Events

Easy pickings: 'Nino' licks Hicks

Snooze button goes off on 'Junior Time's' clock; Zeferino brings boxing back to border

Ringside report by Chris Cozzone and Ricardo Trujillo
Photos by Chris Cozzone

Instead of a homecoming theme, last night's fight card at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, headlining the return of unbeaten, untested heavyweight David "Nino" Rodriguez, might've been better served with a theme of "Promises, promises, promises." For several reasons.

Delivering on action, and his commitment to bring boxing back to the border town, promoter Zeferino Ramirez, of Z Entertainment, staged his third show in El Paso, with a guarantee of several more to come.

The bigger tease, however, was the latest campaign launched by Team Rodriguez, v. 12 or 13. Promising to up the ante and fight name opponents on his way to the top, Rodriguez ended a year's layoff with a somewhat easy win that had him, by the end of the night, calling out contender Chris Arreola and, ultimately, one or both of the Klitschko kings of his division.

On a similar note, Hector Camacho, Jr. vowed to live up to ten years of failed expectations and not only shed his baby fat on his way down the scales, but work his way up back into contention with a challenge to fellow legend's son, Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.

Time will tell what plays out on two of the three promises. In the meantime, promoter Zeferino continues to make good on his word, satisfying last night's rowdy crowd of 3,040 with four out of five action-filled bouts.

Late sub out early

Hyped now for years, El Paso's David Rodriguez just may be the most marketable heavyweight in the U.S. With looks, size, power and gym skills galore, the only thing missing in "Nino's" resume has been – and still is – sound opposition.

Spearheading what is most likely his final, sink-or-swim campaign for heavyweight legitimacy, Friday night's win over late sub Matt Hicks, will probably not satisfy critics that he's ready for the big leagues, but his 34th victim did provide the knockout his hometown expected to see.

Hicks, matching Rodriguez in height and sporting his new trademark, a Chia chest, took the fight on five days notice after Texas' Ty Cobb pulled out with a shoulder injury. Lacking proper conditioning, Hicks could not vouch for an eight-round war, but said he'd give it his all and go for a knockout in two or less – or get KO'd himself, which was, of course, what happened.

Give his all, is what he did.

The early moments were controlled by Hicks, with Rodriguez pressing forward but getting popped by a light jab, or neutralized with Hicks' hit-and-clinch technique. Catching Rodriguez coming forward, Hicks oohed the crowd with a beautiful straight right hand that momentarily stunned the hometown favorite. It served to wake up Nino, who pressed forward with alarming speed. After weathering an unofficial knockdown that was more of a bull-rush from the former pro football player, Rodriguez got up, dusted off his shorts, and proceeded to take care of business – quickly. Rodriguez connected somewhere between beltline and hip – Hicks later said it was unintentionally low – and down he went. In the heat of battle, Rodriguez let loose with two consecutive body shots while Hicks was down, which went ignored by referee Robert Velez. Hicks beat the count and the round ended, but the end was imminent.

Shortly into the second round, Rodriguez, fully in control, went in for the kill while Hicks timed a left hand – only to land it with self-imploding results. "Aaahhh," groaned Hicks, holding up a damaged left, just as Rodriguez hammered home his money punch of a left hook to the ribs. Hicks went down, then took a knee, clutching his damaged wrist – and that's where he stayed while ref Velez called it over at 1:08.

"It was a disappointing performance," said Hicks, now 13-6, 12 KOs. "I broke or sprained my wrist with that punch ten seconds into the round. Just as that happened, he caught me with the hook and I went down off-balance. I wanted to put on a show and I'm sorry it turned out this way."

Hicks said he went down in the first from a low blow and it wasn't until ref Velez asked him if he was getting back up, that he realized it was being counted as a knockdown.

"I took this on five days notice and wasn't in shape," said Hicks. "But I'll be back in better form the next time."

Rodriguez, 34-0, 32 KOs, gave Hicks credit for punching hard, and for taking his punch, but that the connecting right hand in round one had woken him up with a vengeance. He also called his comeback a "rebirth," adding, "This wasn't about beating Matt Hicks – this was a moral victory for me. The toughest fight of my career."

It was Rodriguez's first fight without his long-time corner, trainer Louie Burke and manager Bob Spagnola.

"I know now I can do this without them," said Rodriguez, who was trained by local guy Herman Delgado for his comeback. Promoted now by Zeferino, Rodriguez will fight under Vegas cutman Rafael Garcia as he moves forward.

"Chris Arreola is where I'm going," Rodriguez promised. "Though he would have to offer me good money.

"I've been ready for ten years to fight anyone. It's just a matter of time now. This was only two rounds – I need to fight a few tough guys first, and a veteran to get some rounds in."

Unwilling or unprepared to name Rodriguez's next opponent, promoter Zeferino promised a "controversial" opponent on another El Paso card set for April 30.

"Our goal is the Klitschkos," said Ramirez. "Pretty soon the world will know who David Rodriguez is."

It's 'Nacho Time'

At 33, Rodriguez's clock may be ticking, but even more so are the gears that have driven Hector "Machito" Camacho, Jr., for the last dozen years. Last night, Junior bought himself a little more time on his clock with a win, though the SNOOZE button was hit more often than his opponent, journeyman Juan Astorga. More alarming than that was the panza on Camacho.

"Macho Time?" It was more like "Nacho Time."

The eight-round bout between Camacho and Astorga was originally set at 154. But shortly before the weigh-in, the pot was upped to 160. That went down the hatch, probably with a grande-size platter of nachos, extra queso, when Junior crushed the scales at 166. Forking over a hefty portion of his purse gave some sort of consolation to Astorga, who was, for the most part, outclassed and unable to deliver his promise of an upset, despite size and conditioning advantages.

For eight rounds while Camacho toyed, the crowd booed, reliving and remembering his awful fight in 2009 against Yory Boy Campas. One spectator remembered well enough to create a sign for Camacho: MY WIFE HITS HARDER THAN YOU.

Having said that, it should be known that the crusty fight fans of El Paso are not the easiest people to please. Could be, the fight wasn't quite as bad as this report dramatizes, but a crowd in Chuco can be very influential – especially when booing and chanting everything from "Panza! Panza!" ("Potbelly!") to "Beso! Beso!" ("Kiss him!")

In other words, you better not come to El Paso if you're going to clinch, dance, hug, toy, showboat or foul – all of which Camacho did against Astorga. Worse, he pantomimed kisses to his "adoring" fans at the end of several rounds.

The jeering began right away and, at least in rounds one and two, Astorga was partly to blame. Waiting too long to fire off on the Puerto Rican slickster, Astorga followed Machito around like a lost puppy eating jabs and harmless slappy lefts. At the end of the round, Camacho held up a glove to the booing crowd, in a futile attempt to pacify them and as if to say, "Hang on, hang on, let me warm up."

Camacho came out quicker in the second, having an easy time outclassing Astorga and pot-shotting him with lefts. Still, the action wasn't enough to sustain the impatient crowd and with neither one of the fighters committing to their punches, the crowd unleashed another wave of catcalls with "Beso! Beso!" – a familiar border banter when the fighters are reluctant.

That got worse in the third, with Camacho landing little more than a couple solid lefts and Astorga doing very little at all but plodding after his playful prey.

There was a change of pace in the fourth, when the two exchanged their respective toying and plodding forward with fouls. Astorga continued to get peppered coming in, and ref Rocky Burke let loose his first warning for a low blow, to Camacho.

In the fifth, it was Astorga's turn for a verbal spanking from ref Burke – and then an actual point off. Trying to trap Camacho against the ropes, he landed south of the border – or close enough, anyway, for Junior to complain. When the fight resumed, Camacho got even with a cheap shot, popping Astorga with a left before the ref could call the fighters back to action.

Camacho and Astorga traded even more fouls through the remainder of the round and the following one. In the sixth, the tide started to turn and Astorga, finally coming on strong, had Camacho in a hot spot in his corner. Rounds six and seven proved toss-ups. In between low, low-enough, and beltline shots, Camacho lost a point in the seventh. Taking a breather, Astorga kept on the pressure, but lost his momentum in the final round.

Round eight was all Camacho. Not only did he take back the fight, but he dominated Astorga completely enough to score a knockout, should he have chosen to do so . . . which he didn't.

Content to clown and pile up points, Junior sailed his way to a decision, ending the fight by calling Astorga, "Bitch."

All three judges, and writers, saw Camacho winning 77-73.

Getting called a bitch didn't bother Astorga half as much as Camacho's clowning and fouls.

"I respect any fighter who gets into the ring, but the way he does it, it's unsportsman. That's why he doesn't have a lot of people following him. I kept saying, 'C'mon, stop running, let's fight.' But he wouldn't.

"Then they kept changing the weight. They told us the day before the weigh-in that they were gonna change it 160 – then, he comes in at 166. I had to drink a lot of water to gain wait for the fight to happen."

With the loss – his third straight – Astorga sinks to 14-6, 9 KOs.

"It was not one of my best performances," admitted Camacho, now 53-4-1, 28 KOs. "But I was looking for the win, no matter how I did it.

"I fought a guy who was lesser than me. That's why I was doing the things I was doing in the ring. I came in heavy and out of shape."

Camacho said he wasn't bothered by the booing.

"Boos are cheers," he laughed. "As long as they say something, I'm happy. If the crowd is quiet, you didn't do your job."

It may not be a good idea for Camacho to return to El Paso. On the other hand, it just may be that they actually love to loathe the charismatic Puerto Rican. Love him or hate him, El Paso will get the opportunity to boo (and ask for his autograph, as many were seen doing) on April 30 when he returns to the border to take on former lightweight champion Cesar Bazan in a well-over-their-fighting-weight bout for a minor belt at 154.

That is, if "Nachito" can, once again become "Machito."

Han hands it to Taylor

Fighting for the first time in her hometown, local featherweight favorite Jennifer Han (2-1-1) outboxed tough Geni Taylor (2-2, 1 KO), of New Orleans.

Han established a strong jab from the beginning, but Taylor was able to slip in overhand rights after almost every one-sided flurry. In the second, Han hurt Taylor with shots to the bread basket. Unable to land, Taylor fell prey to Han's circling, jabbing and clubbing right hands.

A knockdown was ruled in the third when Taylor went down from a punch behind the head – which landed as she turned away. Coming out mad and having her best moments, Taylor caught Han with a big left hand in the fourth but it was not nearly enough to turn things around, or dissuade Han from her aggressive lead. The fight was momentarily halted in the final frame due to another shot behind Taylor's head, but no points were lost as the ref deemed it unintentional.

After four, all three judges had it for Han, 40-35.

"I thought I did very well for not having fought in a year," said Han. "But I can always do better. I didn't mean to hit her in the back of the head, but she kept turning around."

Valenzuela fights off Nunez

In a four-round welterweight bout between locals, undefeated Oscar Valenzuela (3-0, 1 KO) was forced to work for a win against scrappy debuter Javier Nunez (0-1).

It was apparent that Valenzuela was, by far, the superior boxer, but Nunez did not come to take a nap on the canvas, even though he nearly did just that when, in the first, a left hook found its mark, sending him reeling against the ropes. An overhand right dropped Nunez in the second, but the game Mexican refused to take a backward step and kept firing back.

As Valenzuela faded – fighting sporadically in the third and giving away the fourth with a three-round breather – Nunez came on stronger, though the fight was nearly stopped when Valenzuela hammered him with a blast of unanswered punches that had Ref Rocky Burke on the verge of stopping the bout. Nunez took it all – and kept the crowd cheering when he returned fire. Nunez came back even stronger in the final frame that was his best round, dictating the action with a full-force attack that kept Valenzuela on total defense.

Officials ranged from 40-35 twice, to 39-36.

Fightnews/NewMexicoBoxing also differed, from 40-35 (Trujillo) to 39-36 (Cozzone.)

"That guy could take a hit," said Valenzuela. On his lack of conditioning, he vowed to come back in better shape next time around.

"School and work gets the best of me, so I hardly ever train," he admitted. "The conditioning was a factor and is something we should work on."

Villa kayos Castillo in debut

In the opening bout, El Paso jr. welterweight Carlos Villa (1-0, 1 KO) joined the pro ranks with a second round TKO over David Castillo (2-2), of Socorro, N.M.

Villa was gun-shy in round one, while Castillo took the round with scrappy pressure. Villa retreated, unable to fire back. By the end of the round, though, the El Paso hopeful was starting to get his shots off.

Once he'd shaken off his jitters, Villa had no trouble with Castillo. A body attack damaged Castillo early in the second. After an uppercut put Castillo on the canvas, Villa finished off his foe with another body attack, scoring the kayo win at 1:14.

"I had to get my rhythm first but once I did, the knockout came," said Villa. "Now I know what it feels like."

 

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