Zuniga Stops Oganov in 9, Kirkland Explosive in KO Win
By Gabriel Montoya (Sept 2, 2007) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © Tom Casino/SHOWTIME)
It was an exciting night for boxing at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma Washington. On Showtime’s special Saturday night ShoBox card junior middleweight contender James ‘The Mandingo Warrior’ Kirkland and super middleweight Fulgencio Zuniga came up big with wins over Mohammad Said and Victor Oganov.
From the opening bell, Kirkland was on fire as he waded into Said with young Mike Tyson like fury, landing hard shots with brutal intentions. A left hook to the body followed by a hard uppercut put Said on his knee a mere 15 seconds into
the bout. Rising slowly, Said would be pummeled immediately by Kirkland who landed hard shots behind his stiff jab. The southpaw slugger/boxer from Austin, Texas would land a jab, left hand that would once again send Said to the canvas. In the first round, Kirkland threw an impressive amount of hard, punishing shots. Said was only impressive in that he took a large amount of shots.
Round two saw Kirkland settle into a slightly slower though no less intense pace and Said found his way slowly into the fight. But at 2:32 Kirkland would land a straight left, a right hook and a brutal left again to send Said down for the third and final time and see his record dip to 21-6-1 (14).
In his last outing on ShoBox, Kirkland had to gut out a win due to a lack of preparation. This time out, his conditioning was much improved and while he walked through too many hard shots in my opinion, he looked much more like the Kirkland I first saw two years ago who was a force to be reckoned with. “My conditioning was a lot better. I trained real hard for this fight,” Kirkland, 20-0 (17), would say after the bout. “[I was] a totally different fighter tonight. My mind was set. I wasn’t drained from making weight. I am willing to fight anyone Gary Shaw puts in front of me. I look forward to bigger and better opponents.”
In the main event, Victor Oganov, boasting an impressive 26-0 (26) record coming into the bout, would be severely tested and stopped by Fulgencio Zuniga who was viewed coming in as nothing more than a journeyman who would give Oganov rounds and a highlight reel. Zuniga was not interested in following that script.
From the outset Zuniga, 20-2-1 (17), came out boxing behind a jab and a high volume of punches. Oganov appeared to be biding his time and looking for an opening. Near the end of the round during an exchange, Oganov would catch Zuniga high on the head and send Zuniga stumbling off balance back into the ropes. The referee would call it a knockdown but it would be the best thing about the fight for Oganov until the 8th round.
Everything leading up to the 8th round would be all Zuniga as he boxed desperately and beautifully. Circling left and working that jab into Oganov’s face all night, Zuniga showed a true knowledge of his opponent and kept himself off the ropes and out of the corner; essentially away from any place to Oganov’s benefit. It appeared that Oganov’s game plan was catching shots on his gloves and face while waiting for Zuniga to fade. That plan would be his undoing.
By the middle rounds it became clear that Zuniga was not relinquishing control any more than Oganov was going to change up his strategy. Jabs, hooks, and straight rights strafed Oganov who would attempt to fight out of southpaw stance but would only eat more straight rights for his trouble.
Coming into the 8th round, the only fear for Zuniga’s corner was that he would tire and allow the power punching Oganov to steal take the fight with a late rounds rally. That almost happened as suddenly Oganov came alive in the 8th frame. He trapped Zuniga, whose legs appeared a bit rubbery, along the ropes and in the corner and let his hands go for the first time. Hooks and uppercuts landed for him as Zuniga tried in vain to escape to center ring while answering with punches of his own. It was the first round on my card that Oganov won since the first.
The 9th round opened and it appeared that Oganov had shot the final bullet from his gun as Zuniga stepped up his attack landing hooks and uppercuts on the fading fighter. A brutal left hook sent Oganov crashing to the canvas for the first time in his career. Dazed, bloodied and confused, Oganov rose to his feet and would be overwhelmed by the ensuing onslaught from Zuniga. Referee Jeff Macaluso would mercifully stop the bout at 1:25 of round 9.
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