Wow. What a great weekend of boxing. Two first round knockouts, on two different networks. I was having a hard time figuring out how to watch both fights at the same time and finally I just chose to watch Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs Thomas Dulorme on Showtime because the ring walk entrances were going a little faster than Jose “Chon” Zepeda versus Josue Vargas on ESPN. I chose right. Dulorme was dropped in the first round. He looked okay once he got up, he wasn’t wobbling or anything but Boots knows how to finish his opponent once he has them hurt. Boots attacked and even got caught a couple times square on the chin by a couple solid punches from Dulorme but that was the sacrifice he was willing to take in order to get his opponent out of there. Which is what he did, he was able to drop him a second time and win the fight by knockout. Boots Ennis was not the main event, Jamal James vs Radzhab Butaev was the main event but I didn’t stay on this network, I quickly switched over to ESPN for the main event bout between Jose "Chon" Zededa and Josue "The Prodigy" Vargas.
The fight between Zepeda and Vargas caught a lot of publicity after a scuffle occurred between the fighters and their teams at a press conference. Vargas tried grabbing one of two belts Zepeda was carrying on his shoulders. Zepeda never let go of the belt but Vargas with a smile on his face pretended to hold the belt in the air, as to say it was already his. Eventually Zepeda had both belts over his shoulders. At the weight-in event things got really out of hand. Both fighters had their national flags wrapped around their shoulders. Zepeda with the green, white and red Mexican flag and Vargas with the blue, white and red Puerto Rican flag. At one point Vargas with his hands wide open, holding both the tips of the flag with it draped across his back stepped to the front of the state and crossed Zepeda’s personal space. Tempers flared. There was a punch thrown by Team Zepeda, which might have been his brother, which was later rumored was not allowed to coach in the corner on fight night. Team Vargas retaliated but they pushed and shoved and used their large size in numbers to intimidate Team Zepeda.
In the first round Zepeda caught Vargas flush with a left hand punch. Both fighters are Southpaws, meaning they jab with their right hands and their more powerful punch is their left. Vargas fell to the canvas, almost face first in a spectacular fashion. In a post fight interview he said he tried to get up too fast. In his first attempt to get up he stumbled back down to the canvas almost falling out of the ring under the ropes completely. It reminded me of the time Zab Judah stumbled trying to get up after a knockdown. He (Vargas) was successful in his second attempt to get to his feet. He didn’t bounce up and down on his feet like most fighters do when they are trying to prove to the referee that they are ok to continue. Instead he stood there, the ref saw that he was ok, and he (the referee) decided to let the fight continue. There was a quick exchange and it was clear that Vargas was really hurt and wobbly on his feet. He stumbled from the middle of the ring all the way to the ropes where Zepeda followed him by throwing multiple punch combinations. Zepeda caught him with 2 punches, then 3 flush shots where Vargas couldn’t protect himself with his hands, plus he was stuck in the corner of the ring with no space to help him get away. The fight was over. Zepeda had defeated the younger cocky Vargas. ESPN quickly turned the camera to the crowd, showing a man crying hysterically in the arms of a friend being consoled over the defeat of the Puerto Rican fighter. Later it was said that the man has Vargas brother. The rivalry between the countries is one that goes back decades, with fights in the 90s like the one between Fernando Vargas and Tito Trinidad. And other fights from years prior like Salvador Sanchez and Wilfredo Benitez.
On Friday night Robert Garcia's stable of fighters went undefeated 5-0 with three pro-debut bouts, one six rounder and one eight round bout. The night started with a win in Puerto Morelos Cancun Mexico with Super Welterweight Erik Aguirre of Riverside, CA. He served as the main sparring partner for Vergil Ortiz as Ortiz prepared for his fight in August verus Egis “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas. I missed the first two bouts, I was out at an event with family and didn’t get back home until seven when the second RGBA (Robert Garcia Boxing Academy) fighter Arturo Cardenas of Sahuayo Michoacan was winning his pro debut four round bout. I quickly grabbed my camera and started recording Leo Ruiz of San Bernardino, CA who is and undefeated junior middleweight with an professional record of 8-0. He stopped his opponent in the second round. After two rounds his opponent or his corner stopped the bout. Ruiz improved to 9-0. Next was Jose Manuel “Baby” Rodriguez also fighting a four round pro-debut. He is the younger brother of 10-1 Ruben Rodriguez of Indio, CA. Rodriguez was in control the entire fight, the second round was his most difficult round but he gained his composure and finished the third and fourth rounds with power shots and defense. He posted on his instagram account thanking his family and Team RGBA for all the support for helping him live out his dream. He was interviewed after and was very content with his performance in the ring. You can catch his fight on my YouTube account under Sonteo Media and look for the title under his name, Manny “Baby” Rodriguez. The last fight I recorded is one that I haven’t had the chance to upload yet onto my channel but it was a great tough bout by none other than Luis “Louie” Coria of Moreno Valley, CA. It was an eight round fight against a fighter that fought Miguel Berchelt, Carlos Cuadras and Juan Manuel Lopez. Alberto Chuc, Louie's opponent, gave a good competitive bout and the bout went the full distance, eight rounds. There was no doubt in my mind the judges would rule in Louie’s favor, as they did.
What a great weekend of boxing leading into the mega fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Caleb “Sweethands” Plant. The winner of this bout will be crowned the Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion of the world.
You can find me on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube all under Sonteo Media
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