26.05.06 – By Ryan “Asian Sensation” Songalia: – Team Pinoy – Live from the Pechanga Resort in Temecula, CA, Fres Oquendo defeated Javier Mora by unanimous decision in the main event. In the cofeatured bout, Andre Dirrell won a shaky unanimous over the game Alfonso Rocha. And in the most one-sided bout of the night, Anthony Dirrell disposed of the over-matched Juan Carlos Ramos by way of a first round technical knockout. This fight card was aired on Fox Sports Net’s “Best Damn Fight Night Period”.
In the opening televised bout, Anthony Dirrell, of Flint, MI, stopped Juan Carlos Ramos, Mexico, at 2:54 of the first round. Dirrell raises his record to 8-0 (8 KO), while Ramos drops to 4-5-1 (2 KO). From the opening bell, it was all Dirrell. Dirrell was very sharp with the jab, setting up straight right hands and hard combinations to body. Dirrell, whose brother Andre fought in the co-feature, turned southpaw half way through the round and proceeded to land at will.
In the last ten seconds of the first round, Dirrell knocked Ramos down with a left hook-right hand combination. Upon getting up from the knockdown, the referee stopped the bout because of the one sidedness of the fight.
In the co-featured six round bout in the super middleweight division, Andre Dirrell, Flint, MI survived the toughest fight of his young career and won a unanimous decision over Alfonso Rocha, Oxnard, CA. The 2004 Olympic Brond Medalist Direll survives to 7-0 (4 KO), while Rocha goes to 7-4 (4 KO).
In the first round, Dirrell started slowly allowing Rocha to take the initiative. Dirrell fought back well in spots, but Rocha was constantly in his chest making him fight at an accelerated pace. While Rocha was the aggressor, Dirrell seemed to be in control of the action with regards to quality blows landed. However, in the third round Mora’s pressure started to take a toll on Dirrell’s composure. In the final moments of the third, Rocha landed a picture perfect right hand on Dirrell’s exposed chin, knocking him down hard.
Brimming with confidence from the success he experienced in the last round, Rocha came out aggressively looking to take advantage of his opponent’s vulnerabity. Dirrell, seeking to preserve his unbeaten record, had other plans. Fighting back in an attempt to regain control of the bout, Dirrell fought back and landed some hard, flush counter punches that stole the momentum of the bout in a big way. Midway throught the round, Rocha’s nose began bleeding profusely, which further inhibited his ability to fight. In the final two rounds of the bout, Dirrell began to dominate Rocha and sealed a unanimous decision victory by the scores of 58-55 on all three judge’s cards.
In the ten round heavyweight main event, Fres Oquendo made his second comeback fight since his heartbreaking loss to John Ruiz in 2004, defeating Javier Mora by unanimous decision. Oquendo, Chicago, Il, improved to 26-3 (16 KO), while Mora, Anaheim, CA, slips to 20-3-1 (18 KO).
On Javier Mora’s 25th birthday, “Fast” Fres Oquendo almost sent Mora home early in the closing moments of the first round. Late in the opening stanza, Oquendo hurt Mora with a hard left hook and followed it up with 20 unanswered blows. Had it not been for the bell, Mora would’ve without a doubt been stopped. Oquendo slowed down his attack in the second round, taking advantage of his opponent’s lack of lateral movement by working the jab and landing combinations. By this time, Oquendo’s technical advantages were outclassing Mora. Through the fifth round, Oquendo remained one step ahead of Mora.
From the sixth round on, Oquendo began to slow down noticeably and went into a bit of a lull. In the eighth round, Mora had his most effective round as he outworked Oquendo and landed some flush overhand rights. Not wanting to a give his opponent the opportunity to close strong, Oquendo regained the initiative in the ninth round and closed the fight by tactically dominating his outclassed opponent. By the tenth round, it was more than apparent that Oquendo had earned a one sided decision. The judges scored the fight 98-92 on two cards and 96-93 on the third, awarding Fres Oquendo a unanimous decision victory. Oquendo now looks forward to bigger fights, perhaps against Samuel Peter or a rematch with Chris Byrd.
Ryan Songalia is a syndicated boxing columnist. If you wish to contact him, his e-mail address is mc_rson@yahoo.com