Chocolatito Wins the Battle of Champions in San Diego

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 11^th 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