HIDALGO ? It?s no secret that boxing legends Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum didn?t share a table together during the Thanksgiving holiday.
But thanks to a comical blunder by the event staff during the HBO Boxing After Dark series on Saturday night at Dodge Arena, De La Hoya?s Golden Boy Promotions almost gave archrival Arum?s Top Rank Promotions an early Christmas gift.
Sometime during the first bout between Miguel Angel Munguia and Armando Cardova, event promoter Lester Bedford and his staff were notified about a Top Rank banner hanging above the ring. In efforts to remove the sign, officials brought in a lift to ringside after the conclusion of the bout, then promptly covered the sign.
?Oscar wouldn?t like that too much,? said a joking Bedford while the crew was in place stapling a black cloth over the Top Rank banner before the event went live on HBO. The medal barricade around ringside, along with some media tables and chairs, had to be removed while the mechanical lift was positioned.
Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions have been neck and neck with each other with legal tussles during the past year, with the latter filing the most recent lawsuit in Los Angeles this past week against the other. Golden Boy Promotions is alleging that Top Rank Promotions used ?tortuous interference? with Golden Boy?s ?existing, fully negotiated and executed promotional agreement with Manny Pacquiao.?
In any case, having a Top Rank banner hanging above the ring at a nationally televised Golden Boy Promotions event wasn?t meant as a peace gesture.
De La Hoya wasn?t made available for comment.
LOW ATTENDANCE: Considering De La Hoya, along with Bernard Hopkins, were seated at ringside for the main event and co-main event as billed by promotions, and the fact that the event itself was arguably the biggest boxing card in Dodge Arena history, there was a smaller than expected turnout at the gate.
It was estimated that a little more than 4,000 filled the seats at Dodge Arena. The Hidalgo venue holds close to 6,000 at capacity for boxing.
?It?s not surprising to us,? Bedford said. ?It?s Thanksgiving weekend, so we didn?t expect to fill the place. We would have liked to, but you also have to look at what weekend it is. This is one of the busiest weekends of the year.?
LOCAL FIGHTER: McAllen?s Carlos Velasquez (2-4-1) was the only local fighter on the card, losing in a unanimous decision against Austin?s Gilbert Vera (6-0).
The bout was one of the more entertaining of the evening, with the bloody and well-beaten Velasquez playing to his home crowd at Dodge Arena. After the bout he went to the corner and stood on the ropes to a rousing ovation from the crowd.
?I wanted to get the win here, but we fought each other last month and I respect him a lot,? Velasquez said. ?We always put on a good fight, and I think the crowd liked it.
?I wanted to make sure they knew I appreciated them.?
The two boxers met Oct. 27 in Austin, with Vera winning in a unanimous decision.
THE OTHER BOUTS: In the other action Saturday night, bantamweight Abner Mares (10-0) knocked out Wilmer Rodriguez (8-1) during the fourth round with a left uppercut, and junior lightweight Cardova (23-27) earned the win when Munguia retired after the fourth round. Venessa Juarez (6-0) won in a unanimous decision in the women?s bantamweight bout against Tonia Cravens (2-5-1).
Wade Bakers is the Deputy Sports Editor for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4450. For this and more local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.
