Wild Ride: Valdez wins tough decision
TUCSON, Ariz. – Oscar Valdez Jr. wanted to please a crowd that had traveled from his birthplace in Mexico and to the U.S. city where he went to school.
Mission accomplished and then some.
Valdez took his fans on a dramatic ride, thrilling at some turns and dangerous at others. In the end, he and them got to where they expected.
Valdez retained his World Boxing Organization featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Genesis Servania, who proved to be as tough as he was unknown.
“I wanted to show the crowd,’’ Valdez (23-0, 19 KOs) said after the ESPN televised but at Tucson Arena on a Top Rank card that also included super-middleweight Gilberto Ramirez’ dramatic victory over Jesse Hart in another title defense.
It was close, a lot closer than the 116-110, 115-111, 117-109 scorecards might suggest. In the later rounds, however, Valdez, who collected $400,000, managed to keep his distance, stay busy and throw just enough punches to stay in control of the bout and his futures.
“The scores were a little wide,’’ said Servania (29-1, 12 KOs), who collected $55,000. “Let’s do it again.’’
Promoter Bob Arum said he hopes to put together a deal for Valdez to fight Belfast featherweight Carl Frampton, sometime next year.
Meanwhile, Robles wants to get Valdez to become a better listener between rounds. There were a lot of potential distractions for Valdez before opening bell. He voiced his support for the Dreamers, young undocumented immigrants who are fighting to stay in the United States. Arum said he gave about 300 to 400 free tickets to the Dreamers who could document their immigration status.
Valdez also fought in front of a grandfather, Luis Fierro, who was arrested last month on, reportedly for an old traffic ticket. Valdez said he is facing charges that could lead to his deportation. He said got his grandfather out of jail in time to see the fight.
“There were a lot of emotions before this one and Oscar is an emotional fighter,’’ Robles said.
Now, they can talk about what’s next.
Ramirez retains WBO belt
It was exhausting and exhilarating. It was a lot of things. Sometimes, bruising. Sometimes, beautiful. Sometimes, ugly. Always, dramatic.
In the end, it belonged to Ramirez.
Ramirez retained the WBO’s super-middleweight title with a 115-112, 114-113, 115-112 decision over Hart, a Philadelphia fighter whose last name sounds like heart because he has plenty of it.
So, too, does Ramirez (36-0, 24 KOs). The Mexican dedicated his victory to America’s young , undocumented immigrants, so-called Dreamers, some of whom were in the crowd of 4, 103. He dedicated it to the earthquake victims in Mexico City. He also thanked Hart (22-1, 18 KOs), who he knocked down in the second round with a right hand.
“A great show for everybody here and all my people in Mexico,’’ Ramirez said.
Michael Conlan scores powerful stoppage
Michael Conlan’s right is best remembered for an obscene gesture. But there’s more than just a middle finger in that hand. There’s power and it speaks for itself. It landed loudly and decisively, taking out a tough Kenny Guzman of Montana in the second round of the card featuring Servania-Valdez.
“I was a bit reckless early,’’ said Conlan (4-0, 4 KOs), a Belfast featherweight who famously – or infamously — flipped off the judges at the 2016 Olympics.
He was altogether devastating a little later. Poor Guzman (3-1, 1 KO) never had a chance to be offended. He never saw it coming. Conlan, whose next fight is scheduled for Dec. 9 at New York’s Madison Square Garden..
Conlan, a Valdez stablemate in trainer Manny Robles’ gym, had the right high and cocked life the trigger on a gun. Guzman was out the second it landed. He got up and referee Wes Melton ended it at 2:59 of the round.
On The Undercard
The Best: Lithuanian welterweight Egis Kavaliauskas (18-0, 15 KOs) took a lot of punches and landed even more, leaving Mexican Mahonri Montes (32-7-1, 21 KOs) with a bloodied face, a swollen right eye and a bruising seventh round loss by TKO.
For Kavaliauskas, a two-time Olympian, the victory was an opportunity After dominating the bout, he turned the ring inot a bully pulpit.
“Bring on Jeff Horn,’’ he said of the Australian who beat Many Pacquiao in a controversial decision Down Under in July.
The Rest: Lightweight Mikaela Mayer (2-0, 2 KOs), 2016 Olympian from Los Angeles, landed an uninterrupted succession of punches, leaving Texan Allison Martinez (1-3, 1 KOs) dazed, done and defeated at 39 seconds of the third round.
Brazilian junior lightweight Robson Conceicao (5-0, 4 KOs) flashed his Olympic gold-medal credentials, toying for three round with Nicaraguan Carlos Osorio (13-8-1, 5 KOs), who complained of a shoulder injury and quit on his stool before the fourth.
Uzbek junior-welterweight Fazliddin Gaibnazarov 3-0, 1 KO), a 2016 gold medalist and one of three Olympic medalists on the card, scored a unanimous decision over a game, yet overmatched Victor Rosas (9-7, 3 KOs) of Mexico.
Australian welterweight Lenny Zappavigna (36-3, 26 KOs) came back from a 2016 loss with a little but of thunder, scoring a third-round TYKO of Mexican Fidel Monterroza (38-14-1, 30 KOs)