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Philippines, 16 May 2012 |
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“The Standing Eight Count”- Ringside for ESPN2 Friday Night Fights By Dave Wilcox PhilBoxing.com Sun, 17 Apr 2011 Once again, the beautiful Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California played host to Joe Tessitore, Teddy Atlas and the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights crew. Banner Promotions and Ringside Ticket, Inc were the co-promoters of this Friday night affair. The main event featured Junior Welterweights as Russian, Ruslan Provodnikov (19-1 13 KO) squared off against undefeated Ivan Popopca (15-1-1 10KO) from of Chicago, Illinois, by way of Tijuana, Mexico. Former Champion and respected trainer James “Buddy” McGirt was in the corner of the Russian for this scheduled ten round bout. In round one, Popopca, came out boxing sharply and controlled the action as Provodnikov tried to apply pressure. The game plan of boxing and moving seemed to be working for Popopca in round one and thus on my card he got the nod. As round two got into gear it was apparent that Provodikov’s plan of constant pressure had not been abandoned and it started to pay dividends as Ruslan pounded Popopca’s body beautifully throughout round two. For the next two rounds, The Russians fierce body attack really started to take a toll on the tough Popopca and it seemed that the plan to wear him down was doing the trick for Ruslan Provodikov. Provodikov came out quickly in round five with his body attack and in the final minute struck pay dirt with a devastating left hook that staggered Popopca badly and then Provodikov followed with a savage barrage that would have knocked out a lesser man. Ivan Popopca proved that he was there to win and made it through the round on his feet. He made it through the round, but at this point in the fight, all the momentum was in Provodnikov’s favor and he would need to throw more punches to have any shot to win the fight. Oddly enough as the next round started it was Ruslan Provodnikov who seemed tired and Popopca appeared to be the stronger of the two. Ruslan threw a high volume of punches and used a great deal of energy in the previous round as he tried to knockout the Mexican and it showed in round six. Popopca surprisingly controlled the round and seemed right back in the fight. Provodnikov quickly tried to get back on track in round seven as he went back to what put him in control of this bout in the first place, a solid body attack. Both men seemed tired from the grueling bout. As the next round began it seemed that finally Popopca was showing signs of the tremendous body damage that the Russian had inflicted on him. He was slowing at a rapid pace. Just as these thoughts were crossing my mind, Provodikov landed a perfect right hand to the jaw of Ivan Popopca that put him down hard and it seemed to be the end. He made the count, but didn’t look to have anything left. Referee Pat Russell wiped his gloves and allowed him to continue. Provodnikov rushed in with a horrific left hook that started a barrage that forced Russell to jump in and halt the bout at 2:16 of round eight. It was a very nice win for Ruslan Provodnikov who was in his first meaningful fight since losing in January of this year to Mauricio Herrera in an upset. The sky’s the limit for this exciting Russian. We’ll see if his face can hold up. Ruslan Provodnikov weighed in at 140.8 pounds and Ivan Popopca weighed in at 138.6 pounds. In the co-main event, lightweights had the spotlight as Marvin “El Cachorro” Quintero from Tijuana, Mexico (22-1 18 KO) took on late replacement, Juan “Chago” Santiago from Denver, Colorado (13-7-1 8KO) in a scheduled ten round affair. The original opponent for Quintero was supposed to be the exciting Korean slugger, Ji-Hoon Kim. Unfortunately for boxing fans, Kim suffered an eye injury in training and had to pull out of the bout. Kim was ringside for the fight, so hopefully we will see him back in the ring soon. As the bout began, Quintero came out on fire as he attacked Santiago to the body and head. “El Cachorro” dug right hooks to the body of Santiago from his southpaw stance and they seemed to affect “Chago” Just as it seemed this might be a walk over, Santiago landed a very hard right hand that got the attention of Quintero and the fighters spent the last minute of the opening round exchanging effective blows. Apparently the flurry from Santiago in the final minute of round one took the steam out of him because in round two, Quintero beat the living hell out of him. Every time Quintero landed the right hook to the body, I felt it and cringed from my ringside seat. Things didn’t look good in the corner of Santiago between rounds two and three as we caught him in his corner vomiting in the spit bucket. I'm no doctor, but that can’t be good. Santiago, being the tough guy that he is, his came out for round three and Quintero immediately said hello with his signature right hook to the body. A barrage of punches followed and referee Tom Taylor quickly jumped in to call a halt to the fight at .12 seconds of round three. Hopefully we will get to see the Marvin Quintero- Ji-Hoon Kim fight soon. What a war that will be. Martin Quintero weighed in at 136.6 pounds and Juan Santiago weighed in at 137 pounds. Undercard -Light Heavyweights took the stage as Mike “Imagine Me” Gavronski from Seattle, Washington (2-0-1 2KO) took on “Hollywood” Tyrell Hendrix of West Los Angeles, California (5-1-2 2KO) in a scheduled four round fight. It appeared that this bout was supposed to be a showcase for Gavronski, but apparently someone forgot to Hendrix. Round one was an exciting one as both guys hit the canvas and both appeared very hurt at the time. Hendrix was the first to go down as “Imagine Me” nailed “Hollywood” with a solid right hand and put him through the ropes. He not only got up, but he them introduced Govronski to his own right hand and sent him for a visit to the canvas as well. The fight was sloppy by the two youngsters but they showed tremendous heart and fought hard all the way through. It was back and forth throughout. After four rounds of action, we went to the cards. Judges Fritz Werner and Max DeLuca scored the fight even at 38-38 and Gwen Adair had it 40-36 for Hendrix. The fight was ruled a majority draw. For the record, yours truly gave the nod to Hendrix, 40-36. Mike Gavronski weighed in at 172.6 pounds and Tyrell Hendrix at 173.6 pounds -The next fight featured heavyweights. The less we write about this Heavyweight affair, the better off the world will be. Danny Gonzalez of Ontario, California (2-1, 1KO) took on Derek Williams of Modesto, California (0-1) in this four round fight. Gonzales would escape with an ugly unanimous decision over Williams and we all escaped with our sanity. I think it’s time for a new hobby guys. Danny Gonzalez weighed in at a 274.4 pounds and Derek Williams at 257.6. -The ladies were next up as Junior Flyweights took to the ring. Sindi “Scorpion” Amador from Riverside, California (3-0, 0 KO) had the hometown advantage and probably the biggest cheers of the night as she took on Katerina DeLaCruz from Los Angeles, California (2-7-1, 0KO) in this four rounder. Amador came out quickly in round one throwing punch after punch and didn’t stop for the entire fight as she coasted to an easy unanimous decision. Sindi Amador weighed in at 107.8 pounds and Katerina DeLaCruz weighed in at 110.8. -Welterweights were next up as Dashon “Flyboy” Johnson of Escondido, California (12-4-3, 4KO) squared off against Will “The Thrill” Walton out of Salt Lake City, Utah (4-4, 4KO) for this six round affair. The flashy Johnson came out fast and made it a short night when he landed a beautiful right hand that put Walton down. Walton got up but was greeted with an unanswered barrage by Johnson and referee, Pat Russell stopped the bout at 1:18 of the very first round. Dashon Johnson weighed in at 147 pounds and Will Walton at 150.4 pounds. -In a four round Lightweight bout, Danny “El Cobrita” Ruiz of Riverside, California was making his pro debut against William Fisher from Moreno Valley, California. (0-3, 0KO) It turned out to be a fairly entertaining bout as the young upstart, Ruiz controlled most of the action with his superior ability. Fisher did have his moments and proved that if nothing else, he has the heart of a fighter. Ruiz had Fisher down once in the second round. The bout went the full four round distance and “El Cobrita” Danny Ruiz was awarded the unanimous decision. Danny Ruiz weighed in at 132.4 pounds and William Fisher at 132.2 pounds. -The final bout of the evening was shear pain. In Boxing, when we talk about pain and suffering for a fan, what usually follows? That’s right, a heavyweight fight. Young and undefeated heavyweight, Garret “Goodnite” Simon out of Puyallup, Washington (5-0-1, 4KO) took on juggernaut and resident fat man, David “The Nut” Johnson out of Los Angeles, California. (5-21-8, 0KO) No, that wasn’t a typing error on my part. Johnson has lost 21 times, only won five times and has never knocked out anyone. Sounds fun doesn’t it? I won’t bore you with two many details, but basically the smaller, but much quicker Simon threw very few punches and refused to use his speed and skill advantage on Johnson. For his part, the significantly larger Johnson just leaned, held and mugged the smaller man. Unfortunately for everyone in the town of Temecula, the fight went the distance. After four rounds, the fight was ruled a majority draw. Garret Simon weighed an even 200 pounds and David Johnson broke the scales at 260. Random thought: -Is it “Lights Out” for the only exciting Heavyweight champ in the world? As most already know, the FX Network has pulled the plug on the best damn Television show in twenty years, “Lights Out” “Lights Out” tells the tale of the fictitious former Heavyweight Champion of the world, Patrick “Lights” Leary and his struggles trying to keep his career, health and family in order. It’s a beautifully written and acted show. It’s a damn shame another network hasn’t picked it up for a second season. It’s more than a boxing show, it’s a human drama. I strongly urge everyone to find a DVD somewhere and watch this first season from start to finish. We haven’t given up on the show, even though it appears that the networks have. Please come to Facebook and join our “Keep Lights Out on the Air” fan page. If you love the show like I do, come by and talk about it with us. https://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_192688324102673&ap=1 Thanks for reading and Keep Punching! **Dave Wilcox is the West Coast Correspondent for the “Talkin Boxing with Billy C” Radio Show. The show runs LIVE five days a week and for two hours a day from 5:30-7:30 AM EST. If you can’t listen live, the show is always available by subscribing to the podcast. Go to www.billycboxing.com or www.talkinboxing.com for all info on the show and podcast. Email all questions or comments about the show to billy@talkinboxing.com Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dave Wilcox. Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles: |
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