As the 50 foot yachts cruised leisurely outside of the Mahi Temple on the historic Miami River, a scenic sunset melted into the Miami bay outside. Inside, however, a night of brawls was brewing on the Florida Boxing Promotions card. Showcasing the evening was a 20 year old Junior Middleweight Hot Shot KO Artist Julio "Baby Faced" Garcia.
The Mahi Temple is a great venue for boxing. Florida Boxing Promotions came through providing entertainment value with an A+ grade. There was a DJ cranking out tunes, gorgeous round card models, Miami celebrity boxers sitting ringside, pretty and polite young girls serving drinks, and the buzz in the air that surrounds televised Latino boxing. I’m thrilled that they have another ESPN card coming up July 20th when Puerto Rican, Fast Fres Oquendo, 27-4, 17 KO’s meets Cuban Elieser Castillo 29-5-2, 16 KO’s in a 10 round main event.
Bodog.com has posted boxing odds on tonight’s Evander Holyfield vs. Lou Savarese Fight:
Evander Holyfield: -700
Lou Savarese: +400
But on this night, bone-rattling punches were greeted with sinister grins by most combatants, showcasing the prototypical Latino fighting bravado that is so exciting to watch. My photographer and I, the energetic, colorful and world-class boxing trainer Milton Lacroix (it’s a funny story how we met) arrived on the scene in ring side report style, pulling up to the Temple in Milton’s new H2 Hummer Limo, looking clean. As Milton worked the room, I waited at the entrance and watched the fighters and their handlers arrive with all the necessary training combat gear.
Some fighters looked relaxed. One pro virgin looked as if he was going to wet himself. Some fighters walked in like their shit didn’t stink, (everybody who watched the fights probably has an idea of who that was) and some were just glad to be making a few bucks, having fun scraping a few rounds. As we met and greeted friends in this boxing thing of ours, I had a chance to get sound bites from some of the best boxers in the world.
Glen Johnson – # 4 contender at Light Heavyweight: “Got a stay-busy fight coming up July 27th against Freddy Moore, 30-6, 27 KO’s… We can’t get the big names to get in the ring right now, Tarver is afraid of me, Roy Jones JR is definitely afraid of me…. We’re going to keep staying busy until the celebrity fighters retire and we have to fight real fighters…. I want to KO Clinton Woods to put closure to that chapter and try to maybe fight Hopkins…. But Hopkins is making himself impossible to find…. I feel young vibrant and excited still…Boxing and making money are still things that really excite me…I’m a hard worker in the gym…I do lots of roadwork and hitting bags….Sit-ups are my favorite exercise. I will take over the Light-Heavyweight division again, there are no if’s and’s or but’s about it.” (On opponents ducking him) ”They can run and they can even hide, but they can only hide for so long.”
Eromosele Albert – Top 15 contender at Jr. Middleweight:on his last win at the Mahi Temple over Yory Boy Campas April 2nd on ESPN; “That was my best fight so far but on a scale of 1-10 I give myself a 7…. I know I can do better. I made some mistakes and I’m going to keep improving…. My next fight is here at the Mahi Temple on ESPN July 20th against Daniel Edouard, 18-1-2, 10 KO’s….Edouard has the same style as Yory Boy. I actually think Yory Boy is an even better technical fighter than Edouard. Edouord throws one or two punch combinations trying to knock you out. ..I’m a busy fighter, I don’t think Edouard can handle my pressure…. I like to punch to the body and throw hard right uppercuts….I expect to stop Edouard in 7 or 8 rounds….It doesn’t matter if it’s a 6 round fight or a 12 round fight, I always train to go 12 hard rounds…. I sparred 10 rounds with Glen Johnson this morning. Johnson is great sparring…. I am willing to fight anybody…. I don’t feel there is any Jr. Middleweight in the world right now that can beat me.”
Question: What motivates you and keeps you hungry?
Answer: “When I was young I always wanted to be a World Champion. I was an Amateur Champion but I never won the Olympic Gold, so I was very disappointed. Lost to the same guy twice in the ‘96 Olympic Games and the 2000 Games in Australia. Everybody thought I won in Sydney in 2000, but the judges gave it to the guy by 1 point. I had over 500 amateur fights. So when I turned pro my goal was to be a World Champion.”
Bout #1 Opening bout started innocently enough with a couple Lightweights In a 4 rounder between Juan ”Dirty” Nazaro 3-0, 3 KO’s, Miami, FL VS Shazan Semper 0-1, Riverdale , MD. Shazan was making his pro debut. Nazaro had his game face on walking to the ring. Nazaro, the half-brother of former Light-Heavyweight Champion Lou del Valle genuinely seems to like fighting. He might have been brought in directly from a street fight that had taken place outside for all we know. As the bell sounded, you could feel both fighters hopped up on adrenaline. Shazan came to Nazaro wildly, Nazaro bit down and traded shots. After the dust cleared, Nazaro overpowered Shazan in just 19 seconds. Nazaro, 27, looked a good two weight divisions bigger in the ring. When Nazaro connected with a left hook, Semper, 24, was knocked out on his feet instantly. Thankfully, he was saved by the ref, frozen on the ropes. He was OK afterwards. Nazaro has an explosive punch to go with his gold smile. We’ll keep an eye on him.
Bout # 2 Unbeaten Puerto Rican Featherweight Juan Velasquez, 22, 3-0, 2 KO’s was flown in a soft touch to ice in Michael Hollyway, 0-2. The 19 year old Hollyway looked about as intimidating as one of Paris Hilton’s dogs and fought accordingly. The first combination Velasquez threw, a grazing blow, caused Hollyway to turn his back and scurry to the ropes in submissive fashion. Referee Jorge Alonso had no choice but to wave off the non-fighting Michael Hollyway. Velasquez, KO 1. Hollyway should not be paid for that performance and should have to pay his own way back, hitchhike or whatever to wherever he came from.
Bout # 3 Columbian wild man Richie Guttierrez, 28, was the Co-Feature of the night as he faced Chicago-tough Mexican Luciano Perez, 29, in an ESPN televised 10 round Welterweight fight. Guttierrez was the favorite in the fight at Bodog.com with 8 to 1 odds to put the whooping on Perez. Perez is a solid pro, however, who always gives 100%. A rival media member barked it would only go two or three rounds. I quickly offered him a proposition that it would go over 5 rounds. He agreed. So here we go.
Guttierrez, 21-1, 13 KO’s had the Miami crowd behind him but I gave the opening frame to Perez for landing the more telling shots in a fast paced first round. The next few rounds saw Guttierrez’s better boxing skills and faster hands begin to take over. Luciano is going to the liver with conviction every chance he gets. In the fourth, Perez is deducted for a low blow. Both fighters are landing their share of leather. These guys don’t like each other at all, displaying chest thumping taunts to each other in virtually every round. Luciano Perez is game all night, but down the stretch begins tiring. Richie Guttierrez shifts into high gear, swelling up the left side of Perez’s face.
In the 8th Perez gets hammered but stays upright. In the 10th Guttierez boxes and counters effectively to win the last frame. Guttierrez wins by unanimous decision. My card read 98-91, Richie Guttierrez. As I pocketed the crispy Jackson dollar from the rival media member’s grip, he remarked that Luciano had a great chin. I thought to myself that maybe I would buy a Patron shot for one of the Roundcard Models later with his hard-earned dough.
Bout # 4 Untested Puerto Rican prospect Orlando Cruz, 13-0-2, 6 KO’s, squared off against journeyman Jesus Perez, 24-16-4, 14 KO’s in a 4 round Jr. Lightweight affair. Perez had dropped his last 8 fights in a row so the general consensus was that he would be stopped early. As it turned out, the awkward Columbian Perez came into the fight in shape and consistently outworked Cruz throughout. Cruz has sound fundamentals but was reluctant to let his hands go. Southpaw Cruz was looking for a KO from the beginning, loading up on his punches. Perez fought with his hands at his waist and tagged Cruz consistently with powder puff counters. Cruz would land a semi-bomb here and there but never once had Perez in trouble. The judges ruled the fight a draw. I had the fight 39-37 for Perez.
Bout # 5 ESPN Main Event: Young Mexican prospect Julio Cesar Garcia 40-3, 34 KO’s was supposed to shine against what Bodog.com calls a 22 to 1 underdog Troy Browning, 20-0-1, 8 KO’s in a 10 round Jr. Middleweight bout. Before the fight, “Baby Face” Garcia, 20, had the look of a guy who was punching his timecard like it was just another day at the office. Browning, 39, looked to be in great physical condition as he bounced on his toes.
Troy Browning is a Philly fighter, and while his opposition had been severely limited coming in, Philly guys can usually fight a bit. Browning came out moving and working off the jab, shooting in with combos to the head. Garcia plodded pickling his shots occasionally, digging a violent left hook into Browning’s body. Around the third, Garcia started taunting Browning, letting him hit him at will. Garcia was never in any trouble but was letting Browning outwork him easily.
Garcia can punch and when he decides to let his left hook fly, it lands with a thump. Julio Cesar Garcia has a terrible habit of adjusting his trunks posing in a Max Baer-like fashion at least a half dozen times per round. My photographer remarked to me that next time he adjusts his trunks, Browning should hammer him in mid pose. Garcia was being arrogant and fought like all he had to do was show up to win. Browning can put together some decent combinations and beat Garcia to the punch all night.
Before the last round started, my fellow ringside observer “El Gato” Figueroa screamed to Troy Browning that he could win this fight. It was to be. Browning moved, dodged and out boxed Garcia in the last stanza. Browning wins my Majority Decision. I had Browning winning the fight 96-94 on my card.
Browning had this to say about his win: “I won this fight with hard work…I work during the day than train in the evening…I’m a blue collared guy…I just wanted it…I came back to the fight game to get a payday for my family and Garcia’s ranked # 3 in the world so this will definitely help…I covered up good to the body but he did get a few in on me…I was countering with a hook over the top every time he tried to hit me in the body though.“
Stay tuned for my next report and a special thanks goes out to the team at Florida Boxing Promotions to a great evening of fights.
