By: Austin Killeen – Ringside – August 29, 2015

On Saturday night at Patriot Stadium, Tony Aguilar and Golden Eagle Promotions held a six bout card. Rain clouds threatened to KO the evening’s proceedings, but Mother Nature is a fight fan and rain drops dared not ruin the evening. As a result the fans saw some entertaining bouts under pleasant weather conditions. Abie Han demonstrated why he’s one of the top middleweights in the country. Adam Vasquez remained undefeated, while big brother Ricky also entered the winner’s circle. Enrique Iglesias look-a-like Josue Garcia also had his hand raised, but not before overcoming upset minded Kevin Croom. Han’s stablemate Tim Meek righted his career, ending a three bout slide. Debuting L’Darious Whetstone looked impressive in his inaugural voyage in the punch-for-pay ranks.

In the main event, Abie Han (25-3-0, 15 KO’s) 163.8 lbs. of El Paso KO’d Freddy Lopez (9-2-0, 7 KO) 162.6 lbs. of Casas Grandes, Mexico. In a slow first round, Lopez landed a hard right to the face of Han. But the Mexico invader was unable to follow it up. Han was pretty quiet himself, but busier than his opponent to capture the round. In the second Han found his grove, which was bad news for Lopez. Behind a series of lighting fast left jabs, Han seamlessly landed a devastating left hook behind the right elbow of Lopez. The boxer from Casas Grandes hit the canvas in serious pain and the ten-count was just a mere formality at 2:25 of the round.

Reporter Eduardo Moran of Juarez, Mexico called the punch “gamcho al hiado” or as us gringos call it a hook to the liver. Whatever language you use, Han looked sharp and earned the right to face tougher competition. Asked what’s next, Han responded; “Hopefully I get a big fight, if not I’m going to stay active and keep busy.” Lopez had a reputation as a banger, but was too busy dealing with Han’s excellent jab to launch any meaningful offense. Trainer Louie Burke did a nice job getting Han ready for the fight.

In the semifinal, Adam Vasquez (5-0-1) 146.2 lbs. of Las Cruces, NM won by UD over Hector Garza (3-16-0, 2 KO’s) 147 lbs. of Harlingen, TX. Don’t be fooled by southpaw Garza’s record he’s a tough kid. He has a nice overhand left and tried to get Vasquez out of his comfort zone all night. But Vasquez knows what he has to do to win, and once again was able to set the pace most of the bout. After a slow first round, Vasquez started moving laterally which created openings; openings he was able to capitalize on. Scores of 60-54 on all three cards resulted in a unanimous decision for Vasquez.  This was Adam’s first time going the six round distance. When I asked him how he like it, he responded, ‘I liked it, it’s more fun for me. I like it more than a four rounder, I get more action.”

In the evening’s fourth bout, Josue Garcia (5-3-0, 3 KO’s) 146 lbs of El Paso won by UD over Kevin Croom (1-4-1, 1 KO) 150.4 lbs. of Moberly, MO. With his good looks and elegant style Garcia has become a fan favorite with the females. Perhaps that’s why he moved about the ring like a dancer during the first two rounds, but he sure wasn’t moving his hands. Croom is a spoiler and came to fight. I thought he captured the first two rounds with multiple blows to the head and body.

Somebody must have lit a fire under Garcia between rounds because he answered the third with new found urgency. Suddenly Croom was in trouble and he hit the canvas the result of a right uppercut.   Beating the count he walked into a left hook, resulting in a second eight count. Rising on unsteady legs, Croom blocked an overhand right with his head resulting in a third knockdown. Mercifully the bell sounded before Garcia could find his mark again.  Garcia must have thought he had done enough to win the decision because the fourth round was much like the opening two rounds; very close. All three judges scored the fight 38-35 for Garcia. Apparently the number three must be the lucky number for the Enrique Iglesias look-a-like, because round three saved the night. When I asked him why he had so much difficulty tonight he responded; “For some reason I thought it was a six rounder and took my time.”

In the evening’s third bout, Ricky Vasquez (5-2-1, 2 KO’s) 129.2 lbs. of Las Cruces, NM won by UD over debuting Jose Ortiz 129 lbs. of Dallas, TX. On paper this looked like an easy assignment for Vasquez, but Ortiz never saw the paper. Much of the contest was fought in a phone booth. (Do they still have phone booths?) Vasquez’s experience and quick hands proved to be the difference, as he anticipated Ortiz’s attack and landed more punches.

But Vasquez was in love with his radar defense in which he tried to slip punches with his hands down, but ended up eating some solid shots by the determined Ortiz. Apparently the weather conditions jammed Vasquez’s radar from time to time. Vasquez appears to have some serious upside, but he better leave the no-hands defense in the gym until he perfects it. For a debuting boxer Ortiz was impressive and would do well with fighters of less experience than Vasquez. Scores of 39-37 twice and 40-36 resulted in a unanimous decision for Vasquez.

In the evening’s second bout, Tim Meek (3-2-1, 2 KO’s) 168.6 lbs. of El Paso won by UD over Omar Barfield (0-10-1) 166.4 lbs. of Pomona, CA. This was four rounds of classic boxing behind solid left jabs by both boxers. In the first two rounds Meek set the pace behind a sharp jab, overhand rights and left hooks. His offense was flowing. Although his style is different than Adam Vasquez, like Vasquez Tim does well when working at a distance.

In the third and fourth rounds Barfield started asserting himself, being proactive behind his jab. Unlike Adam Vasquez, Meek was content to retreat allowing Barfield to set the pace. I’ve seen most of Meek’s fights and this is how he gets in trouble. I’ve seen Meek work out in the gym with Austin Trout and Abie Han, Tim can throw combinations. But to steal a quote from ESPN commentator Skip Bayless, Tim suffers from “paralysis by over analysis.” There comes a point in a fight when you have to let muscle memory take over, and stop thinking before you throw every punch. If he can learn to do that he has a future, otherwise he’s going as far as a car without a battery. Meek did win the fight by unanimous decision by scores of 39-37 twice and 40-36.

In the evening’s opening bout, debuting L’Darious Whetstone 141.6 lbs. of Dallas, TX won by TKO over debuting Stephen Cervantes 147.6 lbs. of Albuquerque, NM. Whetstone was very relaxed, sitting down on his punches from the opening bell. He took advantage of Cervantes’ aggression, landing solid left hooks and overhand rights. Cervantes threw a lot of punches himself and would have won against a less polished opponent. Unfortunately for Cervantes, less polished opponent is not how one would describe Whetstone. At 2:28 seconds of the third round referee Daniel Sandoval came to the rescue of the game Cervantes, making Whetstone the winner by TKO.

Thanks to Mother Nature and matchmaker Tony Aguilar, fans got to see some interesting matchups. I don’t understand why Adam Vasquez doesn’t receive more love. People tell me he’s undefeated but. . . Although he hasn’t shown much in the way of punching power to date, he’s very strong and hits hard enough to keep opponents honest. He’s not fast on his feet, but he moves quick enough to create openings and take advantage of them. I think he’s a smart boxer who will likely stay undefeated until somebody figures him out. Abie Han wasn’t in the ring with Alfredo Angulo but he looked impressive behind a solid left jab. I’ve seen him in the ring at least a half dozen times, there is nothing wrong with his defense either. El Paso fans are lucky to see such a gifted boxer on a regular basis; who also happens to live in their Zip Code.

Voices from the Corner: Amateur Able Mendoza was introduced to the crowd during intermission. A veteran of over two hundred amateur fights, Able will be traveling to Philadelphia for Olympic tryouts from September 5th to the 12th. When I spoke to him he stated he was born in Pacos, Texas but now lives in El Paso. He’s trained by his father and hopes to turn pro after the Olympics. Asked about his history he responded; “I won the National PAL in San Antonio, National Jr. GG’s, and the Ringside tournament twice in Missouri. I’m looking forward to the new open scoring in the Olympics and feel I have better than average power and speed. I’ll be competing in the 132 pound division in Philadelphia.”

Ricky and Adam Vasquez are not the only siblings fighting in the Vasquez family. Little sister Ayanna Vasquez has had a very distinguished amateur career and is considering turning pro in the future. Asked about her background she stated; “I won the silver medal in the USA Nationals in Washington State. In the Junior Olympics I took gold and bronze medals in different years. I also competed in the PAL tournaments several times winning many medals.” Ayanna works as a nursing assistant when she’s not in the ring. I also met Ayanna’s fiancé but in playing back the interview, the wind made it impossible to hear his name properly. Something tells me he’ll try to avoid any arguments after he’s married; with two brother-in-laws and a bride who all box, that wouldn’t be a smart move.