Friday Night Dog Fights: Paez Jr., Antillon, and Bautista remain undefeated
 By Sergio Martinez , All Ringside Photos © German Villasenor (December 25, 2005)
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Photos © German Villasenor
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On Friday night Telefutura’s ‘Solo Boxeo’ boxing series closed its 2005 boxing campaign with three great fights showcasing three undefeated prospects. The night was full of excitement and a good one for boxing’s future. Here’s how it all went down. The opening televised bout of the evening featured bantamweight prospect, and Manny Pacquiao stable mate, Rey ‘Boom Boom’ Bautista,19-0 (14), taking on hard battle tested veteran contender Gerardo ‘Locomotora’ Espinoza, 28-10 (26).
The battle got underway early as Bautista, 118 1/2 pounds, set a brisk pace early by showing a lot of aggression and taking the fight to the Espinoza, 120-pounds, by viciously working the body. The young prospect seemed determined to grind down his vastly more experienced foe. Rey's aggression would cost him in the second round as Espinoza countered a Bautista right hand with a left hook that sent Rey back in to the ropes. Once there, Gerardo would follow up with a powerful right hand that put the young charge down for a count for the first time in his professional career. To his credit, Bautista jumped right up to his feet and seemed undeterred as he maintained his composure throughout the rest of the encounter.
The six rounds that ensued were highly contested and featured a ton of two way leather exchanges as the game and gritty Mexican kept moving around the ring, constantly turning his young aggressive attacker, and countered well.
 Still, by the sixth round, Bautista’s constant pressure, hard right hand shots to the head, and bombs to the body started to take their toll and he seemed to take control. Early in the eighth and final round, Espinoza was caught with hard right hand to the head that hurt him severely; instantly sending him into survival mode for the duration. As the fight ended, one could see the damage Bautista had inflicted as the left side of Espinoza’s face was badly swollen. The judges score card read 76-75 twice, and 77-74 awarding Rey ‘Boom Boom’ Bautista a unanimous decision victory. It was a spectacular win for the young Bautista as he had to come off of the canvas and fight hard for eight rounds to earn his victory. He is a prospect that is worth keeping an eye on.
 In the main event of the evening, 130 pound prospect Urbano Antillo, 17-0 (10), put his undefeated record on the line when he faced rugged perennial contender Fernando Trejo, 25-11-4 (17). It was a war that will not be forgotten anytime soon as Antillon came out looking to establish himself early by using a sharp jab and heavy combinations to both the head and body. The Maywood, California, fighter showed an impressive array of punches in his arsenal as he employed quick crosses, hard hooks, and perfectly placed uppercuts to work Trejo over early on in the first round.
As expected, Trejo would not go quietly and stormed back in the second with a vicious body attack and concussive bombs to the head of Antillon. Urbano would stem the tide a little by connecting some of his own hard shots, but was just not able to keep Fernando and bay and ended up paying with some pain. A clash of heads caused a cut over Antillon’s right eyelid. It seemed that the cut would cause serious problems to Urbano, but his corner kept it under control.
 As the contest progressed, both pugilists had their wills and threshold of pain tested and they both gave as good as they got, exchanging heavy artillery. Although Antillon was clearly the more polished and talented fighter of the two, it was Trejo’s guts, and veteran’s guile that made the majority of the middle rounds hard to score. A low blow in the eighth round cost Urbano one point and seemed to swing the bout in the favor of Trejo. The fighters exchanged on even terms in the ninth leaving the door wide open for a fantastic finish.
With the fight on the line in the tenth and final round, Antillon stormed out of his corner and really took it to Trejo, connecting with hard hooks to the body and sharp upper cuts to the chin. Fernando came back mid-way through the stanza to land his own body shots, but was not able to keep the younger man off of him as Urbano continued to swing away, landing punch after punch. Both Mexican warriors detonated bombs on each other as the round came to an end, bring the crowd on hand to its feet in appreciation. In the end, Urbano Antillon remained undefeated as he took a hard fought, well earned split decision. As always, Antillon is an exciting fighter to watch and one that seems to be improving with every fight. We shall see if he can climb up the super featherweight later and become a force.
 The last televised bout of the night brought us the son of a Mexican fighting legend as Jorge Paez, Jr., 6-0 (6), made quick work of sacrificial lamb Lee De Leon, 2-4 (2). In the opening frame, Paez, Jr. showcased some very fast and heavy hands as he landed vicious punches to the body and chin of De Leon. Late in the round, Lee was able to land a hard upper cut to the on Jorge, but he took it very well; walking right through the punch.
In the second stanza, Paez Jr. upped his aggression level, shooting hard left hooks to the head that found their mark, and hurt De Leon. One of the hooks was followed by a jaw cracking uppercut that put Lee down on the canvas. He would beat the count, only to receive more punishment prompting the referee to step in and stop the fight, awarding a TKO victor to Paez Jr. There is not much that we can learn about Jorge Paez Jr. from a fight like this, but he does seem to possess fast and powerful hands. Only time will tell if has what it takes to be something special in the hardest of sports. |
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