 |
|
Oscar 'Chololo' Larios
|
In an entertaining main event, current WBC super bantamweight champion Oscar 'Chololo' Larios of Mexico won a unanimous decision against the very game Ivan Alvarez of Columbia in a non-title bout. The fight card was held at the Isleta Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico and broadcast by Spanish language network Telefutura.
Ivan Alvarez replaced Frankie Archuleta who pulled out of his scheduled bout against Oscar Larios due to illness. The match-up between Larios and Alvarez was a rematch of their 2001 bout in which Larios won a 12 round unanimous decision. Both fighters used the opening round to feel each other out. The second turned out to be a precursor of what was to come. Alvarez began the round by swinging wildly with some success, while Larios committed himself to attacking the body of his shorter opponent. This pattern continued throughout with little deviation.
As the fight unfolded Larios’ commitment to the body proved to be the more effective fight plan. The third saw Alvarez double over from a Larios left to the solar plexus. A thudding left hook to the body by Larios in the fourth brought an unexpected response. Alvarez dropped his guard and looked to be grinding his teeth. A somewhat confused Larios watched his opponent turn into a caricature of himself. This all elicited cat calls from the audience. It was obvious, however, that Alvarez was hurt. He retreated and protected his body for the remainder of the round.
In the eighth stanza, Alvarez was floored by a left hook to the body. An animated Alvarez rose from the canvas by leaping in the air. Though visibly tired and breathing heavily from his mouth, the Columbian grunted and wailed at the Mexican champion after they exchanged blows. When the bell rang to signal the end of the round, Larios walked to his corner with a smile on his face, seemingly entertained by Alvarez’s antics. The tenth and final round ended with Alvarez clowning for the final 30 seconds, while Larios stood in the middle of the ring smiling.
The scores were 100-89 twice and 99-90, all for Larios. With the loss Ivan Alvarez falls to 19-14 (8). Oscar Larios improves to 53-3-1 (35).
The main support of the evening was a ten round super bantamweight bout between Mexico’s Adan Vargas and Columbia’s Julio 'The Indian' Coronell. Vargas had been inactive since his loss to Tim Austin over two years ago and Coronell had not fought since April of 2003.
The opening frame began with a series of low blows and a clash of heads. The next round saw both fighters fall as they became tangled up when Coronell came charging in to attack. A rabbit punch in the third dropped Coronell. To the referee’s credit, it was not ruled a knockdown.
The southpaw Vargas controlled the action with effective counterpunching and a stiff jab. A frustrated Coronell was deducted a point in the eighth round for leading with his head. Near the end of the round the Columbian seemed to slip in the corner after having received a blow to the chest, yet Vargas was credited with a knockdown. In the tenth and final round Coronell was wobbled by a winging left but he managed to survive the round on his feet. At the sound of the bell both fighters embraced and showed themselves to be true sportsmen.
All three judges scored the fight a shutout in favor of Adan Vargas. The three identical scores read 100-88. With the win Vargas ups his record to 38-4-1 (23) and Julio Coronell falls to 21-20-1 (16).
|
|
|
|
© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2004
|
By Victor Garcia (August 21, 2004) 
