tough. He’s my sparring partner in training,” said a beaming Rita Figueroa afterwards. “He kicks my ass all the time!”
Promoter: 8 Count Productions
* * *
Latin radio and TV personality Sara Vargas and her boyfriend, Robert, at ringside
Chicago Boxing Club co-owner Rick Ramos and boxer Jimmy "Fly" Sandoval mug for the camera
Rick Ramos with a young fighter who works out at his gym
Team Granados in the dressing room area
