San Marcos Showdown: A Night at the Fights

San Marcos Showdown: A Night at the Fights

By Jason Petock (July 25, 2006)

It was a blistering night at the Hays County Civic Center on Saturday, July 15th 2006, when Tough Enough Boxing, Inc. presented an affair of world class championship boxing which was put together to benefit local San Marcos Youth Boxing and its programs. Summer in Texas is a hot one and this night was no different, with an arena that was packed from the get go with die hard fight fans looking for some action. I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to Manny Sepeda for being kind enough to allow me to attend the fight free of charge along with a companion of mine. If it had not been for his generosity I wouldn’t have been able to attend the fight and take in the action as well as I did that night. The card had a scheduled seven fights and every fight went off without a hitch, which was a welcome change because if you have ever attended live fights before then you would know that often fighters or their camps pull out last minute or guys don’t make weight. In any event, this fight card was filled with exciting and versatile fighters and the way Tough Enough, Inc. put everything

together was top notch and with the utmost professionalism. I’d also like to take the time out now to also apologize to Manny Sepeda for not getting this article out sooner due to the often overwhelming load of a typical life combined with a hectic schedule.

The first bout of the evening featured a 4 round Welterweight bout with David Gallardo of Austin, Texas (0 – 1) making his professional debut against a sturdy Gilbert “Boogie” Vera (2 – 0) also of Austin, Texas. It was a brief affair with Vera dropping Gallardo with a crushing right hand that floored him and ended the fight early and earned “Boogie” a TKO victory at 1:21 of the first round. If you would have blinked or got up to get a drink you would have missed it, it was over that quick. The second fight was very much in the same vein, with an even more exciting blowout. This bout had Welterweight Miguel “Thunder” Ortiz (2 – 1) of New Braunfels, Texas stop Julian “El Matador” Soriano (0 – 3 – 0) of Laredo, Texas in another scheduled 4 round fight, by landing a blazing barrage of lefts and rights to pummel him into quiet submission causing the referee to call a halt to the bout also in the first round, ending the action at 35 seconds to start the night off with a bang.

Next was a spirited affair with two promising and big hearted Light Middleweights mixing it up. It was an all out brawl with Kyle “The Kid” Warren (1 – 1) of San Marcos, Texas facing off against Jerome Adams (1 – 0) of Houston, Texas. At the onset Warren looked ready to go as did Adams, who was making his professional debut. “The Kid” started round one working his jab effectively with solid movement and good defense. Adams took it to Warren’s body and offered up some good counter right hands. Warren showed no quit and came forward with determination but Adams relentless body work and driving right hands won him the fight. In the end it was a UD for Jerome Adams who just outworked and boxed Warren in this 4 round affair, but Kyle Warren showed true grit and made such an admirable effort that you will be hearing more from him in the future. Kudos to Jerome Adams for a great win and a nice outing for his first pro fight. Look for him to make a name for himself in the future as well.

After enjoying the first three fights, the crowd was buzzing with anticipation of what was coming next in the humid and packed to capacity arena. Fight four started with Jose “Guero” Escamilla (0 – 3) of San Antonio, Texas facing off against Osvaldo “Psycho Monster” Martinez (3 – 1) in a 4 round Heavyweight matchup that revealed Escamilla to be an adept boxer despite his record. He showed great head movement and nice inside work that contradicted his appearance, but this was not enough as Martinez began to isolate Escamilla’s assault and unleashed crisp 1’s and 2’s that opened up a superficial cut over “Guero’s” left eye and forced the referee to have the doctor take a look at Escamilla’s eye. The fight was called with “Psycho Monster” earning a TKO victory at 56 seconds of round 4.

Bout five was one of the most enjoyable of the night with Super Featherweight sensation and rising star from San Antonio, Texas, James “Quick Draw” DuBois (4 – 0) defeating Natalio Ponce (11 – 26) of Laredo, Texas by UD in a 4 round boxing clinic. From the onset it was evident that DuBois was the more skilled boxer as he worked the ring with fancy footwork and superb combinations and angles. DuBois was just too quick on his feet as his nickname suggests and although Ponce gave a brave effort, he was no match for the craftier “Quick Draw”. The audience was even given a treat by DuBois, who after letting off a rapid fire combination of 1 – 2 – 3 on the overmatched Ponce displayed the Ali Shuffle in his own display of showboating in the second round.

The sixth fight of the night had San Marcos mainstay and hometown favorite, Featherweight Raymond “Boom Boom” Trejo (8 – 3) dig deep and work over an outclassed Jose Rodriguez (5 – 3) of Alice, Texas, ending the fight in the third round when he bombed Rodriquez to the body and head in succession and forced the referee to stop the fight as it was apparent that Rodriquez was the worse for wear. Trejo exhibited excellent defensive skills throughout the four round fight and was even a true gentleman after he won by TKO at 2:04 when he walked around the ring holding up Rodriquez’s hand in victory. Trejo’s trainer/manager Manny Sepeda was elated after his fighter won and lifted “Boom Boom” up in the air. The crowd went really wild as Raymond Trejo dominated Jose Rodriquez throughout the fight with effective body shots, hammering power punches and an impenetrable defense.

The main event was what everyone was waiting to see and Light Heavyweight LaFarrell “Memphis Fairway” Bunting (15 – 1 – 1) of San Marcos, Texas via Memphis Tennessee destroyed Carlos “Psycho” Bates (31 – 26) of Elkhart, Indiana to capture the vacant IBA America’s Light Heavyweight title when he floored Bates in the opening round by almost completely knocking him through the ropes, and then punctuated his demise after Bates got up by hammering him with a left uppercut to the body and smashing him to the canvas with solid blows that dropped him once more at 2:12 of the first round. The referee ended the fight at that point as Bates was in no condition to continue at all. I had the pleasure of interviewing LaFarrell back in May and you can read his interview here on this site.

It was a great night at the fights with quality boxing, a real fight crowd who came to see some boxing and have a good time and I wasn’t disappointed whatsoever. I look forward to what Tough Enough, Inc. will offer up in the future and I’m sure that several more durable fighters will come through the doors of the San Marcos boxing gym of the same name. If you want to find out more about Tough Enough and what they are about or their fighters check out http://www.toughenoughboxing.com/. Until next time, keep punching…