A Fighter’s Chance

Published

10 years ago

April 8, 2015

Steve Loff

Jermaine White, a club fighter out of Vegas, stood in the doorway of a ratty dressing room, only moments after being on the wrong end of an 8-round decision on this June night at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

“That’s it for me, man,” he said, his slightly swollen eyes darting everywhere, except at the man he was talking to. “I can’t do this no more. I can’t.” He was shaking his head, shoulders dropped, in a bad place after the loss.

“You’re a good fighter, bro. This ain’t easy, but this is what we do. Keep your head up.” The man consoling him was the same man who put White on the wrong side of the decision and on the brink of retirement, a fighter who probably had similar doubts after taking the first loss of his career in his last bout at this same venue, the only blemish on his otherwise perfect record. But after tonight’s win, he was 16-1. One win can change everything in boxing, same as one loss. For Gabriel “Tito” Bracero, bigger fights and larger purses were on his mind, not hanging up the gloves and going back to the relative safety of an everyman life.

White was gone now, leaving Bracero to deal with the incidental head-butts White delivered him during the fight. He was being stitched up by the doctor in two spots, above the left eye, and in the middle of his forehead. It was hard to watch, but even harder to receive. “Ahhhhhh!” Bracero shouted when the doctor hit a nerve. Bracero’s a tough dude, a fighter turned ex-con back to fighter, and to hear him scream in pain was disconcerting. Two hours of careful stitching later, Bracero and his camp were back to thinking about the next fight, the next chance to put his well-being on the line for cash and glory, the next opportunity to move up the ranks toward title fights and marquee venues, and leave behind the days of fighting journeymen for pocket change and record-padding and local bragging rights.

The fight vs White was in June of 2012. This Saturday night, almost 3 years later, Bracero finally gets the opportunity he’s been looking for. He’ll take on a top-notch boxer at a premiere venue when he meets undefeated Dominican Olympic Gold Medal winner, Felix Diaz, at the Barclays Center. For Bracero and other fighters, this is why you put in all the work, put your body on the line every time out, for an opportunity like this – to fight on a stage that’s as big as it gets these days in boxing.

Bracero’s path to this moment is not uncommon. Setbacks and disappointments to overcome. Enduring faith. Determination. Hard work. The idea being if you stick it out long enough, persevere, things even out. Good fortune eventually makes an appearance. Opportunities arise. And if you’re ready, the moment can be yours. For Bracero, a well-documented 6 year prison bid interrupted a promising start to his professional boxing career, but he didn’t let it derail him. And now, at the age of 34, he has his shot, a shot to move up the ranks and get the best matches against the biggest contenders, a chance for the father of five from Sunset Park to fight for real purses. He thought he had that shot a year ago, lined up for a bout against Danny Garcia, but it was pulled away from him by the mysterious boxing powers that be. Now he’s finally here, here to prove himself against a fighter with a good pedigree, an Al Haymon controlled boxer in Diaz. If Bracero gets this win, it will be hard for boxing politics and behind the scenes players to deny him any longer.

Bracero isn’t a big puncher, but a good boxer. His trainer, Tommy Gallagher, goes so far as to compare him to the great Willie Pep, a defensive master who made a Hall of Fame career out of speed and technique, a record 229 wins over 3 decades, with only 65 knockouts. While Bracero is certainly no Willie Pep, there’s nothing to say he can’t climb the ranks by outboxing opponents as opposed to outslugging them. But even in a world where the elusive Floyd Mayweather is king, power is sexy, and that’s why a fighter like Bracero is still on the outside looking in. He won’t outpunch Diaz, but if he’s at his best, he can surely outpoint him and pull out the win. His career comes down to this moment, and though he certainly will fight again if he loses, it’s likely to be in a much quieter setting against a much lesser opponent than Diaz. Bracero and his camp know it. This is their shot. We all dream of such opportunities, and for the fortunate among us, such opportunities will present themselves, though we won’t have to be punched in the face and cut and bloodied to get there. I asked Gallagher about the plan against the southpaw Diaz. “Nothing special. We bleed, we fight, we bleed, we fight, and we keep going like that until the end.”

This is Bracero’s chance to take what once seemed an improbable step for him. “Anything is possible,” Bracero said in a recent presser, his mantra. “If you put your mind to it and have faith, anything is possible.” On paper, this fight could go either way. After the fight, one of these fighters will continue to dream of a title shot, while the other will have to find a way to pick up the pieces, put it all back together again. But neither one of them thinks about the outcome at this point in the week, they think about how fortunate they are to be here. They use adjectives like “thankful,” “blessed,” “excited.” And if you look at the fight from this angle and you consider Diaz with his Olympic experience, having been on the big stage before as opposed to Bracero, fighting in his hometown, a few miles from his neighborhood, waiting for so long to get to this spot, it’s just that much more special for Bracero. There’s added motivation, an edge. In a matchup that’s close on paper, that edge could be the difference.

When I think of this fight I go back to that night at Roseland. The dark and dingy dressing rooms jammed with fighters. Discolored carpeting and faded paint. A decades old stench you could never wash away. A place where fighters must pay their dues to get to a state-of-the-art facility like Barclays for a fight like this, a moment they’ve dreamed of many a night. Bracero has come so far from that June night 3 years go. Even farther than that. They say nothing in life worth having comes easy. This Saturday night at Barclays is proof that no matter the circumstance, if you keep punching, your shot can come, too. That moment you’ve dreamed of. Anything is possible.

After his loss to Bracero, Jermaine White did indeed fight again, six months later in January of 2013 at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington, about 3000 miles away from the Roseland Ballroom. He lost. He hasn’t fought since.

Loff is an award-winning filmmaker presently developing a feature film about the life of boxing legend Willie Pep. tw: @steveloff and vimeo.com/steveloff.

Follow @SteveLoff

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Steve Loff

Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix

Published

11 hours ago

December 7, 2024

Phil Woolever

Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza Shine in Phoenix

PHOENIX – Saturday was a busy night on the global boxing scene, and it’s quite likely that the howling attendees in Phoenix’s Footprint Center witnessed the finest overall card of the international schedule. The many Mexican flags on display in the packed, scaled down arena signaled the event’s theme.

Co-main events featured rematches that arose from a pair of prior crowd-pleasing slugfests. Each of tonight’s headlining bouts ended at the halfway point, but that was their only similarity.

Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, now 39-2-1 (32), defended his WBO Junior Lightweight belt with a dramatic stoppage of more-than-willing Oscar Valdez, 32-3 (24). The 29-year-old champion spoke of retirement wishes, but after dominating a blazing battle in which he scored three knockdowns, his only focus was relaxing during the holidays then getting back to what sounded like long-term business.

“Valdez was extremely tough in this fight,” said Navarrete. “I knew I had to push him back and I did. You are now witnessing the second phase of my career and you can expect great things from me in 2025.”

“I don’t really know about the future,” said the crestfallen, 33-year-old Valdez. “No excuses. He did what he wanted to and I couldn’t.”

Navarrete, a three-division titlist, came up one scorecard short of a fourth belt in his previous fight last May, a split decision loss to Denys Berinchyk. This was Navarrete’s fourth Arizona appearance so he was cheered like a homeboy, but Valdez was definitely the crowd favorite, evident from the cheers that erupted as both fighters were shown arriving in glistening, low rider automobiles.

Both men came out throwing huge shots, but it was Navarrete who scored a flash knockdown in the first round, setting the tone for the rest of the fight. There was fierce action in every frame, with Navarrete getting the best of most of it, but even when he was in trouble Valdez roared back and brought the crowd to their feet. He got dropped again at the very end of round four, and Navarrete sent his mouthpiece into orbit the round after that.

When Navarrette drove Valdez into the ropes during round six it looked like referee Raul Caiz, Jr was about to intervene, but before he could decide, Navarrete finished matters himself with a perfect left to the ribs that crumpled Valdez into a KO at 2:42.

“He talked about getting ready to retire soon so I told him we had to fight again right now,” said Valdez prior to the rematch. There were numerous “be careful what you wish for” type predictions of doom and he entered the ring at around a two to one underdog, understanding the contest’s make or break stakes. “Boxing penalizes you if you have a lot of losses,” observed Valdez. “It’s not like other sports where you can lose and do better next season. In boxing, most people don’t want to see you again after a couple of losses.”

What Valdez might decide remains to be seen, but even in defeat he proved to be a warrior worth watching.

Co-Feature

After their epic, razor-close encounter almost exactly a year ago, it was obvious Rafael Espinoza, and fellow 30-year-old Robeisy Ramirez should meet again for the WBO featherweight title belt Espinoza earned by an upset majority decision. Espinoza turned the trick again this time around, inside the distance, but it was more anti-climactic than anything like toe-to-toe.

The 6’1” Espinoza, now 26-0 (22), was the aggressor from the opening frame, but 5’6” Ramirez, 14-3 (9) employed his short stature well to stay out of immediate danger and countered to the body for a slight edge. The Cuban challenger avoided much of their previous firefight and initially controlled the tempo. The crowd jeered him for staying away but it was an effective strategy, at least at first.

Espinoza connected much better in the fifth round and looked fresher as Ramirez’s face rapidly reddened. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere in round six, Ramirez took a punch then raised a glove in surrender. Whatever the reason, even looking at Ramirez’s swollen right eye, it looked like a “No Mas” moment. Replays showed a straight right to the eye socket, but that didn’t stop the crowd from hooting their disgust after ref Chris Flores signaled the end at 0:12.

***

Richard Torrez, Jr, now 12-0 (11), displayed his Olympic silver medal pedigree in a heavyweight bout against Issac Munoz, 18-2-1 (15). Torrez, 236.6, found his punching range quickly with southpaw leads as Munoz, 252, tried to stand his ground but looked hurt by early body work that forced him into the ropes. He was gasping for breath as Torrez peppered him in the second, and Munoz went back to his corner on unsteady legs.

Munoz’s team should have thought about saving him for another day in the third as he ate big shots. Luckily, referee Raul Caiz, Jr. was wiser and had seen enough, waving it off for a TKO at 0:59.

“I don’t train for the opponent,” reflected Torrez, who isn’t far from true contender status. “Every time I train, I train for a world championship fight.”

***

Super-lightweight Lindolfo Delgado, 139.9, improved to 22-0 (16), and took another step into the world title picture against Jackson Marinez, now 22-4 (10), 139.2.

On paper this junior welterweight matchup appeared fairly even, and Marinez managed to keep it that way for almost half the scheduled ten rounds against a solid prospect but Delgado kept upping the ante until Marinez was out of chips. The assembled swarm was whistling for more action after three tentative opening frames, as Delgado loaded up but couldn’t put much offense together.

That changed in the 4th when Delgado connected with solid crosses. In the fifth, a fine combination dropped Marinez into a delayed knockdown and a wicked follow-up right to the guts finished the wobbly Marinez, who had nothing to be ashamed of, off in the arms of ref Wes Melton. Official TKO time was 2:13.

In a matter of concurrent programming, Saturday also held a lot of highly publicized college football and basketball games which likely detracted from the larger mainstream audience and media coverage this fight card deserved. That’s a shame but you can’t fault boxing, Top Rank, or any of the fighters for that because, once again, they all came through big time in Phoenix.

Photos credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Brooklyn’s Richardson Hitchins Wins IBF 140-Pound Title in Puerto Rico

Published

12 hours ago

December 7, 2024

David A. Avila

Brooklyn's-Richardson-Hitchins-Wins-IBF-140-Pound-Title-in-Puerto-Rico

A change of champions took place as Richardson Hitchins rallied from a lethargic start to wrest the IBF super lightweight title from Australia’s Liam Paro by split decision on Saturday in Puerto Rico at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan.

Brooklyn has another world champion.

“I’m just happy to be a world champion,” Hitchins said.

Hitchins (19-0, 7 KOs) proved that his style of fighting could prevail over Paro (25-1, 15 KOs) who had previously knocked off another Puerto Rican champion, Subriel Matias.

Both fighters expected a different kind of encounter as Paro immediately started the fight with constant pressure and short, precise combinations. Hitchins had expected a different attack and seemed hesitant to pull the trigger.

“I couldn’t get my timing,” said Hitchins. “I thought he was going to put the pressure on me.”

Soon Hitchins ramped up his attack.

After Paro had jumped ahead with a constant strategic attack, Hitchins slipped into second gear behind a sharp right counter that found the target repeatedly.

Things began to swing in the Brooklyn fighter’s favor.

Those long arms came in handy for Hitchins who snapped off deadeye rights through Paro’s guard repeatedly. Soon the southpaw Aussie’s eye began to show signs of damage.

But Paro never quit.

Aside from using quick counters, Paro began firing lead lefts and the occasional right hook and uppercut. But seldom did he target the body. Slowly, the rounds began mounting in favor of the Brooklyn fighter.

Perhaps the best blow of the fight took place in the ninth round as Hitchins connected flush with a one-two combination. Though stunned, Paro trudged forward looking to immediately counter.

He mostly failed.

Still, Paro knew the rounds were not one-sided and he could close the distance. The Aussie fighter did well in the 11^th and 12^th round but could not land a significant blow. After 12 rounds one judge saw Paro the winner 117-11, while two others saw Hitchins the winner 116-112 for the new IBF titlist.

“He’s a hell of a boxer,” said Paro who loses the title in his first defense. “It’s not a loss, it’s a lesson.”

Other Bouts

A battle between Puerto Rican featherweights saw Henry Lebron (20-0) out-battle Christopher Diaz-Velez by decision after 10 action-packed rounds.

In a lightweight fight Agustin Quintana (21-2-1) gave Marc Castro (13-1) his first loss to win by split decision after 10 rounds.

Welterweight Jose Roman Vazquez (14-1) defeated Jalil Hackett (9-1) by split decision after 10 rounds.

Photo credit: Melina Pizano / Matchroom

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix

Published

16 hours ago

December 7, 2024

Arne K. Lang

A Six-Pack of Undercard Action from the Top Rank Card in Phoenix

Top Rank promoted a 10-fight card tonight at the NBA arena in Phoenix. The undercard included welterweight standout Giovani Santillan and a bevy of young prospects.

Based on his showing tonight, Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez is a prospect on the cusp of being a contender. A high-octane fighter with ring smarts that bely his tender age, the 22-year-old Gonzalez pitched a near 8-round shutout over Argentina’s Gerardo Antonio Perez, advancing his record to 12-0 (7). Although Gonzalez was forced to go the distance after five straight wins by stoppage, Perez, an Argentine who had never been stopped and was better than his 12-6-1 record, had a granite chin.

LA junior bantamweight Steven Navarro improved to 5-0 (4 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Gabriel Bernardi (7-2). Navarro had Bernardi, a Puerto Rican, on the canvas twice before referee Raul Caiz Jr waived it off.

In a welterweight contest slated for “10,” Giovani Santillan improved to 33-1 (18 KOs) at the expense of Fredrick Lawson who retired on his stool after only one round. It was a nice confidence-booster for Santillan who took a lot of punishment in his last fight vs. Brian Norman Jr, a fight that Santillan was expected to win. However, tonight’s win should come with an asterisk as Lawson, a Chicago-based Ghanaian, is damaged goods and ought not be permitted to fight again, notwithstanding his 30-6 record. (All six of his losses, including the last three, came inside the distance.)

In a welterweight contest slated for six rounds, 19-year-old SoCal prospect Art Berrera Jr advanced to 7-0 (5 KOs) with a second-round TKO over Juan Carlos Campos (4-2) who fights out of Sioux City, Iowa. Referee Wes Melton lost his balance as he stepped in to stop the one-sided affair with a nano-second remaining in round two and went flying into the ropes, but was seemingly unhurt.

In a major surprise, Cesar Morales, a former Mexican national amateur champion, lost his pro debut to unheralded Kevin Mosquera, a 23-year-old Ecuadorian. A flash knockdown in the opening minute of final round factored into the result. The judges had it 39-36 and 38-37 for Mosquera (3-0-1) and 38-38.

The night did not start well for Morales’ trainer Robert Garcia who had five fighters in action tonight.

In the lid-lifter, 21-year-old Las Vegas lightweight DJ Zamora, a protege of the late Roger Mayweather, improved to 15-0 (10 KOs) with a second-round stoppage of Argentine import Roman Ruben Reynoso (22-6-2). Zamora put Reynoso on the canvas in the opening round with a left to the solar plexus and knocked him down in the second round with a counter left to the chin. Reynoso made it to his feet, but had no beef when the fight was waived off. The official time was 1:56 of round two.

Bouts involving former Olympians Lindolfo Delgado and Richard Torres Jr plus two compelling world title rematches round out the 10-fight card. TSS correspondent Phil Woolever is ringside. Check back later for his post-fight reports.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!