By Austin Killeen      Ringside               September 10, 2016

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Entering the ring the Zubia/Espinoza main event had more questions than answers. Zubia hadn’t fought in two years, had survived a horrific truck accident, he was fighting three weight divisions above junior welterweight and giving away over seven years in age. For his part Espinoza was at a huge disadvantage in experience and facing the overwhelming darling of the fans. As a result, the ending of the fight had the potential of being a complete mismatch for either boxer or any other possible finish you could think of. Promoter Isidro Castillo’s undercard was solid, including the introduction of some promising debuting fighters. Castillo’s son had no debuting jitters, in scoring an impressive decision. Debuting Richard Villa proved to be entertaining, while his teammate Deneisha Lopez showed she had some power in her gloves. Overall this was a good card, well received by those in attendance.

     Edgar Zubia (5-3-1, 2 KO’s) 155.6 lbs. of Levelland, TX won by UD over Oscar Espinoza of Hobbs, NM. At the opening bell Zubia exploded from his corner and started smothering Espinoza with leather. Espinoza was answering back, but clearly getting the worst of the exchanges. Suddenly Zubia slipped under a left and dropped his rival on his back with a left hook to the head. Barely beating the count, Espinoza found himself being banged all over the ring by his rival in the hope of going home early. Connecting with a right to the head Zubia sent Espinoza to the canvas for a second time. Looking dazed, Espinoza beat the count only to be under attack again. Fortunately for Espinoza there are only three minutes in a round and the bell came to his rescue. Returning to his corner Espinoza had a nasty cut to his right eye.

Zubia opened the second round with the intent of finishing what he had started in the first. Surprisingly he started clowning after the first thirty seconds. Was he clowning or had he punched himself out? Espinoza started throwing left jabs, forcing Zubia to react, either by punching back or retreating. The veteran did a little of both, but clearly the pace was taking him out of his comfort zone. Encouraged by the turn in events Espinoza picked up the pace, adding overhand rights and left hooks to his arsenal of punches. The round was hotly contested, featuring some heated exchanges; I gave the edge to Espinoza. In the third Espinoza continued to push the pace of the fight and I definitely felt he won the round.

At the start of the fourth fans were going crazy, as this contest was a beauty. If Espinoza could score a knockdown it was conceivable he could still win the decision. Zubia must have realized the same thing, as he reached deep within himself to stage a rally. Espinoza fought back, but clearly the round belonged to Zubia. When ring announcer Abel Arriaga sorted the score cards before reading the verdict the audience seemed to be holding their collective breaths. Judge Anthony Romero had a score of 39-37, while Ester Lopez and Mark Sanchez both had scores of 38-36 (the same as my score), making Zubia the winner by unanimous decision.

The jubilant Zubia, who had been king of the trash talkers before the fight, credited Espinoza for having given him a very difficult time; something trash talkers often forget to do. But Zubia quickly got back into his one liner offense, stating that Antonio Martinez would be next on September 27^th at the Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino. In 2011 Zubia won by TKO over Martinez in two rounds. But this is a different Martinez, as he is not been defeated in his last six fights. Martinez should be favored in this contest. As for the disappointed Espinoza, he has nothing to be ashamed of. He fought a terrific fight and left the ring a much better boxer than the one who entered it.

Debuting Isidro Castillo 163.6 lbs. of Hobbs, NM won by UD over Oscar Delaparra 170.4 lbs. of El Paso, TX. For someone making his pro debut, Castillo showed a lot of poise. He opened the contest behind an excellent left jab which keep Delaparra off balance most of the round. The final three rounds Delaparra became more aggressive and scored with some of his punches. But his offense came with a price, as Castillo was now landing hard rights to the body and head. The Hobbs’ boxer has speed of both hand and foot, as well as being a good judge of distance. Castillo reminded me of Johnny Bratton, former welterweight champ of the fifties. Bratton was a cutie and if Castillo can learn some of his moves like looking at the audience while landing a blind left hook. . .

In a bout between debuting fighters Richard Villa 174.8 lbs. of Roswell, NM won by SD over Jordan Gregory 171.2 lbs. of Albuquerque, NM. Villa is a veteran of the cage, having over 30 MMA fights as well as a strong background in wrestling. He forced that action all four rounds behind some blistering body shots with both hands. When Gregory would lower his guard, Villa would attack the head. The southpaw Gregory has his best round in the third but his punches lacked the force of Villa’s. Tall and lanky Gregory has a cast iron body, taking some blows than would have KO’d many boxers. Villa is exciting to watch and should be in demand by area promoters. But don’t sleep on Gregory; all this young man needs is more ring experience. With his height and reach he could pose problems for future opposition.

 

Deneisha Lopez (1-0-1, 1 KO) 114.8 lbs. won by TKO over debuting Sanaz Khamisi 114.4 lbs. of Amarillo, TX. Trainer Lupe Perez might have found a sleeper in Deneisha Lopez as she has power in both hands. Khamisi was game but was unable to stop her rival’s assault. Lopez was a little wild at times, but with her punches seemingly coming from everywhere she’s hard to defend. Khamisi failed to answer the bell for the second round. If Lopez can develop her boxing style to go along with her hitting power she could be difficult to beat.

 

 

Michael Andrews (1-2-0) 157.4 lbs. of Hobbs, NM won by UD over Francis Beniquez (1-3-0, 1 KO) 157.2 lbs. of El Paso, TX. This was a hard fought contest all four rounds, between two inexperienced but well conditioned boxers. Beniquez is a southpaw who I have seen box in El Paso, Texas in the past. Attacking from opposite sides resulted in both boxers throwing many hooks to their opposite’s rib cage. All four rounds were hotly contested, making it difficult to score. Both boxers expressed an interest in fighting a second time, which the audience seemed to like. Probably the only people not interested in seeing Andrews or Beniquez in the ring again would be future opponents; as these young men come to fight. Both Andrews and Beniquez should improve as they gain more ring experience.

 

Debuting Enrico Orosco 131 lbs. of Roswell, NM won by UD over Paco Castillo (0-4-0) 132.2 lbs. of Hereford, TX. Castillo employed an unusual style; let your opponent hit you in the face until they become tired, and then hit them back. Most likely you’ve never seen it employed in the ring, because it doesn’t work. If Castillo would learn to punch out of a bob-n-weave he would see a big improvement in his win/loss record. Paco Castillo is a nice young man, who I enjoyed talking to. I have no idea how he arrived at his fighting style. For his part Orosco showed up in shape and fought well behind his jab. As Orosco fights at a popular weight he shouldn’t have any trouble finding future competition. Although Orosco has limited boxing experience he looked comfortable inside the ring.

I have no idea what the attendance was, but those who did come were treated to a nice card. Promoter Isidro Castillo has a reputation for putting on solid shows around the southeast part of New Mexico and would like to arrange a few more shows before year’s end. I would remiss not to mention  announcer Abel Arriaga. It was just his second time in mid-ring and he did a nice job. Arriaga knows fans come to see the boxers not the ring announcer and his performance showed it. I look forward to seeing Abel Arriaga working future fight cards.