Ringside at the Belasco: Charles Huerta Wins a Rough and Tumble Fight

LOS ANGELES-Charles Huerta emerged from a foul infested brawl as the technical decision winner over Mexico’s Miguel Gonzalez on Thursday evening.

A mostly pro-Huerta crowd saw their favorite fighter return to the ring as the victor in the main event once again at Belasco Theater. But the fight was marred with head butts and loads of clinching.

Huerta (20-5, 11 KOs) had been away from boxing for three years until last December, and in his last fight in April he knocked out an undefeated rival to set the stage for the fight on Thursday against rugged Gonzalez (20-3, 17 KOs). The fighter from Los Mochis was as rough and tumble as they come.

Early on Huerta (pictured on the right) floored Gonzalez with a left to the body and the Mexican fighter feigned a low blow in the second round. It seems to be an often used tactic by Los Mochis fighters. It proved successful as the referee did not count it as a knockdown. A moment later the same Huerta body shot landed but this time referee Eddie Hernandez saw it was a legal blow.

Gonzalez recovered from the body shot and charged forward with his head after the third round. It proved to be his favorite tactic used for the remainder of the fight. In the eighth round, Gonzalez charged in with his head for the umpteenth time but on this occasion both fighters’ heads collided violently. Huerta emerged with a gash above his hairline and blood streamed down his face. A ringside physician examined the cut and the fight was stopped at 32 seconds of the final round.

Because the fight ended on an accidental head clash, the fight was given to the judges to decide. One judge saw it 78-75 for Gonzalez, the other two in favor of Huerta 77-76, 78-75 who wins by technical decision.

“I felt like I was blocking a lot more of his shots and was able to counter him,” said Huerta. “He made it a tough fight.”

Other bouts

Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (17-1, 15 KOs) returned to the scene of his only loss and sent Mexico’s Daniel Perales (10-11, 5 KOs) to a knockout loss very similar to his own. Last winter Gonzalez was stretched out from a devastating loss. This time he was the man standing and looking down at a helpless Perales. A three-punch combination by Buena Park’s Gonzalez sent Perales to a knee unable to get up at 1:14 of the third round of the lightweight clash. Referee Wayne Hedgpeth counted the fighter out. It took a few minutes for Perales to recover from the knockout, but he was able to stand on his own.

Las Vegas featherweight Francisco Esparza (6-0-1) ran into Hemet, Calif.’s Fernando Fuentes (12-7-1) and nearly was dealt his first loss. Instead, one judge scored it 58-56 for Esparza and two had it 57-57 for a draw. Though Fuentes seemed to land the more effective blows throughout the fight, including many more body shots, the judges saw it even.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel.

To comment on this article at The Fight Forum, CLICK HERE.