Sports
Bravo scores KO on chaotic fight card
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| SCOTTA A. TARAS | SPECIAL TO THE GREEN VALLEY NEWS Norberto “Nito” Bravo poses for the crowd after his third-round TKO of Roberto Valenzuela Friday night at the AVA Amphitheater in Tucson. |
By Nick Prevenas, Green Valley News
Freddy Hernandez got an unexpectd jump start on a second career on Friday.
Scheduled to defend his IBA Welterweight belt at AVA Amphitheater, a comedy of errors kept him from finding an opponent.
First, Brazilian fighter Edvans Dos Santos Barros pulled out on Wednesday with an injured shoulder.
Promoter Don Chargin consulted his good friend Oscar De La Hoya on who he should use as a replacement. The “Golden Boy” recommended unknown Ghanan pugilist Abdullai Amidu.
He flew into America to go through the standard battery of medical tests every fighter completes before stepping into a ring. The afternoon before the bout, Amidu passes every test except one — a positive showing for hepatitis.
With only a couple of hours until fight time, there clearly wasn’t enough time to find Hernandez (23-1, 17 KO) a suitable opponent.
Instead of approaching Friday night like a kid who just lost a game of musical chairs, Hernandez attempted a new line of work — television commentating.
Hernandez sat in with the Telefutura announcers during Tomas Villa’s bout against Gilberto Sanchez Leon, discussing the bout and future career opportunities.
“I was really disappointed I didn’t get to fight,” Hernandez said through an interpreter. “But it was still a good night.”
During Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference, Hernandez said he hoped to stay more active. The 29-year-old Mexican native has only fought once in 2008 and wished these three-to-four-month layoffs between fights were a thing of the past.
With his first IBA title defense in limbo, when does Hernandez expect to step into the ring again?
“As soon as possible,” he replied.
Bravo steps up
Even though the fight card was without a main event, Norberto “Nito” Bravo (26-16-3, 15 KO) still gave the Tucson fans something to cheer about.
The former “Contender” star scored a TKO win over lanky veteran Roberto Valenzuela (44-39-2, 37 KO).
Bravo, who fought Hernandez in the main event of Casino Del Sol’s last fight card on April 18, took apart the limited Valenzuela with ease, finding the win column for the first time in nearly nine months.
Bravo had Valenzuela in trouble in round two, when a big left hook found its home on Valenzuela’s chin, sending him sprawling to the canvas.
Bravo talled another knockdown in the third, landing a three-punch combination that crumpled Valenzuela in the corner. Even though Valenzuela made it through the bell, his corner decided enough was enough and elected not to answer the bell for the fourth.
The scheduled six-rounder wasn’t televised and the crowd wasn’t quite as raucous as it was in the past, but Bravo hopes this will be the win that turns his career around.
“My career is far from over,” Bravo said. “My concern right now is to keep focused and get what I feel the sport of boxing owes me.”
In his last bout, Bravo said, he was rushing his punches, allowing Hernandez to pick him apart in a lopsided 12-round decision. Against Valenzuela, Bravo appeared more relaxed. Of course, Hernandez is a much more talented opponent, but Bravo feels that this performance is a big step in the right direction.
“Anyone who knows boxing could see the difference,” Bravo said. “I was much calmer in there — much more in control. Against Freddy, it was like that hunger inside of me was rushing to get out, but that kept me from thinking straight and fighting my fight. I’m ready to get right back in the gym and start training again.”
Villa KOs Leon
With Hernandez-Amidu off the card, the IBA Featherweight title bout between Villa (20-5, 13 KO) and Leon (18-5-2, 7 KO) was elevated to main-event status.
Villa stalked Leon relentlessly from the opening bell and scored a fourth-round TKO win in his fifth consecutive fight at the AVA.
Villa got the better of the back-and-forth action in rounds two and three, which culminated in his first knockdown in the fourth round — a stiff right to Leon’s midsection.
Sensing the end was near, Villa jumped all over Leon, landing looping rights and more thudding body shots.
Leon attempted to fire back, but broke his right wrist. He crumpled in a heap and referee Tony Zaino called a stop to the bout at the 1:46 mark.
As for the rest of the fight card, Paulino Villalobos (27-40-2, 16 KO) scored a surprising split-decision victory over Nogales prospect Jesus Ruiz (5-1-2, 4 KO) in the evening’s most controversial bout.
The younger Ruiz initiated most of the action over the course of the six-round junior lightweight match and landed the harder blows. He nearly knocked Villalobos to the ground in rounds two and four, but the cagey veteran weathered the storm and scored one of the biggest wins of his career.
One judge scored it 59-55 for Ruiz, while the other two saw it 58-56 for Villalobos. The Green Valley News scored it 59-55 for Ruiz.
The AVA crowd loudly booed when the results were announced.
In another tight bout, undefeated junior featherweight Christopher Martin (11-0-2, 3 KO) tallied a split decision victory over Nogales’ Gregorio Torres (5-2-2, 2 KO) in a fight that could’ve gone either way.
Martin scored a crucial sixth-round knockdown that likely swung the the course of the fight in his favor.
The opening bout saw last-minute fill-in Robert Sockwell (1-1) take a split decision over Abraham Espinosa (0-1) in a junior middleweight fight.
In the walkout bout, Tucson heavyweight Eric Woods (1-1, 1 KO) thrilled his hometown crowd with a first-round knockout of Rudolph Louis (3-4).
The next Casino Del Sol fight card is scheduled for Nov. 7.
nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747
Scheduled to defend his IBA Welterweight belt at AVA Amphitheater, a comedy of errors kept him from finding an opponent.
First, Brazilian fighter Edvans Dos Santos Barros pulled out on Wednesday with an injured shoulder.
Promoter Don Chargin consulted his good friend Oscar De La Hoya on who he should use as a replacement. The “Golden Boy” recommended unknown Ghanan pugilist Abdullai Amidu.
He flew into America to go through the standard battery of medical tests every fighter completes before stepping into a ring. The afternoon before the bout, Amidu passes every test except one — a positive showing for hepatitis.
With only a couple of hours until fight time, there clearly wasn’t enough time to find Hernandez (23-1, 17 KO) a suitable opponent.
Instead of approaching Friday night like a kid who just lost a game of musical chairs, Hernandez attempted a new line of work — television commentating.
Hernandez sat in with the Telefutura announcers during Tomas Villa’s bout against Gilberto Sanchez Leon, discussing the bout and future career opportunities.
“I was really disappointed I didn’t get to fight,” Hernandez said through an interpreter. “But it was still a good night.”
During Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference, Hernandez said he hoped to stay more active. The 29-year-old Mexican native has only fought once in 2008 and wished these three-to-four-month layoffs between fights were a thing of the past.
With his first IBA title defense in limbo, when does Hernandez expect to step into the ring again?
“As soon as possible,” he replied.
Bravo steps up
Even though the fight card was without a main event, Norberto “Nito” Bravo (26-16-3, 15 KO) still gave the Tucson fans something to cheer about.
The former “Contender” star scored a TKO win over lanky veteran Roberto Valenzuela (44-39-2, 37 KO).
Bravo, who fought Hernandez in the main event of Casino Del Sol’s last fight card on April 18, took apart the limited Valenzuela with ease, finding the win column for the first time in nearly nine months.
Bravo had Valenzuela in trouble in round two, when a big left hook found its home on Valenzuela’s chin, sending him sprawling to the canvas.
Bravo talled another knockdown in the third, landing a three-punch combination that crumpled Valenzuela in the corner. Even though Valenzuela made it through the bell, his corner decided enough was enough and elected not to answer the bell for the fourth.
The scheduled six-rounder wasn’t televised and the crowd wasn’t quite as raucous as it was in the past, but Bravo hopes this will be the win that turns his career around.
“My career is far from over,” Bravo said. “My concern right now is to keep focused and get what I feel the sport of boxing owes me.”
In his last bout, Bravo said, he was rushing his punches, allowing Hernandez to pick him apart in a lopsided 12-round decision. Against Valenzuela, Bravo appeared more relaxed. Of course, Hernandez is a much more talented opponent, but Bravo feels that this performance is a big step in the right direction.
“Anyone who knows boxing could see the difference,” Bravo said. “I was much calmer in there — much more in control. Against Freddy, it was like that hunger inside of me was rushing to get out, but that kept me from thinking straight and fighting my fight. I’m ready to get right back in the gym and start training again.”
Villa KOs Leon
With Hernandez-Amidu off the card, the IBA Featherweight title bout between Villa (20-5, 13 KO) and Leon (18-5-2, 7 KO) was elevated to main-event status.
Villa stalked Leon relentlessly from the opening bell and scored a fourth-round TKO win in his fifth consecutive fight at the AVA.
Villa got the better of the back-and-forth action in rounds two and three, which culminated in his first knockdown in the fourth round — a stiff right to Leon’s midsection.
Sensing the end was near, Villa jumped all over Leon, landing looping rights and more thudding body shots.
Leon attempted to fire back, but broke his right wrist. He crumpled in a heap and referee Tony Zaino called a stop to the bout at the 1:46 mark.
As for the rest of the fight card, Paulino Villalobos (27-40-2, 16 KO) scored a surprising split-decision victory over Nogales prospect Jesus Ruiz (5-1-2, 4 KO) in the evening’s most controversial bout.
The younger Ruiz initiated most of the action over the course of the six-round junior lightweight match and landed the harder blows. He nearly knocked Villalobos to the ground in rounds two and four, but the cagey veteran weathered the storm and scored one of the biggest wins of his career.
One judge scored it 59-55 for Ruiz, while the other two saw it 58-56 for Villalobos. The Green Valley News scored it 59-55 for Ruiz.
The AVA crowd loudly booed when the results were announced.
In another tight bout, undefeated junior featherweight Christopher Martin (11-0-2, 3 KO) tallied a split decision victory over Nogales’ Gregorio Torres (5-2-2, 2 KO) in a fight that could’ve gone either way.
Martin scored a crucial sixth-round knockdown that likely swung the the course of the fight in his favor.
The opening bout saw last-minute fill-in Robert Sockwell (1-1) take a split decision over Abraham Espinosa (0-1) in a junior middleweight fight.
In the walkout bout, Tucson heavyweight Eric Woods (1-1, 1 KO) thrilled his hometown crowd with a first-round knockout of Rudolph Louis (3-4).
The next Casino Del Sol fight card is scheduled for Nov. 7.
nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747
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