Even So, Eleazar Contreras Wins By Split Decision!
21.02.04 – Carlos Kalinchuk @ ringside: In what was supposed to be a fairly easy fight to score, 2 judges couldn’t seem to get it right when their scores were read to nearly 2,000 fans in attendance at the Ford Park in Beaumont Texas in the Main Event between Eleazar Contreras20-4-2 and Ernesto “Baby” Zepeda 33-7-3 of Mexico. When Emcee Lupe Contreras (No Relation To Eleazar) announced that it was a split decision, no one could believe what they were hearing. Amazingly one Judge (Phillips) rightfully had it a dominant victory for Contreras with a score of 98-92 while the other two judges totally blew it! Lee McCowan had it a much closer fight at 97-93 and Gayle VanHoy inexplicably had Zepeda winning with a score of 97-93! No one could believe what they were hearing! Everyone did a double take and figured this had to be a misprint that Lupe Contreras had just read aloud, but unfortunately it wasn’t! Some might argue that at least the right guy won but something needs to be done about judges like this. VanHoy should either be reprimanded or he should not longer be allowed to officiate professional prizefights. Fighters’ incomes are largely attached to their win-loss column and when cards like these show up, one has to wonder what the heck can be done to correct these types of monumental errors. What shouldn’t be lost in all this crap is that Eleazar Conteras put on a boxing clinic! I had the fight a total shutout in favor of Contreras with a score of 100-90.
What happened:
If one were to compare the preceding fights first round between Jenkins/Trosclair to the Zepeda/Contreras fight, it would be the difference between night and day as both fighters started slowly and cautiously circling the center of the ring. Not much happened in round one, however, Contreras countered Zepeda a couple of times and he managed to avoid any contact as he moved and fainted his way towards winning the round. Thankfully the fight progressed as both fighters were summarily booed for their non-action in round 1. Even so, no fight would measure the intensity and action of the preceding fight. This fight was more like a good story; it just got better as it went along. In round two, Contreras’s nose began to bleed but it paled in comparison to the beautiful boxing exhibition Contreras was putting on. His right overhand counters found their mark and his left hook was total story in this round. Although Zepeda tried to corner the shorter but stockier Conteras, Contreras was having none of it as he moved and dodged many of Zepeda’s attempts. In round 3, Contreras returned the favor and bloodied Zepeda’s nose. In the first part of the round, Contreras connected effectively with lunging left jabs as Zepeda continued to lower his guard. Again, Contreras’ right would land at will. In round 4, Contreras found himself against the ropes but it made little difference, as he was able to land a wicked 3-punch combination that brought ohhs and ahhs from the crowd. Round 5 was a total clinic by Contreras as he countered, countered, and then countered again. Round 6, was much of the same although Zepeda was warned for throwing a low blow by referee Sam Garza. In round 7, both fighters almost tripped over referee Sam Garza as they quickly moved towards one of the neutral corners. Contreras was moving backwards and was the victim of Garza getting in his way. Contreras nearly fell, and Zepeda tried to seize full advantage by punching him while he was nearly down. Even so, this was a still a Contreras round even though he momentarily lost concentration when he shot Garza a look that spoke volumes. In round 8, a blazing 1-2 combination by Contreras opened up a bad cut under Zepeda’s left eye. Now his nose, mouth, and the area under his eye was badly bleeding. To credit Zepeda’s corner, it was a non-issue as they were able to stop it for the final round. In the 10th, it was basically more of the same from Contreras. As a result, my scorecard was clear cut for Contreras 100-90.
In the last bout of the evening, 2 time Champion Valerie “The Wolfe” Mahfood of Port Arthur fought Carlette Ewell 5-1 in an 8 round-scheduled bout. Mahfood won by split decision to the delight of her fans in attendance, but a good portion of the crowd also felt this fight was much closer than the cards reflected. I had it a virtual draw as both traded rounds back and forth. Of course VanHoy’s card was again horrendous as he had Mahfood winning 78-74! No matter what VanHoys card said, Mahfood did not win this fight 6 rounds to 2! This time McCowan had it for Ewell with a score of 78-74, while Phillips had it closer fight by a score of 77-75 for Mahfood. I had Ewell winning all the odd rounds and Mahfood taking all the even rounds for a 75-75 draw. When Ewell lost a round it was because she wasn’t throwing enough punches and she was backing up. When Mahfood lost a round it was because Ewell was backing her up and clubbing her with left hooks and uppercuts in close quarters. Ewell was slower but her punches had more on them than Mahfoods. Mahfoods punches, on the other hand, were much more accurate though.
In a scheduled 6 rounder, Super Lightweight Ramiro “Rambo” Cano improved to 18-1 when he KO’d John Frazier with two hard body shots that he could not recover from in round 2. The official time of stoppage was 1:31 seconds of round 2 when referee Sam Garza counted out Frazier.
What happened:
In what started off as an awkward fight, turned into anything but that when the taller and awkwardly moving Frazier connected with a short left hook that caused a cut to open above Cano’s left eye. He followed it up with a barrage of shots that sent Cano sprawling to the canvass. Cano beat the count quickly but he stumbled towards the neutral corner. Even though he was on wobbly legs early on in the count, he caught his snap just in time to make out of round 1. Round two was a totally different story as Cano began to close the quarters and dig his hooks into Frazier’s body. Nearly mid-way through the round, Cano connected with two sharp left hooks to Frazier’s right side. It was all he needed, as Frazier was not going to beat the count.
After the fight I caught up with Cano and he had this to say, “It’s not that I thought he would be so difficult but I came into the ring cold. I always do that to myself. I was just hoping they wouldn’t stop the fight because of the cut because I saw blood on my body. I just told myself I have to win, I have to win! My corner told me to calm down because it was nothing (the knockdown). My trainer knows me. He’s been with me for all my fights and he knows I come in cold sometimes but thank God, it all came out fine. I didn’t think he’d knock me down though. It was the first time I’ve ever hit the canvass but I’m here to continue to learn but no one likes to go down. Since he was taller than me, the key was his body. Thanks.
I also spoke to his trainer Bobby Benton after the fight and he had this to say, “He just got caught cold. It happens to everybody. When he got up, he was in great shape and I knew when he came back to the corner I just woke him up and gave him some water and he was fine. This fight is going to make him train harder. When you get knocked down, you just realize that you need to do stuff differently and that you need to push yourself mentally and he didn’t get “up” for this fight. This fight wasn’t a big fight to him and that’s the lesson that he walks away with, that you can’t take anyone lightly.”
In the fourth bout, Middleweight Phillip “Rocky” Trosclair fought Donald Jenkins 3-15-2 in a give and take battle all the way through. Although Jenkins fought his heart out, he should have lost to the harder punching Trosclair. Even though the fight was not a skillful one, it was without a doubt exciting, as neither fighter was concerned about the quantity of punches thrown. Even though there were no official punch counts, it would have been interesting to know this one. Both guys stole the show and put the 1,700 fans in attendance on their feet throughout and it’s a shame two judges McCowan and VanHoy ruined a good showing from Trosclair with scorecards of 38-38 twice. The other Judge (Phillip) rightfully ruled it 39-37 in favor of Trosclair. The fans made it clear that they were not happy with the decision as well, and that’s a shame because this fight stole the show. In most instances if the fans got upset, that wouldn’t mean a whole lot since Trosclair was fighting in his backyard, but these cards were clearly garbage that needed to be taken out! I had it 38-36 for Trosclair.
What happened:
Round one was all Trosclair. By fighting in front of his hometown fans, he seemed to want to finish off Jenkins early on with big over hand rights and one-two combinations to his head. Jenkins fought back in this round but only a blind man would rule in favor of Jenkins in this round. In round 2, Jenkins came back with a vengeance as he attacked the tired Trosclair along the ropes. In fact he hurt Trosclair to the body and with all the punching Trosclair had done in the first round it appeared as though he was in serious trouble. Trosclair managed to mount a comeback of his own but this was clearly a no-brainer to score in favor of Jenkins. In round 3, Trosclair again was gasping for air, but his bigger looping shots still found there mark on Jenkins face. Round 4 was a repeat of round 3 although Jenkins did not lie down; it was an easy an easy round to score for in favor of Trosclair.
In the second bout of the night, Jose Luis Zertuche improved his record to 13-1 11 (KO’s) when an uppercut demolished Joshua “Poison” Onyanago toward the latter stages of round 1. The official time was 2:23 seconds.
What happened:
2:23 seconds of round 1 was all it took for Jose Luis Zertuchi to land a very well placed left uppercut to the right side of Onyanago’s chin. Onyanago would not return although he beat the count. Referee Bobby Gonzales wisely stopped the bout when he still appeared wobbly when he rose. The punch was almost as viscous as the way Onyango landed flat oh his back, which resulted in another thump on his head.
In the opening bout of the evening, Featherweights Benjamin Flores 1-0 Gerardo Rincon 0-0-1 went to battle for all 4 rounds. All 3 judges ruled it in favor of Flores by a score of 39-36.
What happened:
Although the first round was a close one, the harder hitting Flores wobbled Rincon with a triple left hook combination toward the middle of round 1. This and some additional hooks towards the end of the round won him the round in what started off as a slow round for Flores. Ironically the triple left hook came after a hard shot to Flores’ head. This seemed to wake Flores up as his power just continued to overwhelm Rincon. Low blows early on though nearly cost Flores a point in round 1 and 2 but by round 3, referee Sam Garza had seen enough and rightfully deducted 1 point which resulted in a 9-9 score. In the last round, Rincon began bleeding profusely from the nose and thankfully the fight was only scheduled for 4 rounds.
Carlos “Stiff-jab” Kalinchuk
Contributing Writer & Photographer