Monday Mashings: Mauricio, Quigley and More

When the fight between Mauricio Herrera and Hank Lundy was called in the fifth round due to a severe cut, some fans and journalists mumbled that it was called too early by the ringside physician and referee.

I wonder what those same people would do if they were in the ring with that same cut from a head butt?

“I lost my composure for the first three rounds. I was thinking it ruined my plans for my future and everything,” said Herrera on Monday. “I didn’t know how bad it was. I thought it was Vaseline in my eye. I wondered why they didn’t take the Vaseline off me. But it was the skin from my eye.”

The cut was so deep that it flapped over. Herrera never saw the damage and kept fighting on. It was a valiant display by the junior welterweight from Riverside, Calif. and he ultimately squeezed out a win last Saturday.

“They asked me if I could see and I told them I could,” Herrera said. “But that was only out of one eye. I was full of rage.”

When the two fighters clashed heads Herrera looked like he was hit with a bat. He wobbled a bit and could have been stopped by Hank Lundy. But Herrera motored on and eventually won by majority decision.

“I got a little upset. It took me a little while to settle down,” said Herrera. “I kept motioning and telling Lundy to come on.”

No one should be surprised. He survived wars with Ruslan Provodnikov, Mike Alvarado, Danny Garcia and Jose Benavidez. Lundy’s head first attacks proved costly with Herrera suffering cuts on both eyes. Somehow Herrera prevailed.

“When the fight was over I still felt like it wasn’t finished. I felt like my mouth was still watering for more,” said Herrera.

What looms next for Herrera?

“The doctors said I won’t be able to fight for at least 60 days,” said Herrera, whose eyes were stitched in the arena right after the fight. He suffered a gash on both eyes with the right eye being the more severe. “I hope I can fight once more this year.”

Herrera feels he has a good chance of facing Argentina’s Lucas Matthysse.

“That would be a good fight. It will be a fans kind of fight,” Herrera said.

Middleweight future

Ireland’s Jason Quigley proved to be the most impressive fighter of the night at the historic L.A. Sports Arena.

Quigley, 24, has raked through seven opponents with less and less effort each time. On Saturday he faced Michigan’s Tom Howard and it was evident in seconds that the Irish middleweight had much quicker hands and power.

When Quigley walked into the arena he received a “who’s he” type of reception with little fanfare. After he obliterated Howard with a booming overhand right and then followed that up with a withering and powerful combination of blows to win by knockout, the crowd roared its approval. Quigley walked out of the arena with fans loudly giving their approval of his attacking style. Or as fellow middleweight Gennady “GGG” Golovkin likes to label it: “Mexican style.”

The former amateur star won gold at the European Amateur Championships in 2013 and silver at the World Amateur Championship the same year. Now he’s fighting as a pro and has been training in Los Angeles. Quigley doesn’t seem to have the amateur flaws that others had when turning professional. He’s aggressive without being careless.

Quigley appears to be one of the gems on Golden Boy’s roster. Time will tell.

Sports Arena

Overheard during the Golden Boy Promotions fight card was that the L.A. Sports Arena may still stage one more fight card before it closes. The fiesta style greeting that featured music, autograph booths, food booths but no picnic tables, was a big hit with fans that arrived early.

Speaking of autograph booths it was good to see some of the guys who actually battled at the L.A. Sports Arena get introduced to the crowd. The emcee Tattoo did a great job giving them their props. Bobby Chacon and Danny “Little Red” Lopez were introduced. They actually fought each other in the Sports Arena to more than 15,000 fans back in the 1970s. Also in attendance was Mando Muniz, a welterweight contender when there were only two world champions.

He’s famous for nearly defeating Jose “Mantequilla” Napoles but getting robbed in Mexico. Muniz was also a 1968 Olympian who participated in the Olympics in Mexico City. Speaking of Olympics, Henry Tillman was announced too. He won a gold medal during the 1984s Olympic Games in L.A. Tillman is a trainer now in South L.A. and works with heavyweight contender Charles Martin. The local trainer helped the wheelchair-bound Chacon get in and out of the boxing ring during introductions. Gabe Ruelas and Gato Gonzalez were the other two former world champions who fought in the L.A. area during their prime.

All received huge ovations from those in attendance.

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