Austin Killeen ringside     Photos by Octavio Vera      (click on photos for full size)

On Saturday night along with my fellow broadcast partners, Ed Nunez and Danny Perez sitting at ringside I did the color commentary for this eight-bout card. I had no way of taking notes because my job is to comment on what is taking place in the ring. The next day I usually view the entire card for a second time so I can write my article for “KilleensKorner.com.” Unfortunately, I was unable to see several of the bouts and had to rely on my questionable memory.

In the main event of the evening scheduled for 8 rounds at 147 lbs., Josh “Pitbull” Torres (22-6-2, 13 KO’s) 146.4 lbs., of Albuquerque, NM won by KO over Juan Jesus Rivera Garces (19-27-0, 13 KO’s) 146 lbs., of Aguascalientes, Mexico. The bout was heating up with both boxers on the offense in a good contest. In the final minute of the first round, Torres landed with a left hook to the liver, dropping Garces to the canvas writhing in pain. In was several minutes before he could stand under his own power. The time of the KO was 2:15 of the opening round. After the contest, Torres addressed the crowd regarding the rising crime rate in Albuquerque. Using his fingers to represent people he explained that one person can accomplish good but working together many people can accomplish a great deal more; specifically reducing the crime rate in the “Duke City.”

In the co-main event scheduled for 6 rounds at 154 lbs., Jose Luis “El Guero” Sanchez (11-1-0, 4 KO’s) 152 lbs., of Albuquerque won by UD over Issac Luna (5-1-0, 1 KO) 154 lbs., of El Paso, TX. There was great anticipation for this match-up with many predicting it would be the fight of the night. Unfortunately, it was anything but. It was a one-sided contest in which Sanchez won virtually every round.  I was a commentator for this televised event and expressed the opinion that Luna who had scored his first TKO in his last fight now mistakenly viewed himself as a two-fisted brawler. I wish I never used those words as several people told me after the bout that Luna had suffered a knee injury last week and couldn’t train. Clearly, he was overweight and lunged with off-target overhand rights which found nothing but air. Neither Luna nor his corner men were the source of this information. Also, it shouldn’t take away from the effort of Sanchez who was in excellent shape and fought a smart fight. Judges Esther Lopez, Mark Sanchez, and Chris Tellez all had Sanchez winning.

In the sixth bout of the evening scheduled for an 8 round contest for the vacant ABF featherweight Continental Americas Title, Aaron “Angel Baby” Perez (10-0-0, 6 KO’s) won by TKO over Isao Gonzalo Carranza (15-17-1, 9 KO’s) of Mexico City, Mexico. This was an exciting performance by Perez against a determined but outclassed opponent. Perez put on an amazing display of power punching, defensive maneuvering, and counter-punching. If you don’t understand the concept of counter-punching you have to witness Perez in action. It didn’t matter how many punches he landed or how hard they were Carranza just keep coming forward. At the end of the sixth round referee David Rios halted the contest for the safety of Carranza.

 

Bouts 4 & 5 were scheduled for 6 rounds.

In the fifth bout of the evening for the ABF American West Title at 135 lbs., Abel “Bobo” Navarrete, Jr. (7-0-0, 5 KO’s) 132.6 lbs., of Amarillo, TX won by KO over Jose Antonio Martinez (11-20-0, 6 KO’s) 136.6 lbs., of Durango, MX in defense of his belt. In the opening round, Navarrete was a tornado dropping his opponent with a right hand to the head. It looked like we would all be going home early, but Martinez staged a rally in the final thirty seconds of the round. The second round was a clinic in body punching with the edge to Navarrete. In the third round, Navarrete opened a cut over the right eye of his opponent but it was Martinez’s best round of the fight. The bout came to a sudden end in the fourth when Navarrete scored a one-punch knockout with a right cross to the head. Martinez was out cold falling to the canvas when the back of his head bounced off the canvas adding to the damage. Luckily, he was all right. The time of the KO was 2:31 seconds of the fourth round. I had an opportunity to speak with Navarrete prior to his fight, he’s a classy young man.

In the fourth bout of the evening Jazzma Hogue (4-10-1) 124.4 lbs., of Fruitland, NM won by SD over Jesus PerArdua (8-7-0, 1 KO) 125.2 lbs., of Albuquerque. This was a rematch of a bout they had three months ago. In that bout, PerArdua kept the fight in the middle of the ring where he could control the action with his reach advantage. I thought the rematch would be a replay of their first bout, but Hogue had different ideas. From the opening round, Hogue got inside by firing a quick left jab and then banging with both hands to the body. PerArdua responded by clinching. While Hogue was loaded with energy, PerArdua appeared listless. PerArdua might have won a round of two, but clearly, the fight belonged to Hogue. Judge Chris Tellez had the bout 59-55 for PerArdua but was overruled by judges Esther Lopez and Mark Sanchez who had identical scores of 58-56 for Hogue. I think trainer Flory Olguin has done a great job working with Hogue recently at the P.A.L. Gym in Albuquerque.

The first three bouts were scheduled for 4 rounds.

In the third bout of the evening Gabriel Gabaldon (3-0-0, 1 KO) 144 lbs.,  of Albuquerque won by TKO over Derek Perez (2-13-1, 1 KO) 144.8 lbs.,  of Belen, NM. This was an exciting fight from the opening bell, with Derek getting off to a fast start. Gabaldon seemed confused by the southpaw Perez’s unorthodox tactics, landing hooks off of right jabs repeatedly. A good fighter makes adjustments after a bad round and that’s what Gabaldon did in round two. Trapping Perez on the ropes, Gabaldon started landing powerful left hooks and overhand rights to the body and head. Perez was dropped by a combination late in the round. In the third round, Perez kept the fight in the center of the ring where he was more effective. This was a close round in which I felt Gabaldon had a slight edge. In the final round body shots by Gabaldon caused Perez to drop his guard and expose his head. Referee David Rios halted the contest at 2:25 of the round to save the Belen fighter from further punishment. This was a terrific fight.

In the second bout of the evening Clinton Chavez (3-0-0, 2 KO’s) 145.4 lbs., of Albuquerque won by UD over Anthony Hill (1-28-0) ?? lbs., of Phoenix, AZ. There were plenty of punches thrown by both boxers in this contest. Hill would drop his hands to his side, offering his head as a target, but slipped his rival’s attack. At other times he would use a peek-a-boo defense with his hands held high. Offensively he would dip low but throw his punches high while switching back and forth between southpaw and orthodox. Hill has a nice jab from either position, making it difficult for Chavez. For his part, Chavez didn’t lose his composure. I’ve seen many of Hill’s past opponents try to force the action, but Chavez just took what was available in front of him. All four rounds were a repeat of each other with both boxers giving a good effort. All three judges, Esther Lopez, Mark Sanchez, and Chris Tellez had identical scores of 40-35 for the winner by unanimous decision, Clinton “Native Kid” Chavez.

In the first bout of the evening Andre Galarza (2-3-0, 1 KO) 159 lbs., of Albuquerque won by TKO over Adam Ramirez (1-1-0, 1 KO) 158.2 lbs., of Belen, NM The usually slow starting Galarza wasted little time getting started, dropping bombs on his rival. Moving forward, Galarza landed an overhand right to the chin of Ramirez that dropped him for the first knockdown. Rising on unsteady legs Ramirez was an easy target, walking into a four-punch combination for knockdown number two. Referee Sid Ware quickly jumped in to halt the contest at 1:40 of the opening round. In a post-fight interview with ring announcer, Mike Adams, Galarza stated that he caught Ramirez on the dip (ducking down) with a clean punch. This was an impressive win for Galarza who has been improving under the supervision of trainer Joe Louis Murphy. I’ve watched Murphy working with Ramirez in the gym and was impressed with their work on the basics. It certainly paid off tonight.