Bojado wins with controversial 10th-round KO

For nine rounds, Francisco “Panchito” Bojado pummeled Rogelio Castaneda with quick one-two combinations that left his opponent bruised and dazed.

However, Bojado saved his best for a controversial and electrifying 10th round.

In his second bout after a three-year layoff, the former ESPN prospect of the year scored a knockout win as the headliner of Friday night’s fight card at Desert Diamond Casino.

Bojado (18-2, 12 KOs) dominated Castaneda from the opening bell, firing sharp two-punch combinations with power and accuracy.

Throughout the bout, Bojado often switched between orthodox and southpaw stances, which flustered his opponent.

“Switching stances was something I did a lot as an amateur, but I haven’t done it much of it lately,” Bojado said. “The right hand was really working for me, so I wanted to throw it from as many different angles as possible.”

With the exception of a strong fourth round, Castaneda (23-13-3 8 KOs) struggled to mount a consistent offensive attack against the younger, quicker Bojado.

“I give Rogelio all of the credit in the world,” Bojado said. “He’s a really tough guy and he stood up to all of my best shots.”

Once the bell signaled the start of round 10, Castaneda was clearly on his last legs. A strong Bojado flurry forced Castaneda to one knee.

Referee Bobby Ferrara did not immediately signal a knockdown, even though Castaneda’s gloves were touching the mat.

Bojado paused and glanced at Ferrara, but still no signal was given. Castaneda appeared to lift his gloves, leading Bojado to believe that the fight was going to continue.

“As a fighter, what I’ve learned is you have to let the referee do his job and make the call,” Bojado said. “Once Rogelio lifted his gloves off the mat, I thought it was time to fight again.”

Bojado drilled Castaneda with two more power shots, then Ferrara jumped in to signal a knockdown.

In the process, he deducted a point from Bojado for hitting Castaneda while he was down, causing a frustrated “Panchito” to angrily stomp toward the neutral corner.

Once the chaos had subsided and the fight was allowed to resume, Bojado hit Castaneda with over a dozen unanswered shots, forcing Castaneda to the canvas once again.

At the 1:30 mark of round 10, Ferrara mercifully called an end to the bout, giving the win to an excited an emotional Bojado.

“I just had to go in there and finish the job,” Bojado said. “There was no holding back.”

After the bout, Castaneda’s corner was in a frenzy, insisting that Bojado should have been disqualified.

Once the smoke cleared, Bojado still came away with the victory.

Room for improvement

As impressive as Bojado was through most of this bout, it was not a flawless performance.

During the earlier rounds, Bojado seemed to settle for landing his potent one-two combinations. He rarely followed up with an extended flurry.

Also, Bojado spent the time between rounds breathing quite heavily, leading some at ringside to believe that stamina might become an issue in the later rounds.

“We felt we needed to get these rounds in and my experience up to take it up another level when I start getting bigger fights,” Bojado said. “I did take a lot of time off between fights, and I’m still trying to get back into a groove. I’m feeling great right now.”

With another win under his belt, Bojado—who earned $15,000 for the bout—will square off against former “Contender” star Steve Forbes (32-5 9 KOs) on the Juan Manuel Marquez-Jorge Barrios undercard on Sept. 15.

“Steve is a really slick fighter, and I’m going to have to be at the top of my game to win,” Bojado said. “But I feel strong and I feel energized. I’m ready.”

Leal stays undefeated

In the evening’s opening bout, star Nogales prospect Adan Leal (6-0 5 KOs) maintained his perfect professional record with a strong unanimous decision over Carlos de la Cruz (10-8 10 KOs).

“Carlos was the toughest guy I’ve stepped in against,” Leal said. “He had really good power, but I did what I had to do to win.”

Even though he failed to notch a knockout and appeared to tire in the third round of the four-round bout, Leal said he was extremely pleased with his performance.

Leal works full-time with Truly Nolan Pest Control in Tucson. Splitting his time between termite extermination and pugilism can be physically draining.

“I’ve been working really hard lately, which just means I need to work even harder in the gym,” Leal said.

Leal expects to make the jump to six-round bouts, possibly as soon as the end of August.

If Leal continues to pile up victories in the ring, he might need to leave pest control behind.

“I love what I do,” Leal said. “I love boxing, and I love termites. But I have my sights set on bigger and better fights.”

On the undercard

The night’s most vicious knockout came in the second bout, when New York middleweight Deferson Legrand (2-0, 2 KOs) drilled Tucson’s Roberto Miramontes with a counter left hook at 2:31 of the opening round.

The punch sent Miramontes—who was making his professional debut—thudding to the canvas, where he remained for nearly three minutes.

“I remember getting hit, but I don’t remember much after that,” Miramontes said.

After a scary few moments, Miramontes regained his senses and climbed to his feet. He suffered a slight concussion, but was able to walk out of the ring under his own power.

“I dropped my right hand, and that was that,” Miramontes said. “I will learn from it and be back in the ring.”

Scottish middleweight prospect Craig McEwan (6-0, 5 KOs) kept his perfect record with a fourth-round knockout over Valentino Jalomo (2-2-1).

El Paso’s Antonio Escalante (15-2, 9 KOs) continued his ascension through the junior featherweight ranks with a unanimous eight-round decision over Paulino Villalobos (26-37-2, 16 KOs).

In the co-main event, Jose Armando Santa Cruz (25-2, 14 KOs) quickly took care of business against Dario Jose Esalas (29-9, 24 KOs).

After an active opening round from Esalas, Santa Cruz caught him with a stiff right cross midway through the second round.

The rest of the bout was all Santa Cruz, who finished off Esalas by knocking him through the ropes just before round two ended.

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