Angel Rodriguez Flattens Eleazar Renteria
By Vikram Birring at ringside, Doghouse Boxing (Sept 22, 2009)  
Eleazar “El Pelon” Renteria was Kenny Weldon’s new local prospect. As was the case with most of Weldon’s boxers, he is a smooth boxer, looking to win rounds and not go for the knockout unless the opportunity presents itself.

His opponent, Angel Rodriguez, was the polar opposite. A crude slugger with no hope of winning on points, Rodriguez strictly looks for a big shot in hopes for a knockout victory.

The bout turned out to be exactly as planned. Renteria piled up points in the early rounds, landing combinations and moving out of harm’s way. He seemed on the way to a decision victory.

Towards the end of the fourth round, everything changed. A massive right cross out of nowhere sent Renteria down for the count. He got up, and for the remaining seconds held on. The constant stalking of Rodriguez finally paid off.

In the fifth, Renteria shook off the cobwebs and boxed cautiously, trying to avoid a similar encounter.

In sport, when one plays to avoid making a mistake, it always leads to disaster. The true sportsman does not even think, but lets the game come to him. It is in this mental state that one reaches true sporting nirvana.

Eleazar Renteria fought to avoid getting caught, and as a result, got caught by a massive right cross that completely compacted him. His body fell sideways and crashed to the floor. There was no getting up from this. Rodriguez and his trainer Ray Ontiveros claimed local bragging rights on this night as they picked up the Texas Super Featherweight Championship in emphatic fashion.

Angel Herrera is the people’s fighter. He looks like one of them: aging, slightly obese, and rugged. His condition is similar to fellow Mexican heavyweight Homero Fonseca. His stomach hangs over his trunks and jiggles as he moves. His opponent, Douglas Robertson, seemed to be in decent condition and held every physical advantage. He was taller, more muscular, stronger, and younger. Yet he was the perfect foil for Herrera, as he had won only once in the last four years.

Herrera was all heart, as within a minute of the opening round, his mouth was open and he was breathing heavily. Robertson had the perfect opportunity to win, yet, didn’t let his hands go. He landed an occasional right hook to the body, but not much more than that. He let Herrera off the hook, but that is probably why his record was three victories with twenty defeats coming into the match.

Both fighters were completely exhausted in the fourth, but Herrera out hustled his opponent to pull out a unanimous decision victory. Official scores were 40-36, 39-37, and 39-37.

When one sees his own blood, the reaction shows the character of the individual. Ordinary men react with fear, sometimes even faint, but there are those disturbed individuals who smile when the see the flow of the glistening red fluid.

Professional boxers tend to fit in this category.

Nelson Ramos, who had not fought in nearly a year, suffered a horrific cut in the second round of his match against Jonathan Jones. In something of a pugilistic tribute to Arturo Gatti, at the risk of the doctor stopping the match, he quickly began to pummel Jones and knocked him out. This, at the heart, is what boxers are.

Uko Isidien lost his first bout to a man with no victories and three losses. The thought of his manager and promoter must have been, “Let’s get someone just a bit worse.” Mike Hull had no victories and five defeats. This was good enough to re-instill some confidence in Isidien, who finished him off at one minute, twenty-four seconds on the second round.

Fernando Castaneda 4-3 (1) continued his winning streak with a unanimous decision victory over Rodrigo Villareal 1-3. Official scores were 39-37, 39-37, and 40-36.

Questions or comments,
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Vikram at: vikram.birring@gmail.com



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