SAN ANTONIO – It was “Mexican Russian” against “Little Soldier” at Illusions Theatre, in Saturday’s main event. All of the monikers were apt.
Fighting in a 10-round “Top Rank Live” match made for Spanish-language network TV Azteca, undefeated Russian featherweight Evgeny Gradovich (13-0, 7 KOs) and Mexican Frankie Leal (17-6-3, 10 KOs) made the night’s most savage battle, engaging each other constantly and from close range every second of every round. Gradovich prevailed by technical knockout, stopping Leal with a short left hook in the match’s final minute. The fight then took on a tragic hue.
Rising well before referee Rafael Ramos’ 10-count completed, Leal stumbled slightly rightwards. Ramos took note and wisely waved an end to the match at 2:15 of round 10. Immediately thereafter, Texas officials began a postfight evaluation of Leal that resulted in his being removed from ringside on a gurney. As he was wheeled from the ring, however, Leal was conscious, and referee later Ramos confirmed that Leal had been able to answer questions.
A later report from a local hospital indicated that Leal was responding to doctors’ questions. The word “precautionary” was being used hopefully at ringside.
It was a sad end to what was a hell of a scrap.
KELLY PAVLIK VS. AARON JACO
It has been a long time since former middleweight world champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik fought in the second co-main of a local card, but that was the position in which he found himself Saturday, while making only his second prizefight in 23 months.
Pavlik (38-2, 33 KOs) responded well to the unfamiliar, and blasted overmatched Florida super middleweight Aaron “Jedi” Jaco (15-3, 5 KOs), forcing the 35 year-old to the blue mat twice, once in each of the first two rounds, and stopping him at 0:45 of round 2.
“He was looking for the right hand,” Pavlik said afterwards. “How do you think my left hand looked?”
Pavlik dropped Jaco with a left-hook lead in the second minute of the first round, a few seconds after a less-professional-looking overhand-right lead failed to move Jaco. Pavlik, working for the first time in his career with a trainer outside of Ohio, this time new chief second Robert Garcia, made left hands the focus of his new look.
“I had a really good camp, and you can see I had more of a bounce in my step,” Pavlik said. “My left arm was actually getting tired in there.”
In round 2, Pavlik connected with another left-hook lead, this one verily damaging Jaco. Fully outmatched but still tough, Jaco rose before the count of 10 but was in no condition to continue.
“We’re going fight-by-fight,” Pavlik said, when asked about his current fighting weight and future plans. “I just don’t know yet.”
This first fight of Pavlik’s latest comeback told observers little more than this: Pavlik is back, can make the super middleweight limit, and is working on his left hook.
ADAM LOPEZ VS. RAMON BAYALA
As a highly praised prospect in his second prizefight, Adam Lopez was supposed to make quick work of a limited Puerto Rican with nary a victory on his record. But Ramon Bayala, that limited Puerto Rican, sent Lopez to the mat in round 3 and made Lopez work much harder than anticipated throughout.
Ultimately, Lopez (2-0, 1 KO) decisioned Bayala (0-3-1) by three unanimous scores of 38-36, scores that reflected both Bayala’s third-round knockdown and his fourth-round holding penalty, one provoked by a shoulder he threw on a break.
“He was holding, but the ref warned me,” Lopez said afterwards, still in apparent disbelief. “And I got mad and lost my concentration.”
Lopez rose after his first professional knockdown and struggled to a neutral corner. Referee Jon Schorle moved in, completed his count and twice cleaned Lopez’s gloves, and Lopez made his way through the rest of the stanza.
“He got up too early,” said Ronnie Shields, Lopez’s trainer, who said there was lots of work to be done on Lopez – starting with keeping his hands up.
UNDERCARD
Saturday’s second match of its TV Azteca broadcast saw local lightweight Ivan Najera (7-0, 7 KOs) run through unprepared Michigander James Lester (9-8, 4 KOs), dropping him twice and stopping him with a left hook to the body at 0:35 of round 2.
The best fight of the undercard was a four-round battle of Texas featherweights Luis Zarazua (3-0-1, 1 KO), of Edinburgh, and Victor Sanchez (1-3-1), of Houston, one that ended in a fair and proper majority draw that ringside judges scored 38-38, 38-38 and 39-37 (Zarazua). Sanchez began the fight winging uppercuts that betrayed a surprising familiarity with Zarazua’s style. But Zarazua soon solved that puzzle and did enough to win three rounds on one scorecard, in an excellent match.
Before that, in a four-round light heavyweight match between Cleveland’s Eduardo Alicea (3-0, 2 KOs) and Houston’s Edwynn Jones (1-4-1, 1 KO), four uneventful rounds punctuated by a few suspenseful seconds of action led to a decision victory for Alicea that all three judges scored 40-36. Alicea, who slaps when he throws an ill-advised right hook to the body and also got himself clipped by a surprise uppercut in round 3, nevertheless did enough to decision Jones easily.
California featherweight Saul Rodriguez (4-0, 4 KOs) remained undefeated in the evening’s second match, stopping Houstonian Ricardo Valencia (1-3-1) at 0:19 of round 1. Charging out his corner and connecting with his first combination – a nifty right cross, left hook mix – Rodriguez then landed a pair of right hands that brought referee Rafael Ramos racing in to stop the fight before it got too ugly, or even truly started.
Saturday’s card opened with a four round super welterweight scrap between Florida’s Bryant Perrella (2-0, 2 KOs) and San Antonio’s Arturo Lopez (0-2), a match referee Jon Schorle stopped at 2:08 of round 4 when Lopez did not respond adequately to a series of combinations from Perrella.
Attendance for Leija and Battah Promotions’ debut was estimated at 1,500. Opening bell rang on a sparsely occupied Illusions Theatre at 6:03 PM local time.
Photo by Chris Farina / Top Rank
