By Austin Killeen – Ringside – September 5, 2015

Once again Holmes Boxing & Orthrus Promotions had a large boisterous crowd at the Buffalo Thunder Casino and Resort. Large crowds and Holmes Boxing are synonymous in the land north of Santa Fe. I usually report that fights that looked like mismatches on paper turned out to be barn burners. On this evening there were no barn burners, the entire card displayed favorites winning comfortably. There was no shortage of talent but they weren’t facing each other. It was a homecoming of sorts for Fidel Maldonado Jr., as it had been three years since the Atrisco Kid had fought in the “Land of Enchantment.” Fidel Maldonado, Jr., Brian Mendoza, Ed Brown and Alexis Zazueta are all Cameron Duncan boxers, and showed why they are hot pros in the sport. Antonio Martinez, Patrick Holmes Jr. and Brother Brandon who accounted for much of the large turnout, also were victorious.

In the eight round main event, Fidel Maldonado (20-3-0, 17 KO’s) 139.8 lbs of Albuquerque won by KO over Lowell Brownfield (11-13-1, 4 KO’s) 138.3 lbs. of Omaha, NE. At the opening bell Brownfield showed no signs of nervousness regarding the hitting power of Maldonado. He came to fight and was letting his hands go. It probably made no difference what strategy Brownfield employed, but against a bomber with power in both hands this was a poor choice. For the first minute the aggressiveness of the Omaha fighter surprised the local hero, but luck would have a short life span in this contest.

Trading toe-to-toe, an overhand right by Maldonado exploded off the exposed chin of Brownfield; sending him to the canvas. Rising on unsteady legs Brownfield walked into a left hook to the head to finish matters. The official time of the knockout was 2:59 of the opening round. If you could have found a Maldonado fanatic willing to give 100 to 1 odds, you could have made some serious money betting on Brownfield. But miracles happen in movies not fight arenas, so your bet on the Omaha fighter would cost you a dollar.

The other seven bouts on the card were all scheduled for four rounds. In bout #7 Brandon Holmes (7-0-0, 5 KO’s) 128.5 lbs of Santa Fe won by TKO over debuting Otto Sandoval 138.2 lbs. of El Paso, TX. Speaking of miracles, none took place prior to the main event. Well not exactly, if you happen to be the promoter of Brandon Holmes. His son sells tickets faster than sales at a car wash at the Love Ranch in Carson City, Nevada.

Sandoval must have thought he was in the spin cycle of a washing machine based on the punches he blocked with his head and body. A left hook to the body by Holmes resulted in the first knockdown of the fight. The second knockdown occurred when the El Paso fighter elected to take a knee; a good strategy in football. A right to the head dropped Sandoval for the third knockdown, causing referee Chavez to halt the contest at 2:59 of the first round.

In bout #6 Patrick Holmes Jr. (5-1-0, 3 KO’s) 133.8 lbs. of Albuquerque won by UD over Gene Perez (1-3-1, 1 KO) 132.9 lbs. of Belen, NM. This was a good fight, but the favorite Holmes was in control most of the contest. In the opening round, the shorter Perez had success when he was able to take Holmes to the ropes and work on the inside. Holmes had success on the outside against his southpaw rival behind left hooks to the body and head. In the second Perez started switching to orthodox, a big mistake. Holmes started landing punishing left jabs and overhand rights. Perez started bleeding from the nose which would continue the remainder of the fight. Making matters worse, Perez abandoned his attack on the inside and fought the remainder of the bout in the center of the ring.

The final two rounds Holmes was in control. But when he attempted to end matters early, the feisty Perez would fight back with a vengeance. It was a good learning experience for Holmes, as Perez had no intention of becoming another KO victim on Holmes’ record.

In bout #5 Antonio Martinez (4-2-3, 3 KO’s) 143.7 lbs. of Espanola won by first round KO over debuting Justin Flores 143.8 lbs. of El Paso, TX. Flores looked like it was his first time in a ring and had no business facing a veteran in his ninth pro bout. The aggressive Martinez is very durable and the El Paso fighter had no idea how to deal with him. Martinez connected with an overhand right to the head and Flores landed hard on the canvas, causing his head to also strike it. He didn’t move for some time, while being administered by the doctor in attendance.

In bout #4 Edwardo Dominguez 148.8 lbs. (2-0-0, 1 KO) of Los Lunas won by TKO over debuting Ivan Lucero 140 lbs. of El Paso, TX. It wasn’t a good night for boxers from El Paso, as the taller Lucero had no idea what a left jab was. The aggressive Dominguez chased his taller opponent all over the ring landing powerful rights to the head. In the second round Lucero was dropped by an overhand right, causing referee Rocky Burke to halt matters at 1:18 of the stanza.

 

In bout #3 Brian Mendoza 151.3 lbs. (8-0-0, 5 KO’s) of Albuquerque won by TKO over debuting John Rzema 155.7 lbs. of Rio Rancho, NM. The hard punching Mendoza is one of the hottest prospects in the nation, what were the handlers of Rozema thinking? Rozema, a MMA fighter, had a reputation as a banger in the cage. Mendoza’s three knockdowns were the result of a right hand to the head, a left hook to the body and a second right hand to the head. Referee Ray Chavez had seen enough and interceded at 1:54 of the first round.

In bout #2 Alexis Zazueta 117.2 lbs. (7-0-0, 3 KO’s) of Phoenix, AZ won by UD over Brandon Muñoz of Albuquerque (1-2-1, 1 KO). Zazueta was reported to be an excellent body puncher and I was afraid Muñoz would be in way over his head. Zazueta proved to be as good as advertised but Muñoz was relaxed and fought a smart first round. The “Duke City” fighter was throwing jabs and combinations when he got inside. But Zazueta had amazing head movement and hand speed and captured a close first round. The Arizona boxer took charge in the second and appeared to hurt Muñoz with a body shot. Adding to Muñoz’s problems, his jab was off due to the head movement of his rival.

If anyone thought Muñoz was going to fold in the third (myself included) they were wrong. He controlled the opening minute, landing rights to the head off his excellent jab. But Zazueta is a hot prospect for a reason, and he took over the rest of the round. He was throwing three to five punches at a time and Muñoz now had a bad cut over his right eye. Zazueta continued to dominate the last round but Muñoz had no intention of quitting and fought back hard whenever he was in trouble. All three judges had the same score of 40-36 for the invader from Arizona.

In the evening’s opening bout Ed Brown 149.5 lbs. (11-0-0, 10 KO’s) of Chicago, IL won by TKO over Wilferdo Acuna 151 lbs. (15-18-0, 12 KO’s) of Managua, Nicaragua. I had seen the “Bad Boy” from Chicago overwhelm rising star Jose Marruffo of Arizona, and once again I was impressed. In facing Acuna, he was up against a southpaw bomb thrower with serious punching power. All three rounds had the same pattern, Acuna would throw punches in bunches with serious intent. The patient Brown would block most of the incoming leather with his solid defense and then return fire. Unfortunately for Acuna his defense was his offense and Brown was having no problem penetrating it.

In the third round a left hook by Brown was the first of a ten punch combination, mostly to the head. Referee Chavez had seen enough and halted matters at 1:14 seconds of the round. The way Acuna throws punches; he would have knocked out most opponents on this evening. But Brown is a special talent who can box, punch and has solid defensive skills. The tall, thin boxer from Chicago is fighting for Cameron Duncan for a reason. For the uninformed, that reason will become abundantly clear over the next few years.

I’ve said many times, the Buffalo Thunder Casino and Resort is an excellent venue to see a boxing card. Historically the decisions have been close and KO’s hotly contested. But this was not one of those nights. Maldonado, Mendoza, Zazueta and Brown are four amigos you don’t want to see when you look across the ring. The Holmes brothers, Martinez and Dominguez are four amigos who can make a fighter want to take up a new profession. All of these boxers need tougher competition otherwise. . .

In defeat, Gene Perez and Brandon Muñoz might have saved the show with their gritty stands. Perez is going to give anybody a tough night but has no business fighting at lightweight. Muñoz came of age in a losing effort, finally putting it all together against a superior opponent. Perez/Muñoz would make an exciting matchup at featherweight. I don’t like the expression tomato can or bum to describe a fighter. It takes guts to climb those three steps into the ring. And even more guts when you realize you’re in over your head and don’t give up. The fighters, who found themselves on the wrong side of the win column on Saturday night, displayed what the word pride means!

Once again Mike Adams handled the chores as ring announcer. If you’ve never seen Mike Adams in center ring, think of Michael Buffer; he’s that good. Also on Saturday night, Josh “Pitbull” Torres made his debut as a ring correspondent, doing an excellent job. Prior to entering the ring, Torres would interview the boxers and his performance was seamless. There were no embarrassing “ah, ah” or “you hear what I’m saying.” Torres was relaxed and confident and knew the right questions to ask.

Finally, Pat Holmes Sr. has a difficult task in trying to build the value of a boxer. His own sons, Pat Jr. and Brandon have virtually no amateur experience but have a combined pro record of 12-1-0 with 8 KO’s. Pat did this by matching them with opponents who provide useful experience while avoiding unnecessary risks. The next step will be tricky because possible opponents might only have six or seven pro fights but over fifty bouts in the amateurs. Not to be overlooked is the magic Holmes has done with the career of Antonio Martinez. Martinez had one win in his first five fights but is now working on a four bout streak without a loss. As with his sons, the next step for Martinez will be a tricky one.