Avila Perspective, Chap. 292: Route 66 and Great Fights at Mandalay Bay

Avila Perspective, Chap. 292: Route 66 and Great Fights at Mandalay Bay

A familiar feeling of energy races through me like extra-caffeinated coffee whenever I drive toward Las Vegas for a major boxing card.

I get nostalgic feelings while driving and in-my-mind vaguely hear the theme from Route 66, the television series of the early 60s. Most of you are too young to know about that old TV drama.

Serhii Bohachuk and Vergil Ortiz Jr., two fighters with dynamite in their hands, met at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas last weekend. It was brutal, yet revealing in that both fighters showed they are more than just knockout punchers.

Their battle will probably get the Fight of the Year award from various publications.

Let’s wait until this week before mailing the award.

A guy named Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10 KOs) meets France’s Christian Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs) on Saturday Aug. 17, at Quebec City, Canada. ESPN will televise the regional super middleweight title fight.

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Derevyanchenko has a habit of engaging in brutality, if you know what I mean.

Mbilli is a big puncher out of France born in Cameroon and itching to crack the elite. If he can beat Ukraine’s Derevyanchenko he deserves attention. The co-feature is a match between heavyweights Arslanbek Makhmudov (19-1, 18 KOs) and Guido Vianello (12-2-1, 10 KOs). Another interesting fight pits welterweights Abdullah Mason (14-0, 12 KOs) versus Mike Ohan Jr. (18-2, 9 KOs).

Too bad it’s not taking place in Las Vegas.

Revisiting Vegas

The crowd last weekend at the Mandalay Bay was sparse considering the two combatants Bohachuk and Ortiz combined had 45 knockouts in 46 fights. No one expected a dance-off. But only about 6,000 fans showed up for the excellent fight card.

I was sitting front row at the press section between Doug Fischer and Steve Kim. Also nearby was Francisco Salazar. All four of us have covered boxing events for more than 24 years. Fischer, Kim, and I met in the late 90s when they arrived representing House of Boxing.com. Later they became Maxboxing.com. These three journalists are the aces of boxing. I’ve seen boxing journalists all come and go since the late 1980s.

In between bouts we talked about the many great fights we saw at the Mandalay Bay since its erection. Perhaps the greatest of all was Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo back in 2005. Ironically, Castillo was in the building for the Bohachuk-Ortiz clash.

There have been a great many epic fights at the Mandalay. Aside from Corrales-Castillo 1 there was Marco Antonio Barrera vs Erik Morales 1. And how about Paulie Ayala versus Johnny Tapia 1? What I remember of the first Ayala fight is that I had a friend who didn’t want to attend the fight. He said Ayala couldn’t punch. I convinced him to attend and later he thanked me. Ayala and Tapia were ultimate warriors.

R.I.P. Tapia and Corrales.

The Mandalay Bay also hosted Oscar De La Hoya versus Felix Trinidad in September 1999. Boricuas were everywhere for that fight. Inside the casino people celebrated all through the night. What I remember during the fight was Academy Award winning actor Jack Nicholson cursing at the judges for their decision to award Tito Trinidad the fight.

After that fight I headed to a small wine restaurant in the Mandalay Bay where three of the Big Four were sitting. Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns were at a small circular table discussing the De La Hoya-Trinidad fight in the dark room. Imagine if a fight broke out.

Las Vegas during boxing weekend can be magical.

This past weekend was no different.

I later met with James Pena and Melinda Cooper, two native Las Vegans who were a big part of boxing in the casino city.

Pena trained dozens of fighters like the Magdaleno brothers, Jessie and Diego, Jessie Vargas, and his greatest protégé Melinda Cooper, who is a long-time friend.

Both Pena and Cooper met with me and photographer pal Al Applerose at a downtown restaurant to talk about boxing and Las Vegas. We always spend hours when we get together. Nobody knows Las Vegas better than Pena and Cooper.

Pena and Cooper knew Dana White and worked with him during the early and struggling days of UFC in the early 2000s. Now it’s a powerhouse in the fight business.

Times change, but the sport of prizefighting moves on, especially in Las Vegas. I can still hear that theme song by Nelson Riddle in my head from the Route 66 TV series. It’s an adventure every time I hit Las Vegas.

Soboba Casino fight card

A strong fight card occurs this Friday Aug. 16, at Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, Calif. Several bouts are planned including Jimmie ‘El Chingon’ Nunez (7-3, 7 KOs) versus Orange County’s Darynn Leyva (2-7-1, 1 KO) in a super lightweight bout.

The stacked card also features super middleweight Ruben Cazales (8-0) vs. Pierre Williams (8-3-1, 4KOs) in a 6-rounder. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first bout is scheduled for 7 p.m. The fight card is promoted by House of Pain Boxing, Soboba Casino Resort, Fearless Boxing Promotions, Black House Boxing, Seal of the N’deApache Tribe.

For more information call (562) 290-7294.

Soboba Casino is located at 22777 Soboba Road in San Jacinto, Calif.

Fight to Watch:

Sat., Aug. 17. Christian Mbilli (27-0) vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5); Arslanbek Makhmudov (19-1 vs. Guido Vianello 12-2-1). 7 pm PT, ESPN. Undercard action begins on ESPN+ at 2 pm PT.

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