Undercard results for Pavlik vs Taylor II - Boxing
By John Novoselac at ringside Las Vegas (Feb 18, 2008) DoghouseBoxing        
In clash of world class super flyweights , Fernando Montiel put his WBO title on the line against all action Martin Castillo.

The feeling out process didn’t last long, as a double left hook combo sent Castillo down with about a minute left in the first round. Castillo rose and finished the round getting battered by the vaunted power of Montiel. Castillo seemed to be struggling with superior strength of the champ.

Montiel continued to dominate through rounds two and three, punctuating the latter with a mean left hook that nearly sent Castillo down at the bell.

Montiel ended the fight early, with a vicious left hook to the body of Castillo that sent him down for the count at 1:56 of the 4th round.

Montiel had looked like death warmed over at the weigh in, so his utter dominance was at least slightly surprising to this writer. It was another impressive performance for the Mexican who continues his four fight win streak since returning to the super flyweight division after challenging Jhonny Gonzalez for the WBO bantamweight title.

Jorge Arce destroyer Christian Mijares sought to continue his winning streak in defending his WBC super flyweight title versus American Olympian Jose Navarro, who has been unsuccessful in three world title tries, all held overseas.

The very fast hands of Mijares were in display in round one, though both fighters made it ugly with a combination of holding, pulling, and questionable shots.

The superior skills and pedigree of Mijares began to show in round two, with lighting fast combinations that led to redness and swelling on the face of the challenger.

Round three saw much of the same, though Navarro landed a beautiful left uppercut to end the stanza.

By round four, Navarro’s trunks were covered in his own blood. Mijares simply has too much skill and accuracy.

Navarro tried to get back in the fight, working his jab and moving forward to start round.

Navarro improved still and pressed the fight in the sixth, yet Mijares superior boxing continued to win him round after round.

Round seven was again action packed, as both fighters flurried, ending another Mijares round.

The energetic pace didn’t slow in round eight, as Mijares appeared to be looking to go for the stoppage, sensing some slowing of his opponent. Navarro declined to oblige, and the battle pressed forward in to round nine.

Navarro experienced his greatest success so far in round nine, ending it with an accurate and quick combination that stole him the round.

With blood pouring from his entire face, Navarro moved forward in round ten, eating shot after shot. As George Foreman would say, it was a lot of hot, flying leather. Navarro was sent to the doctor twice for inspection in the eleventh, yet the fight continued.

Navarro entered the twelfth knowing that a knockout was needed to win. He was unable to make any real headway towards that, and dropped a split decision loss to the impressive Mijares.

The scores were terrible, aside from judge Adalaide Byrd, with Doug Tucker giving every round to Navarro. Press row erupted in gasps, as a scoring mix up is certainly the cause of the split. If it doesn’t change, it will be entered into the hall of fame as the worst score of all time.

Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Ronald Hearns looked to step up his level of competition by taking on tough Mexican Juan Astorga. Hearns established a very methodical pace in rounds one and two behind his piston-like jab. In round three, Hearns hurt Astorga badly one minute in, and stalked him behind solid power shots from both hands which led referee Jay Nady to look closely at possibly stopping the action.

In round four Astorga looked to be recovered from the damage inflicted in round three, yet still absorbed considerable punishment. Astorga picked up an aggressive pace in round five, pushing forward behind a high guard. He saw some success, until he was dropped by a big straight right from Hearns that landed right at the end of the punch. Astorga rose, and both fighters traded shots to end the round.

Hearns landed a sharp left hook in the seventh to start the end, and Hearns sent Astorga down for the final time at 1:10 to secure a TKO victory.

Non-televised Bouts

Daniel Jacobs defeated Alexander Volkov by TKO at 2:57 of the second round in a middleweight bout.

Sergio Martinez won a unanimous decision win over David Toribio over four rounds in a junior middleweight contest. Scores were 39-35, and 40-36 twice.

In lightweight action, Miguel Angel Garcia stopped Jorge Ruiz in the fifth round at the 1:35 mark.

Brian Viloria sought to reclaim contender status, as well as televised fights, defeating Cesar Lopez via unanimous decision over eight rounds. Scores read 77-74, and 78-73 twice.

Questions or comments,
e-mail
John at: jnovoselac@yahoo.com






Questions or comments,
e-mail
John at: jnovoselac@yahoo.com
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