World ranked welterweight contender Jesus Soto Karass was the headliner, but two fighters with just seven combined pro fights stole the spotlight Saturday night on the latest installment of the “Top Rank Live” series from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.
WBC #15/IBF #13 ranked welterweight Soto Karass had hoped to get back in the win column after a disappointing finish to his bout against Alfonso Gomez on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard in March. Instead, Soto Karass again went home disappointed Saturday in Chicago after his fight with completely unheralded Gabriel Martinez was ruled a no contest after a single solitary round.
Nothing of note occurred in the three minutes of action, other than an accidental head clash that opened a terrible gash underneath Martinez’ left eye. As Martinez (24-1-1, 13 KOs) of Empalme, Sonora, Mexico took a step forward, Soto Karass (24-4-3, 16 KOs) of Los Angeles, California by way of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico leaped in with a looping right hand. The end result was the headbutt, which caused the stoppage in between rounds one and two.
For Soto Karass, 149, Saturday’s no contest was just another speed bump in a long career that has come a bit off track. Two point deductions cost him a draw against Gomez in their abbreviated six-round encounter. Prior to that bout, Soto Karass had gone on a solid win streak, picking up wins over some noteworthy names since his last defeat in 2005. For the unknown Martinez, 149, a precious opportunity was dashed and his cut will likely keep him out of the ring for some time. Martinez previous credentials included a draw against then unbeaten prospect Euri Gonzalez in 2007 and a kayo by ten against praised Mexican welterweight prospect Saul Alvarez in 2008.
The ticket-seller, as well as most locally and nationally publicized fighter on the card Mike Lee (1-0) of Chicago launched his pro career with a four-round unanimous decision over Emmit Woods (0-4-1) of Saint Joseph, Missouri in the night’s special attraction. Lee, reportedly singled-handedly responsible for $110,000 in ticket sales, pleased his large contingent of supporters as he won every round against the perfectly-matched Woods. Lee, 174, played up his Notre Dame graduate status by wearing the colors of the “Fighting Irish,” before taking the fight to the defensive-minded Woods, 171.
Woods presented little resistance, which was by the matchmaker’s design obviously, but Lee did prove to have the basic fundamentals of at least an ordinary fighter. Whether or not Lee, who has been under the tutelage of renowned trainer Ronnie Shields for the past two months, can turn into a true prospect remains to be seen. Lee does have the promoter in Top Rank that a fighter in his situation would want. Those who thought the career of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. was moved painfully slow may need to hold on for the path that Lee’s career will tread.
Even with the action coming from one direction, the Lee crowd found reasons to chant his name, hoot and holler. After four rounds of arm-punching flurries with Woods covering up against the ropes, a visibly winded Lee was declared the winner on all three judges’ scorecards. Scores read 40-36 across the board for the former Chicago Golden Gloves Champion Lee.
With all the attention heaped on Lee, many fight fans at the UIC Pavilion on Saturday may end up recalling their presence at the event one day as the night they saw a young Jose Benavidez Jr. knockout Ronnie Peterson in one round. That is exactly what happened in the first fight of the night, which was held back to be the final fight on the Fox Spots en Espanol telecast.
Benavidez Jr. (6-0, 6 KOs) of Los Angeles, California by way of Phoenix, Arizona grabbed headlines earlier in the week when his scheduled July 17th Arizona homecoming was cancelled. The event was called off when sponsors threatened to pull out if it were held in Arizona, due to the controversial legislative measure SB 1070 that was signed into Arizona law. In public protest, Benavidez wore a shirt with the characters SB 1070 written across it with a circle and slash through it.
Peterson (3-2, 3 KOs) of Mounds View, Minnesota was in over his head with the classy Benavidez, 139, from the start. It would eventually be a body shot that would down Peterson, 138 ½, and end the fight. Time of the stoppage was 2:45 of the first. The July 17th event is reportedly moving to border city Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, but Benavidez will first return to the ring on June 24th on the Latin Fury card emanating from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Light welterweight prospect Ivan Popoca (14-0-1, 10 KOs) of Chicago, Illinois by way of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, Mexico survived a brief scare to pass the toughest test of his career thus far and score a fifth-round stoppage over Jose Luis Soto Karass (20-15-1, 18 KOs) of Los Angeles by way of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Popoca, 138, quickly found Soto Karass, 138, to be a determined and willing adversary, as the two combatants got right to work from the start. After flip-flopping the opening two rounds, Popoca briefly looked to be taking control before a sudden turn in the fourth. About thirty seconds into the round, Soto Karass landed a perfect right hand counter to surprise and drop the crowd favorite Popoca. Popoca got back to his feet, but was still on unsteady legs as he tried to hold on to Soto Karass. By midway through the round, Popoca, who had not yet completely regained his footing, was out landing a tired Soto Karass.
Soto Karass seemed to hurt Popoca early in the fifth, but the Chicago resident would not stop coming forward. As Soto Karass again began to slow his output, Popoca landed a crisp right hand to wobble and eventually drop his opponent. With a little help from one of the middle ropes, Soto Karass got to his feet before the count of ten. However, referee Gerald Scott waved of the bout at 2:07 of the round
Antonio Avila (3-1, 1 KO) of Chicago scored a four-round unanimous decision over David Laque (2-5-1, 2 KOs) of Bloomington, Minnesota. Avila, 134, had trouble with the southpaw stance of Laque, 138, in the first round. By the opening of the second round, Avila settled into his boxing stance and began to time the awkward Laque. A wide left hook for Avila excited the crowd and removed Laque’s mouthpiece late in the round. Avila proved to have the better conditioning, as Laque never gave up, but seemed to run out of gas. Some heated back-and-forth action closed the fight which was scored unanimously for Avila, 40-36.
Wendel Boyd Henley (5-0-1, 5 KOs) of Kansas City, Missouri and Marcus Thompkins (5-0-1, 2 KOs) of Michigan City, Indiana both remained undefeated after fighting to a six-round majority draw. Henley, 147, was the aggressor, but Thompkins, 145, was at times an effective counter puncher. In the end, the scores were 59-55 for Henley and 57-57 twice.
Krzysztof Zimnoch (3-0-1, 3 KOs) of Bialystok, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland remained perfect with a third-round knockout of Michael Moncrief (3-7-1, 1 KO) of Cleveland, Ohio. Zimnoch, 230, landed a right uppercut that stunned Moncrief, 245, in the third. Zimnoch quickly followed up with a hellacious series of unanswered shots that prompted referee Gerald Scott to stop the contest at 2:12 of the round.
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com
