23.11.03 – By Carlos Kalinchuk: In the opening bout of the evening, two empty pitchers of beer (literally) and hilariously started the action in the ring for the first two bouts of the evening Saturday night. Although this method is perhaps normal in some unknown college frat house in the US, in a prizefight, this had to be a first. Apparently no one alerted the person responsible for bringing the bell and the mallet (alerting the fighters of the 10 second warning) that the fights would start earlier than normal. To cheers but mostly jeers and a good laugh or two, fans were treated to the sound of two pitchers cracking together throughout the first two bouts of the evening. All kidding aside however, the fighters were only minimally confused by the very different sounds alerting them. Let’s cross our fingers that this doesn’t happen again, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
The first bout started with Welterweights Alfonso Gomez 9-2-1 and Patrick “One Punch” Thompson 5-2 (3 KO’s). They went to battle for all 5 rounds of their fight. Although Thompson put up a spirited effort, it was the shorter Gomez’s punching power that stole the show and the win. Ringside physician Dr. Guerrero stopped the fight when referee Sam Garza stopped the action so Thompson’s severely bloodied nose could be inspected. Dr. Guerrero wiped Thompson’s nose to no avail as the blood continued flow steadily. The official stoppage was by TKO in round 5. Gomez’s ability to work off the ropes and counter with overhand rights were his keys to victory.
Olivares Gets Beat by the Windmill; Chavez Shocks Houston fans!
In the second bout of the evening, hometown favorite Gracie Olivares experienced her 2nd loss of her career when an aggressive Yvonne “The Warrior Princess” Chavez’s won by a 3rd round TKO. The former 3 time Kick-Boxing Champion aggressive style was just too much. In spite of the ugly offensive style Chavez displayed, she seemed to confuse Olivares with her continued pressure. With flailing arms and the appearance that she was trying to show us what motions windmills make, Chavez won every round. Also, to make matters worse, Olivares sprained her ankle toward the latter stages of 2nd round. Her limited mobility further impaired her from boxing Chavez until head trainer and corner man, Ray Ontiveros stepped through the apron, with a towel waiving off the fight. Chavez goes to 2-2 (2 KO’s) while Olivares drops to 5-2-1-1 (1 KO).
When Warriors Put on Gloves! Martinez and Perez Suffer 4 Knockdowns; Martinez Wins By Unanimous Decision!
In the Gatti-Ward fight of the night, Lightweights Hector “Chuy” Perez 0-2 and Jesus “Rafael” Martinez 1-1 gave the Houston fans a four round fight to remember. Both fighters tasted the canvass a total of 4 times. Even though Jesus “Rafael” Martinez came out victorious, Hector “Chuy” Perez fought a hell of a fight! All the judges ruled in favor of Martinez with scores of 38-36, and 39-35 twice.
The action in round one was furious, as the more aggressive Martinez came out throwing bombs and upper cuts at a fevered pace. This momentarily stopped though, when Hector Perez threw a short left hook off the ropes that sent Martinez to the canvass. Martinez quickly rebounded though as he cracked Perez with an upper cut followed by a left hook. But just when you thought the action was over, Martinez came back again with more left hooks and right crosses that sent a dizzy Perez sprawling. Perez somehow, beat the count and managed to last the entire round. Round two again started off with more fireworks as the more aggressive Martinez sent the wobbly-legged Perez down once again. Perez’s nose began to bleed badly but he still managed to throw some serious leather of his own. In round three, Perez began to bleed from his left eye. Although the blood was steady, it was at the corner of his eye. Except for 3 hard combinations in the middle of the ring by Martinez, he was much slower in this round. Hence Perez controlled this round and landed the harder shots throughout. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better, round four turned out to be just as good as it’s predecessors. Both warriors gave it all they had and left nothing to chance. It was give and take and each fighter gave no quarter. This round was the most difficult to score.
BJ Flores Fight to Draw After 2 Knockdown Shocker!
In the walk out fight of the evening, promising Heavyweight BJ Flores 4-0 and Semisi Bloomfield 1-2 fought to a four round draw as Bloomfield shocked Flores by sending him down twice in round 2 after clearly losing the first round. To Flores’s credit he rebounded and won rounds 3 and 4 to even the score. All judges officially had it 37-37.
Carlos “Stiff-jab” Kalinchuk
Contributing Writer & Photographer