Just KC
09-17-2006, 10:46 PM
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 16th – The 10,421 fans that packed the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena got their money’s worth with tonight’s card but the action and entertainment did not come from the main event, which saw Marco Antonio Barrera score a repeat victory over Rocky Juarez in lackluster fashion. The fight of the night was the co-featured bout between Israel Vazquez and Jhonny Gonzalez, who both gave the kind of doe-or-die efforts that Barrera used to bring to the ring.
One of the reasons Barrera, who retained his WBC 130-pound title by scores of 117-111 and 115-113 (twice), still holds a world title 11 years after winning his first major belt is that he knows when to stand and trade and when to stink out the joint. Tonight, he chose the latter, knowing too well the physical strength and punching power of the young challenger, who gave him all he could handle in their first fight this past May.
“I gave him a boxing lesson,” said Barrera, who improved to 63-4 (42) by controlling the distance and the tempo of the fight by sticking and moving and holding Juarez anytime the challenger got inside.
“I learned never to fight on the level of my opponent,” he added. “I moved very fast and I used my jab”
The fans, who booed loudly in the late rounds of the fight, wanted to see Barrera move a little less and add more power punches to his jab. With the memory of the entertaining first fight in their minds, fans were expecting an even better fight the second time around since Juarez promised to start faster.
However, Juarez, who fell to 25-3 (18), started just as methodically as he did in the first fight. He didn’t force the pace of the fight, which is the worse thing a fighter can do against an aging boxing master like Barrera.
“My game plan wasn’t any different this time around,” Juarez said. “He didn’t want to fight. He never hurt me, not once, except for one punch to my eye.”
That eye, his right eye, which was nearly swollen shut by the late rounds, was the only indication that a fight was in process. Most of the fight resembled a sparring session.
Barrera started the fight looking sharp, jabbing and landing occasional hooks and uppercuts, while using his footwork to keep Juarez constantly reaching, but the Texan began to gain momentum in the middle rounds as the champion chose to move his feet more than his mitts.
Juarez did well in these rounds, getting off with his jab and going to the body when Barrera’s back was to the ropes; however the veteran’s clinching tactics visibly frustrated the young man, who seemed to lose focus down the stretch.
Barrera, who has repeatedly stated that he will probably retire next year, said the most logical next fight is a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, who stopped him in 2003. Let’s hope that rematch doesn’t fizzle the way this one did.
There was a lot more sizzle than fizzle in the co-featured bout of the Golden Boy Promotions card. Junior featherweight champ Israel Vazquez showed why he is considered the best 122-pound fighter in the world by getting up from two knockdowns to wear down Jhonny Gonzalez to an impressive 10th-round stoppage.
Before referee Kenny Bayless called a halt to the match at two minutes and nine seconds into the 10th round, both fighters had hit the canvass and thrilled the crowd with their well-executed power punches and warrior hearts.
“That was a war out there,” said Vazquez, who improved to 41-3 (30). “I’m proud to have come out on top.”
Vazquez, who was behind on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage, was dropped twice – once in the fourth and once in the sixth, courtesy of huge left hooks from Gonzalez. However, Vazquez got up from each knockdown and laded punches that badly bloodied Gonzalez’s nose. In the seventh round, Vazquez returned the favor by dropping the rangy puncher with an overhand right.
“I nailed him with a nice right hand,” said Vazquez. “I started pushing it even more but there was only 30 seconds left in the round.”
Both fighters’ faces were battered by the middle rounds. Vazquez’s left eye was cut and swollen; Gonzalez nose poured blood and his left eye was nearly shut from absorbing all of the champ’s right hands.
“I dropped my left (hand),” said Gonzalez, now 33-5 (28). “I didn’t take care of myself. I left myself open to his right hands.”
In rounds eight and nine, Vazquez landed power shots at will, but Gonzalez remained game. By the end of the ninth, Gonzalez had the look of a tired fighter being broken down. After getting repeatedly wobbled and finally hitting the canvass again in the 10th, Gonzalez’s corner wisely threw in the towel, saving their fighter from more punishment.
In the first title bout of the evening, Joan Guzman became the first two-division champion from the Dominican Republic by narrowly out-pointing Jorge Barrios by split decision, despite soundly out-boxing and out-brawling the rugged Argentine in the majority of rounds. Guzman, who improved to 26-0 (17), won by scores of 114-113 and 115-112 with a dissenting judge somehow scoring in favor of Barrios by a 114-113 tally.
Barrios, who dropped to 46-3-1 (33), was docked a point by referee Vic Drakulich in round six. If not for that point deduction the bout would have been a split draw. However, the right boxer won the fight and Guzman, a former WBO 122-pound title holder, picked up the WBO 130-pound title with his skillful but barely appreciated victory.
“I didn’t think it was that close but I’ll take the win anyway,” said Guzman. “I hurt my left shoulder in the fifth or sixth round. I was trying to stick to my game plan most of the time which was to fight him at a distance. I could tell he wasn’t used to that and I knew he was in trouble.”
The trouble for Barrios began long before the fight as it was rumored that he weighed as much as 10 pounds over the junior lightweight limit when he arrived to Las Vegas on Wednesday. The flamboyant slugger failed to make 130 pounds at yesterday’s weigh-in, tipping the scales at 132 pounds, and had to give up his title. Even if he had defeated Guzman tonight the WBO title would have remained vacant.
Guzman started uncharacteristically fast, perhaps to test the legs of Barrios who spent a lot of time in the saunas of the MGM Grand’s spa and was seen jogging around the casino for about an hour in a full sweat suit the day of the weigh-in. Guzman swung but landed many of his haymakers including a few flamboyant bolo-style uppercuts, which hurt Barrios but didn’t dissuade him from stalking forward.
“Guzman’s power surprised me,” said Barrios, who dropped to 46-3-1 (33). “I didn’t expect it from him, but I didn’t think his performance was enough to win. I was aggressive in eight of the rounds. I felt I won.”
Barrios was indeed game and aggressive in many rounds, but he was caught by Guzman left hooks every time he charged in. Barrios landed some nice body shots in the middle rounds, when Guzman played the ropes, but most of his head shots were either slipped or blocked by the talented Dominican, who fired back accurate rapid-fire flurries.
Guzman stunned the rock-chinned Barrios repeatedly in the late rounds. What began as entertaining two-way action became a monotonous beating, but Barrios never stopped trying.
The action picked up again in the 11th round when they stood and traded in the middle of the ring, firing mostly body shots and Barrios kept swinging until the final bell, which must have impressed the judges.
In the opening bout of the HBO Pay-Per-View broadcast, Jorge Paez Jr. was lucky to earn a majority decision over the tougher-than-expected Derrick Campos. Paez Jr., who won by scores of 38-36 (twice) and 37-37, knocked Campos down in the second round but had to get up from a knockdown himself in the final seconds of the four-round junior welterweight bout.
Paez, who improved to 11-0 (7), was out on his feet in the final seconds of the fourth and was lucky the bout wasn’t scheduled for six rounds.
Campos, now 6-3 (5), managed to land a number of hard haymakers to the unprotected head the popular former featherweight champ’s son throughout the bout and ate a high number of power shots himself, making the prelim bout a hit with the early crowd.
One of the reasons Barrera, who retained his WBC 130-pound title by scores of 117-111 and 115-113 (twice), still holds a world title 11 years after winning his first major belt is that he knows when to stand and trade and when to stink out the joint. Tonight, he chose the latter, knowing too well the physical strength and punching power of the young challenger, who gave him all he could handle in their first fight this past May.
“I gave him a boxing lesson,” said Barrera, who improved to 63-4 (42) by controlling the distance and the tempo of the fight by sticking and moving and holding Juarez anytime the challenger got inside.
“I learned never to fight on the level of my opponent,” he added. “I moved very fast and I used my jab”
The fans, who booed loudly in the late rounds of the fight, wanted to see Barrera move a little less and add more power punches to his jab. With the memory of the entertaining first fight in their minds, fans were expecting an even better fight the second time around since Juarez promised to start faster.
However, Juarez, who fell to 25-3 (18), started just as methodically as he did in the first fight. He didn’t force the pace of the fight, which is the worse thing a fighter can do against an aging boxing master like Barrera.
“My game plan wasn’t any different this time around,” Juarez said. “He didn’t want to fight. He never hurt me, not once, except for one punch to my eye.”
That eye, his right eye, which was nearly swollen shut by the late rounds, was the only indication that a fight was in process. Most of the fight resembled a sparring session.
Barrera started the fight looking sharp, jabbing and landing occasional hooks and uppercuts, while using his footwork to keep Juarez constantly reaching, but the Texan began to gain momentum in the middle rounds as the champion chose to move his feet more than his mitts.
Juarez did well in these rounds, getting off with his jab and going to the body when Barrera’s back was to the ropes; however the veteran’s clinching tactics visibly frustrated the young man, who seemed to lose focus down the stretch.
Barrera, who has repeatedly stated that he will probably retire next year, said the most logical next fight is a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, who stopped him in 2003. Let’s hope that rematch doesn’t fizzle the way this one did.
There was a lot more sizzle than fizzle in the co-featured bout of the Golden Boy Promotions card. Junior featherweight champ Israel Vazquez showed why he is considered the best 122-pound fighter in the world by getting up from two knockdowns to wear down Jhonny Gonzalez to an impressive 10th-round stoppage.
Before referee Kenny Bayless called a halt to the match at two minutes and nine seconds into the 10th round, both fighters had hit the canvass and thrilled the crowd with their well-executed power punches and warrior hearts.
“That was a war out there,” said Vazquez, who improved to 41-3 (30). “I’m proud to have come out on top.”
Vazquez, who was behind on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage, was dropped twice – once in the fourth and once in the sixth, courtesy of huge left hooks from Gonzalez. However, Vazquez got up from each knockdown and laded punches that badly bloodied Gonzalez’s nose. In the seventh round, Vazquez returned the favor by dropping the rangy puncher with an overhand right.
“I nailed him with a nice right hand,” said Vazquez. “I started pushing it even more but there was only 30 seconds left in the round.”
Both fighters’ faces were battered by the middle rounds. Vazquez’s left eye was cut and swollen; Gonzalez nose poured blood and his left eye was nearly shut from absorbing all of the champ’s right hands.
“I dropped my left (hand),” said Gonzalez, now 33-5 (28). “I didn’t take care of myself. I left myself open to his right hands.”
In rounds eight and nine, Vazquez landed power shots at will, but Gonzalez remained game. By the end of the ninth, Gonzalez had the look of a tired fighter being broken down. After getting repeatedly wobbled and finally hitting the canvass again in the 10th, Gonzalez’s corner wisely threw in the towel, saving their fighter from more punishment.
In the first title bout of the evening, Joan Guzman became the first two-division champion from the Dominican Republic by narrowly out-pointing Jorge Barrios by split decision, despite soundly out-boxing and out-brawling the rugged Argentine in the majority of rounds. Guzman, who improved to 26-0 (17), won by scores of 114-113 and 115-112 with a dissenting judge somehow scoring in favor of Barrios by a 114-113 tally.
Barrios, who dropped to 46-3-1 (33), was docked a point by referee Vic Drakulich in round six. If not for that point deduction the bout would have been a split draw. However, the right boxer won the fight and Guzman, a former WBO 122-pound title holder, picked up the WBO 130-pound title with his skillful but barely appreciated victory.
“I didn’t think it was that close but I’ll take the win anyway,” said Guzman. “I hurt my left shoulder in the fifth or sixth round. I was trying to stick to my game plan most of the time which was to fight him at a distance. I could tell he wasn’t used to that and I knew he was in trouble.”
The trouble for Barrios began long before the fight as it was rumored that he weighed as much as 10 pounds over the junior lightweight limit when he arrived to Las Vegas on Wednesday. The flamboyant slugger failed to make 130 pounds at yesterday’s weigh-in, tipping the scales at 132 pounds, and had to give up his title. Even if he had defeated Guzman tonight the WBO title would have remained vacant.
Guzman started uncharacteristically fast, perhaps to test the legs of Barrios who spent a lot of time in the saunas of the MGM Grand’s spa and was seen jogging around the casino for about an hour in a full sweat suit the day of the weigh-in. Guzman swung but landed many of his haymakers including a few flamboyant bolo-style uppercuts, which hurt Barrios but didn’t dissuade him from stalking forward.
“Guzman’s power surprised me,” said Barrios, who dropped to 46-3-1 (33). “I didn’t expect it from him, but I didn’t think his performance was enough to win. I was aggressive in eight of the rounds. I felt I won.”
Barrios was indeed game and aggressive in many rounds, but he was caught by Guzman left hooks every time he charged in. Barrios landed some nice body shots in the middle rounds, when Guzman played the ropes, but most of his head shots were either slipped or blocked by the talented Dominican, who fired back accurate rapid-fire flurries.
Guzman stunned the rock-chinned Barrios repeatedly in the late rounds. What began as entertaining two-way action became a monotonous beating, but Barrios never stopped trying.
The action picked up again in the 11th round when they stood and traded in the middle of the ring, firing mostly body shots and Barrios kept swinging until the final bell, which must have impressed the judges.
In the opening bout of the HBO Pay-Per-View broadcast, Jorge Paez Jr. was lucky to earn a majority decision over the tougher-than-expected Derrick Campos. Paez Jr., who won by scores of 38-36 (twice) and 37-37, knocked Campos down in the second round but had to get up from a knockdown himself in the final seconds of the four-round junior welterweight bout.
Paez, who improved to 11-0 (7), was out on his feet in the final seconds of the fourth and was lucky the bout wasn’t scheduled for six rounds.
Campos, now 6-3 (5), managed to land a number of hard haymakers to the unprotected head the popular former featherweight champ’s son throughout the bout and ate a high number of power shots himself, making the prelim bout a hit with the early crowd.