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If you were watching at home Friday night, damn, that was a short night for ShoBox: The New Generation.
Well, maybe not. Maybe it’s how you look at it. There were 13 rounds fought on television and 8 of them were scheduled as such but still, it made for a pretty quick program.
A program that marked the 70th ShoBox telecast since its premiere back in 2001. A program broadcast live from the boxing-friendly tundra of…Cicero, Illinois?! Home of former town president/now convicted felon Betty Loren-Maltese?! I didn’t even realize there was a Cicero Stadium until I got the initial press announcement in my e-mail a little over a month ago.
But it was indeed right there on Laramie Avenue and thanks to co-promoters Main Events and trusted Chicago boxing mainstay 8 Count Productions, the place was packed with great boxing action and capped off with two excellent televised scraps.
Joel Julio 26-0 (23) KO 3 Robert Kamya 15-6 (4)
What can ya say that hasn’t been or can’t be said about the expectations of how this fight should’ve ended? For those familiar with the hard-hitting Colombian Julio, it was expected that sparks would fly but there was also the hope that Julio’s opponent of the evening, Ugandan Robert Kamya could pull off another workman-like upset not unlike the one he pulled back in August of last year when he defeated junior middleweight fringe contender Alex Bunema by majority decision. After flattening Kamya pretty early with a right, Julio would find his spots more easily while Kamya would become more nervous and predictable. That predictability would result in a left hook that would put down the so-called ‘Doctor’ and keep him down in round 3. Conspicuously missing from Julio’s corner? Trainer Buddy McGirt who helped as a second assist for Julio’s team when he faced Christopher Henry in Chicago in August. But what still remained was a sheer love for what he does and how he does it. This kid is for real and Main Events needs to move him accordingly. Future fights against the likes of Oktay Urkal, Chris Smith and even former Main Events star-in-waiting Kermit Cintron would be great potential match-ups for this kid.
Raul Martinez 13-0 (10) TKO 8 Andres Ledesma 13-2-1(8)
Some people you have to throw a truck at to stop, so what’s a cut gonna do? Andres Ledesma would find out soon enough as he gave all he could just to survive an onslaught from a terribly bleeding Martinez, thanks to a cut rendered in the sixth. Doing what he could to stay competitive enough to stay ahead of Ledesma with a commanding lead (hence not giving Ledesma the opportunity to glean a TKO victory should the fight be stopped), Martinez kept on keeping on, throwing combinations that would drop his Colombian nemesis twice en route to a just and deserved stoppage. And I’m kinda glad too because whoever the young lady in the Ledesma camp was who decided she could make herself at home and sit in the press seating area and scream encouragement to Ledesma, (Jesse Brinkley’s wife-style) deserved to see the fight end that way. Our seats were kinda hacked as it was (with the awesome view of the blue corner ringpost) so the little Latina firecracker who jumped up and down in front of myself and Fightnews.com’s Robert Hoffman and Jacob Chavez didn’t quite add to the quality of our experience. I don’t care how much her cute, round, fantastic-looking behind was booming.
On the non-televised undercard:
Miguel Hernandez 18-3 (9) vs. Wayne Hajicek 4-5-1 (2), 8 rounds, middleweights: Hernandez by UD. Hajicek not a great opponent but made for a great display of power and patience by the serious-as-a-heart-attack, Chicago-based Puerto Rican. ‘Mad Dog’ managed to mouse up Hernandez' left eye during a spirited run of momentum but remained in the shadow of a strong opening and closing by ‘Macho’.
David Pareja 6-2 (1) vs. Derek Andrews 3-1, 6 rounds, light heavyweights: Andrews in a desperately clumsy executed scrap by both men that crescendoed with ‘The Next Great Champ’ runner-up (and exactly how long can you bleed that title?) Pareja eating the mat hard, courtesy of a right hand by Andrews.
Omar Reyes 2-2 (2) vs. Luis Navarro 1-2, 5 rounds, junior lightweights: Reyes by UD in a wildly entertaining brawl that saw Navarro taste the canvas twice and suffer from a cut near his left eye.
Reynaldo Reyes 1-0 vs. Ricardo Swift 0-3, 4 rounds, middleweights: Reyes by dubious SD. The scoring in favor of Swift was obviously a result of JUI: Judging Under the Influence.
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2005
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By Coyote Duran at Ringside (January 7, 2005)
