By Austin Killeen at Ringside August 15, 2015

On Saturday night Legacy Boxing Promotions put on their second fight card; this time at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The exciting main event raised more questions than it answered. One boxer displayed skills that show why he’s considered a solid journeyman capable of opposing the best in his division. Three boxers made impressive statements, statements that they are ready to climb the next rung on the ladder of their boxing careers.   One boxer seemingly with some potential, once again disappointed.

In the main event Tony Valdez (8-4-6, 7 KO’s) 118 lbs. of Española, NM fought to a draw with Gilberto Mendoza (5-4-2, 1 KO) 118.6lbs. of Modesto, CA. At the opening bell both fighters got right down to business. Valdez started landing powerful right hands to the body of his west coast opponent. The pesky Mendoza would respond with rat-a-tat left jabs to the head of the local hero. This was a close round with little clinching, which I gave to the aggressive Valdez. The second round was a repeat of the first, but Mendoza was now blocking many of Valdez’s body shots while continuing to land his own offense.

In rounds three and four the hand and foot speed of Mendoza seemed to confuse the boxer from Española. Valdez was reacting rather than being proactive, often finding himself off balance. Additionally, his right hands to the body were now being consistently blocked by Mendoza. The lighter hitting Mendoza was not only landing his jab but following it up the right hands to the head. He would often land three to five punches before Valdez could tie him up. Surprisingly the power punching Valdez was often retreating, making things easier for his rival.

In the fifth round Valdez appeared to be back in charge. Once again his body shots were landing cleanly and he had Mendoza backing up. With thirty seconds remaining in the round Mendoza moved laterally to his right and caught Valdez off balance with a clean right hand to the head to score a knockdown.   Mendoza was clearly in charge in the final round, with the confused Valdez often retreating. When Valdez did come forward he was met by Mendoza’s elusiveness and stinging left jabs.

The ring announcer read the three score cards. He announced judge Chris Tellez’s score 58-56, judge Anthony Romero’s score, 57-57 and judge Ester Lopez’s score, 59-55; declaring the fight a draw. This led to more confusion because the announcer did not state which opponent Tellez and Lopez voted for. Today it was confirmed that Tellez had scored the fight for Valdez with Lopez voting for Mendoza.

Overwhelmingly the fight people I spoke with had Mendoza winning by a clear margin. Valdez’s supporters were very vocal throughout the fight, crediting him with landing clean body shots   which I felt Mendoza consistently blocked. I’m a big fan of Tony Valdez, as he is always in entertaining fights. But on this night I felt Gilberto Mendoza was robbed of victory in a fight that he had richly deserved.

Speaking with Mendoza by phone this morning, he was still angry. He stated, “The reason boxing is dying is bad decisions. Some judges are influenced by the hometown crowds and their minds are made up before the fight starts.” I responded to Mendoza by saying that bad decisions are as old as boxing itself.

In the semifinal, Elco Garcia (29-9-0, 13 KO’s) 159.6 lbs. of Ignacio, CO won by UD over Rahman Mustafa Yusubov (11-22-0, 9 KO’s) 159.8 lbs. of Dallas, TX. On paper this looked to be a head on collision between two 18 wheelers. But the taller hard punching Garcia used the first three rounds to marinate his opponent’s face behind a very accurate left jab. Boxing is a game of risk vs reward and Garcia was reducing the risk.

In rounds four, five and six Garcia unleashed the heavy artillery, but in doing so allowed Yusubov to land bombs of his own. The fifth was probably Yusubov best round as he caught Garcia with several hard shots to the head. But even in this round, the Colorado fighter’s pinpoint jab got him out of trouble. Scores of 60-54 on all three cards resulted in a unanimous decision for Garcia. I do not know if he could beat the top tier middleweights, but he clearly deserves the opportunity to find out.  

In the evening’s fourth bout, Jesus Pacheco (4-4-0) 123.8 lbs of Albuquerque won by UD over John Herrera (4-13-2, 2 KO’s) 125.6 lbs. of Roswell, NM. This was a very entertaining bout, fought at a fast pace for six rounds. Both boxers had nice left jabs, but Pacheco was more aggressive. Time and again Pacheco would land rights and lefts off his jab, while Herrera was content to just throw jabs.

Throughout the fight Pacheco would throw five punch combinations in an attempt to break through Herrera’s tight defense. Herrera would counter punch with a solid one-two of his own. Since I started grade school five has been a bigger number than two, John needs a new strategy. Scores of 60-54 (2) and 59-55 resulted in a unanimous decision for Pacheco. I concur with the scoring, but each round was contested. As a result the contest was closer than the scores would indicate.

In the evening’s third bout, Angelo Leo (7-0-0, 3 KO’s) 121.8 lbs. of Albuquerque won by UD over Stephon McIntyre (2-10-2) 122.6 lbs. of Jonesboro, GA. This was a battle of attrition with the body punching of Leo the difference. The “Duke City” fighter had a fight plan and he never deviated from it. Leo attacked the body with both hands and gradually broke through McIntyre’s defense. In spite of standing right in front of McIntyre, Leo was a difficult target to hit.

Leo had to work hard all six rounds and served notice he’s ready to step up in competition. Like the previous bout (Pacheco/Herrera) the fight was more competitive than the scores would indicate. I don’t know who McIntyre has been fighting, but he’s far better than his record would indicate. Just when it looked like the Georgia boxer would fold, he’d fire back with some serious offense of his own. For the record, scores of 60-54 three times resulted in a unanimous decision for Leo.

In the evening’s second bout, Jason Sanchez (5-0-0, 2 KO’s) 124.2 lbs. of Albuquerque won by TKO over Damen Wood (0-4-0) 125 lbs. of Portland, OR. The fighter from Oregon was game, but he made the mistake of carrying his left hand low. Sanchez has a rich amateur background and quickly picked up on Wood’s mistake. A right hand to the head dropped Wood mid-way through the first. Only pride and heart can explain how Wood finished the round; most fighters would have folded.

In the second round, Sanchez finished a combination with a right to the head. Once again Wood was on the canvas. Rising on unsteady legs, Wood was an easy target for still another explosive right and again hit the canvas.   Referee Rocky Burke had seen enough and stopped the one sided affair at 2:15 of the round.   With his impressive TKO win, the well built Sanchez might start finding it hard to find opponents willing to get in the ring with him.

In the evening’s opening bout, debuting Robert Sanders 168.8 of Lubbock, TX won by TKO over Rico Urquizo (1-4-1, 1KO) 169.2 lbs. of Clovis, NM. Urquizo started the fight fast, landing hard rights off his accurate left jab. Suddenly the Clovis fighter stopped fighting and laid on the ropes. Sanders started throwing combination in hopes of going home early. The second round was a repeat of the first, with Urquizo again unexpectedly laying on the ropes when he seemed to be on the verge of having Sanders in serious trouble.

That’s when I started to suspect Urquizo was out of shape. Once again the same sequence of events occurred again in the third round. With Sanders throwing punches at the motionless Urquizo, referee Ray Chavez had seen enough and stopped the fight. Robert Sanders was awarded a TKO victory at 2:15 of the third round. The fighter from Clovis protested the stoppage, but if he wants to blame somebody he should try looking in the mirror. Urquizo has a nice personality and some skills, but he’ll never go anywhere on an empty tank of gas.

I didn’t see the first fight card of Legacy Boxing Promotions, but this card was very entertaining. I was impressed by Gilberto Mendoza and surprised by the strategy of the normally aggressive Tony Valdez. I finally got the opportunity to see Elco Garcia in action and he’s a smart, well conditioned athletic boxer. Jesus Pacheco, Angelo Leo and Jason Sanchez all gave impressive performances and can look forward to bigger challenges. Angelo Leo trained in California in preparation for this bout, sparring with WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Leo Santa Cruz.

John Herrera suffers from “sparring partners mentally”, I wish I knew how to change that, but I don’t. Finally, Rico Urquizo is wasting his talents by getting into the ring out of shape. He had more than a fair chance of having his hand raised, but instead sabotaged his own chances. In speaking of Urquizo, I don’t mean to put down Robert Sanders. He was the cause of his opponent’s exhaustion, throwing punches when he had Urquizo on the ropes. Simply stated, Sanders wanted the win more than his opponent.