Cuban Stalwarts Ortiz and Sanchez Dominate on a Fast Card in L.A.

Cuban Stalwarts Ortiz and Sanchez Dominate on a Fast Card in L.A.

Two Cuban heavyweights, one a rising contender and the other a former two-time world title challenger, topped Saturday’s 5-fight all-heavyweight card at LA’s Microsoft Theater. The show aired on FOX but the early bouts were diverted to FOX Sports 2 by the network’s seemingly never-ending post-election coverage.

On paper, the show lacked competitive fights. True, with heavyweights there is always the chance of an unexpected knockout, but there were no unexpected knockouts tonight, but rather just a succession of quick stoppages that in the aggregate consumed less TV time than was devoted to hyping the Dec. 5 Spence-Garcia PPV.

The quickest of them all was Luis Ortiz’s 45-second scuffle with Alexander “The Not So Great” Flores. Ortiz (pictured) started fast and ended the contest with a right to the body. However, Flores would claim after the fight that an earlier punch hurt his left eye and caused his legs to go numb. Whatever, the 40-something Ortiz, who has defeated everyone put in front of him with the exception of Deontay Wilder, advanced his record to 32-2 with his 27^th knockout. The overmatched Flores, a Los Angeles metro native, was felled by a body punch the previous time that he stepped up in class, succumbing to Joseph Parker in the third round in New Zealand.

Co-Feature

Twenty-eight-year old Frank Sanchez, reportedly 214-6 as an amateur in Cuba, moved his professional ledger to 16-0 (12) with a fourth-round stoppage of game but out-gunned Brian Howard who was on the deck three times before referee Jerry Cantu stepped in and saved him from further punishment. The official time was 2:07.

Sanchez wobbled Howard with a chopping right hook late in round three and knocked him down with a sweeping left hook moments before the bell. He continued his assault in round four, knocking him down twice more. Referee Jerry Cantu allowed the fight to continue after the third knockdown, but Sanchez forced his hand with a blizzard of punches in what was a very impressive performance. The well-muscled 40-year-old Howard, a native of Lake Wales, Florida, resurrected his flagging career in August of 2019 with a shocking first-round KO of former Puerto Rican Olympian Carlos Negron, but tonight he was out of his element as his record fell to 15-4.

Other Bouts

Michael Coffie, an ex-Marine from Brooklyn who served in Afghanistan before starting his pro career at age 31, improved to 11-0 (8) with a second-round stoppage of 39-year-old Minnesota journeyman Joey Abell (35-11). The fight gave promise of being a good one until Abell, a late sub, injured his right biceps while throwing a punch in the second round. Coffie seized the moment, putting his wounded adversary down with a left-right combination. Although Abell beat the count, he was unfit to continue. It was all over after three minutes and 49 seconds of actual ring time.

At age 34, Coffie has a short window to make headway in this sport, but the ex-Marine, who carried 267 ¾ pounds on his six-foot-five frame, is battle-tested in the gym, having sparred extensively with fellow Brooklynites Adam Kownacki and Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, and seems poised to make a move.

Carlos Negron, a 33-year-old Miami resident of Puerto Rican descent, was fed a softie in Rafael Rios and scarcely broke a sweat while improving to 22-3 (17). Rios, 35, was making only his third fight outside Northern Mexico and his previous opponents were collectively 53-167-23 at the time that he fought them. He took a knee in round two, complaining of a rabbit punch and the bout was stopped shortly thereafter with the hapless Rios (11-3) offering little resistance.

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