Valerio Shines and Chimpa Survives a Foul Fest at Belasco

LOS ANGELES-Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez got the win over former world champion Gamaliel Diaz in a foul infested hugging war and Edgar Valerio (pictured in the black trunks) eased like the breeze on a summer-like autumn Friday.

Gonzalez (18-1, 15 KOs) never could overcome the constant holding and butts by Diaz (40-18-3, 19 KOs) but out-worked the Mexican veteran before a subdued crowd at the Belasco Theater. The crowd seemed perplexed by all of the grabbing and butting.

No knockdowns were scored in the super lightweight clash but Diaz showed what it means to be a crafty Mexican veteran. He pulled out his bag of tricks that included holding at all costs and using his head as a weapon. He used just enough tact for it to be legal.

Gonzalez kept driving toward Diaz and falling into his grabbing tactics but always kept firing away. That probably proved the difference to the judges in a fight that was ugly to watch. They don’t get much uglier.

All three judges scored it for Gonzalez by unanimous decision.

“A win is a win and this was a difficult fight,” said Gonzalez while nursing his cut above his right eye. “We knew watching the tapes that he’d be a more experienced, slightly dirty fighter.”

Diaz pulled out all of his dirty tricks. Around the fifth round referee Jack Reiss went to the veteran’s corner to explain that only the referee can halt the fight, not the fighter. Later, in round eight, a point was deducted from Diaz for excessive holding.

Still, Diaz thought he won.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve been robbed,” Diaz said.

Valerio

Edgar Valerio (12-0, 7 KOs) blew out veteran Martin Cardona (24-9, 16 KOs) in less than three rounds with a steady attack including three knockdowns. A right hand by the side of the ear while in close quarters floored Cardona in the opening round. Then, a left hook to the chin by Valerio dropped Cardona near the end of the first round. A few more seconds more could have ended it. But no matter, 21 seconds into the next round an overhand right crushed Cardona and down he went. Referee Zach Young stopped the fight immediately giving Valerio the win by stoppage.

“I was being smart and working smart pays off,” said Valerio. “I give all the glory to God, my family and my manager Joel De La Hoya.”

Jousce Gonzalez (6-0, 6 KOs) floored Ricardo Fernandez (3-7-4) early in the first round and pounded him until referee Jack Reiss decided enough was enough. The lightweight fight was stopped at 2:10 of the first round giving Gonzalez of Glendora, Calif. the knockout win. A right cross delivered the most damaging blow against Juarez, Mexico’s Fernandez who carried his left hand ridiculously low.

Ferdinand Kerobyan (6-0, 3 KOs) brought more than 100 fans and gave them 68 seconds of thrills in stopping the over-matched Uriel Gonzalez (1-2-1) of San Diego in the first round. A left hook to the body sent Gonzalez down for the count after a delayed reaction and he could not beat the count in the super welterweight match. Kerobyan fights out of North Hollywood.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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