25.09.09 – By Paul Strauss – Thursday night at Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA went the way everyone expected. There were no big surprises or upsets, but the matchups were competitive and provided competitive action throughout the night with the possible exception of the first bout that ended abruptly only 38 seconds into the first round.
That one showcased undefeated Ronny Rios against veteran Manuel Sarabia. The expectation was for Rios to get yet another win added to his 5-0 record, but in the process to get some work, and further hone his skills.. It was fun to listen to this humble youth during the post-fight interview when he described himself as a young fighter who still hasn’t developed his “man power”. He described their game plan as a familiar one where the fighter first goes to the body and then to the head. He explained that he had head from other fighters that Sarabia couldn’t take it to the body. Well, the fact of the matter is he didn’t have a chance to go to the body more than once, because the first straight right hand he landed to the point of Sarabia’s chin ended the fight. It was a legitimate punch and obviously packed power into its precise location. All in attendance were duly impressed and it appears there is a rosy future ahead for this 19yr old feather weight.
Next, Charles Huerta stepped back into the squared circle after getting derailed in the first round by Derrick Wilson in his last fight July 30th, 2009. That one ended with a brutal left hook from Wilson at .59 seconds of the round. However, Thursday Huerta proved much more cautious. He set things up with a good stiff jab, and as the fight progressed increased his sharp combinations. He was in against Rodrigo Aranda, whose record was somewhat deceiving in that it shows 11 losses and two draws against 8 wins. It’s deceiving in the sense that he is a rough customer and tough. He had never been stopped and knows to position himself properly on the inside, gain leverage and use angles and push off at the right time. Even though Aranda didn’t pose a big punch threat, he still packs a solid punch, and punched to the body throughout the fight, but his aggression lacked real effectiveness. On the other hand, Huerta used a decent jab and beginning in the second round of this 6 round fight he increased his sharp combinations. There was lots of close quarter action and Huerta did sustain a minor cut from an accidental head butt. Aranda also lost a point in the 4th for punching behind the head, which seemed to make him angry and he stepped up the pressure. Aranda was no stiff and he did win a round or two. The official scoring was as follows: 59-54, 58-55, and 57-56, all for Huerta. The fight was not tremendously exciting, but it was a good test for Huerta coming off that devastating first round kayo. He is now 12-1, and in his post fight interview expressed a desire to fight again soon, maybe even a rematch with Wilson.
Another six rounder featured two good light weights named Karl Dargan (4W-0L) and Renell Griffin.(5w 0L-1D). Griffin came out right away trying to pressure Dargan, who displayed good footwork, balance and sharp counter punching. For the few fights Dargan has had, he showed good poise. Having Nazim Richardson in his corner probably didn’t hurt. In the second round Dargan got in some good uppercut counter punches and landed more body shots. It was obvious that Griffin was very strong though, and Dargan couldn’t afford to get careless. He did get clipped with some pretty good right hooks from the southpaw Griffin, and every so often Griffin was also able to get through a straight left. But, for the most part, Dargan controlled the action from the outside, and used his skill to keep Griffin resetting. Griffin tried to deal with Dargan’s elusiveness by aiming some of his shots to the chest, and he was having some luck with that technique, but it just wasn’t enough. He would still make the mistake of trying to load up on his punches too much, which allowed Dargan time to get out of harms way. Scoring was 59-55 (twice) and 58-56, all for Dargan. None of the rounds were won big though. Griffin, although on the losing end, is still a very good prospect.
The main event matched Luis Ramos, Jr. 12W-0L record against Christian Favela’ 45 bouts, (17W-22L-6D). Favela was expected to be tough, and able to give Ramos some good work, which he did. However, the fight was one-sided with Ramos easily controlling the action with his hard right jab from the southpaw stance. He exhibited good balance and just enough movement to keep Favela resetting, and to provide angles for himself to get in his shots. Favela did show some savvy in using his right hand effectively, sometimes doubling up on it, but Ramos just kept breaking him down with the hard jab and combinations. He was very patient and content with setting things up. In the fifth round he landed a particularly hard right hook that might have broke Favela’s nose. But, Favela still showed courage and came out strong for the sixth and final round, and made it an active one. But, when the final bell sounded, there was no doubt Ramos had managed a shut out, and that’s the way all three judges saw it with identical scores of 60-54. We will definitely being seeing more of this light weight southpaw.
Overall, the night proved very entertaining, and Bernard Hopkins, Mario Solis, and Doug Fischer punctuated the night’s activities with good informative and entertaining comments as well. It was a good night for boxing.