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Chocolatito Wins the Battle of Champions in San Diego

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SAN DIEGO-Four-division world champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez welcomed smaller weight world titlist Julio Cesar Martinez to the master class level of prizefighting with a display of pinpoint combination punching and machine-like stamina that led to a unanimous decision victory on Saturday for a regional title.

It was mesmerizing.

Nicaragua’s Gonzalez (51-3, 41 KOs) changed the mood of the boisterous pro-Mexican crowd with a superb display of pinpoint fighting over Martinez (18-2, 14 KOs) who moved up one weight division to face the legendary fighter at the Pechanga Arena.

Martinez’s WBC flyweight title was not at stake.

Despite a large crowd of mostly Mexican fans cheering Martinez and slightly booing Gonzalez, by the third round it was apparent that the Nicaraguan fighter’s special talent for fighting was worth watching.

Instead of booing, the fans vocally supported the various moves and counter moves Chocolatito had in store for the young Mexican fighter.

Martinez had his moments especially in the opening round, but the Nicaraguan fighter seemed to be studying the Mexican fighter with curiosity.

“I wanted to feel his power first and work with him,” Gonzalez said. “My corner said to not give him any rounds.”

Taking the advice, Gonzalez went right to work in the second round with a dazzling display of razor-sharp combinations that rattled the head of Martinez and gave a glimpse of what to expect.

Martinez showed off his Mexican machismo and smacked his gloves together repeatedly as to signify he wanted more. And every time he unleashed his own wide combinations he was met with Gonzalez’s tight and much straighter combos that seldom missed. It was class in session.

But youth can sometimes beat experience and though Chocolatito has been through dozens of wars, his legs and reflexes remain sharp. And as for his stamina, though he lagged a bit in the middle, his wisdom eased him through those brief moments too.

Time after time the two super flyweights exchanged vicious combinations and each time it seemed Gonzalez would finish the exchange. Martinez just couldn’t seem to win a round. During the 11th round Gonzalez hit Martinez with so many blows it seemed to make the Mexican dizzy.

The final round saw both fighters unload every last spark of energy with furious combinations. Neither fighter was hurt but exhausted. After 12 rounds all three judges ruled in favor of Chocolatito 118-110, 117-111, 116-112.

“Martinez was very courageous and can take a lot of punishment,” said Gonzalez. “I’m very surprised.”

Now Gonzalez awaits his new victim or foe and does not care who it is.

“Whatever comes,” he said. “As long they pay me well.”

Mexican War

An explosive Mexican lightweight battle erupted between Mexico City’s Mauricio Lara and Southern California’s Emilio Sanchez and was fun while it lasted with Lara emerging the winner by knockout.

Sanchez and Lara didn’t waste time warming up. They simply used each other’s heads for target practice and delivered action from the opening bell.

Lara favored the windmill overhand bombs and Sanchez preferred right uppercuts in bunches. Each connected and each was rocked with Sanchez going down in the first hand from a hammer of a right by Lara. He got up gingerly but willing.

It didn’t look good for Sanchez in the second round but he found success with four consecutive right uppercuts that seemed to surprise the Mexico City bomber. It was open season for bombs and both were willing to go down on their shield. The crowd went crazy.

Both exploded with an exchange of blows probably knowing that whoever got hit first was going down. Sanchez seemed to connect with a right to the head, then delivered a body shot that had Lara with a look of pain. He grabbed Sanchez and took him down like a safety bringing down a possible touchdown run. The referee warned Lara of the tactic and the fight resumed. It turned out to be a wise man as Lara returned with some wicked rights and wobbled Sanchez. As he stumbled across the ring Lara chased him like a hungry wolf and connected with a four-punch combination. Down went Sanchez crookedly in bent fashion. Down went the referee Ray Corona too as he tripped over Lara while trying to end the fight at 2:59 of the third round. Lara was declared the winner by knockout.

The crowd went delirious. Its exactly what they wanted to see: a Mexican style war.

Other Bouts

A regional lightweight title fight between Angel Fierro (19-1-2) and Juan Carlos Burgos (34-6-3) ended in a split draw after 10 back-and-forth rounds. Tijuana’s Burgos used his old tricks to jump out in front but the younger Fierro was able to figure out the Mexican fighter’s style and roared down the stretch with an aggressive attack. He slowed a bit in the stretch and that allowed Burgos to steal some rounds. But the last round may have decided the draw as Fierro was able to connect with heavier shots. After 10 rounds one judge scored it 96-94 Burgos but two others saw it 95-95 for the split draw.

France’s Souleymane Cissokho (15-0, 9 KOs) hit and moved his way to victory despite an exchange of knockdowns with Robert Valenzuela Jr. (19-3, 3 KOs) in the fourth round of the super welterweight fight.

After the fourth round Cissokho got on his bicycle and ran his way to victory but stopped just enough to rattle off combinations against Valenzuela who loaded up too much while looking for the knockout. The judges scored the regional title fight 100-90, 99-91 twice for Cissokho.

Diego Pacheco (14-0, 11 KOs) met someone near his size in Genc Pllana (9-4-1) but still blew out his foe in the second round. Pacheco floored Pllana in the first round with a three-punch combination and then finished the job in the second round with a four-punch combination that included two vicious left hooks to end the fight at 1:29 of their super middleweight fight.

Fresno’s Marc Castro (6-0, 5 KOs) survived a knockdown early in the fight to out-box and out-punch Mexico’s Julio Madera (3-2) and win by unanimous decision after six rounds in a lightweight bout. Madera scored a knockdown with a left hook to the chin during a furious exchange in the second round. After the knockdown, Castro refrained from throwing more than three-punch combinations and swept the rest of the rounds to win by unanimous decision 58-55 on all three cards.

Skye Nicolson (1-0), an amateur star in Australia, was able to use her quickness and mobility to win by unanimous decision against San Diego’s Jessica Juarez (3-1). Very few punches were actually thrown or connected in the six round super featherweight bout. Instead, Nicolson slapped and tapped her way to victory against Juarez who had no idea how to cut off the ring. Boring stuff. Lots of touch fighting and few exchanges.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

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LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.

Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.

Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.

The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.

In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.

Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.

Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.

From the seventh until the 10th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.

After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.

“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”

Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.

Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”

Other Bouts

Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.

A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.

The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.

San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

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At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.

Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.

Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.

With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.

Co-Feature

Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.

Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.

Other Bouts of Note

New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.

In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.

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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

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Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.

It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.

Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.

In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.

The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.

As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) —  has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.

Other Bouts of Note

In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.

Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.

A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.

It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.

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