REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA – Long touted super bantamweight prospect Manuel “Tino” Avila quickly pounded fill-in opponent Jose Angel Cota into submission after two rounds and once-beaten middleweight Louis Rose had a clear cut victory scored a draw against Paul Mendez on Monday night at SportsHouse Indoor Sports & Café. The main bouts aired on Fox Sports 1 Golden Boy Live!
Avila (13-0, 5 KOs) of Fairfield, California opened the bout methodically, taking his time to study his journeyman opponent Cota (15-10-1, 11 KOs) of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. By the end of the opening round, it was clear that Cota was not near in the same league in any category to his younger adversary.
Avila, 122, let his hands go in the second round, eventually busting Cota, 122.5, open on the bridge of his nose. The blood gruesomely spurted out like something out of the Walking Dead and it was only a matter of time before the bout was stopped on either the cut or lack of competitiveness. Smelling a rare stoppage win, Avila flurried Cota to the ropes and refused to stop throwing while the Mexican covered up and offered nothing back. After a long series of unanswered, but not all landing punches, referee Edward Collantes called a halt to the bout at 32 seconds of the second round.
Clear winner Louis Rose (8-1-1, 2 KOs) of Lynwood, California was forced to settle for a ten-round split decision draw against fringe contender Paul Mendez (14-2-2, 6 KOs) of Delano, California.
The fight began with a lot of posturing and not much action from either Mendez, 162, or Rose, 163, in round one. With the round up for grabs, Rose snatched the round on two of the three judges’ cards with a solid combination as the round came to an end.
Both fighters had their moments in the opening moments of round two, but as the round progressed Mendez was hesitant to let his hands go and was overly cautious the rest of the way. Two of the three judges gave round two to Mendez, based perhaps on him getting the best of the early exchange, even though Rose was the only one throwing most of the stanza.
Mendez began the third round well, landing an eye-catching solid right over top well. However, again it was Mendez packing away his offense the second half of the round, which seemed to make it Rose’s. Rose punctuated the round with a great body shot. Two of the three judges gave the round to Rose.
The fourth and fifth rounds seemed to clearly favor the more aggressive Rose, especially with the fight being fought mostly at close quarters. Rose landed the cleaner and more accurate shots throughout the fourth. In the fifth, Rose cut Mendez and was again the busier fighter, landing well as the kept in close. Two of the three judges gave Rose the fourth and only one judge gave Rose the fifth.
Mendez opened the sixth fighting out at range, where members of his corner wanted him to be much earlier in the fight. Both fighters looked gassed as the round went on and with Mendez throwing more, there was especially nothing on his punches. Mendez and Rose virtually entered into a silent contract that they would allow each other a rest in the sixth. It ended up being a costly move on Rose’s part, as two of the three judges gave Mendez the round, one which could have been won with a single flurry.
Mendez came on briefly in the seventh, with Rose actually looking more exhausted than the Delano native all of a sudden. It would be Mendez’ last clear round in the fight, which all three judges scored for him. Rounds eight, nine and ten all seemed to go to the rejuvenated and aggressive Rose fairly clearly. Only one judge gave any of those three rounds to Mendez, but the judge that did gave both the eighth and tenth to him, which would end up forcing the draw.
In the end, Judge Steve Morrow had it the most right at 97-93 for Rose. Judge Susan Thomas-Gitlin had the even card, 95-95 and Judge Michael Tate had it 96-94 Mendez. This writer could not find one ringside observer or knowledgeable fan via social media that had Mendez leading after ten. Mendez has been in a lot of close fights in his 18-fight career, going 3-2-2 in bouts that end in either split or majority decision.
Once-beaten light welterweight Jonathan Chicas (11-1, 4 KOs) of San Francisco, California scored one of his better wins with a fairly comprehensive six-round unanimous decision over upset-minded gatekeeper Joaquin Chavez (6-10-2, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles, California.
Chicas, 142, had a clear edge in the power department and it was clear from the early going that Chavez, 141, did not have the type of sting on his punches that could keep his opponent from coming in and landing. Chavez, who has upset a few unbeaten guys in recent months, just could not pin down Chicas for any stretch long enough any bit of momentum in the bout. Chicas did not rely on his power, but moved and slipped well while still landing his hard shots when the openings were there. Chavez, who can easily make 135, did not have the power to rescue a victory once he got behind in the cards, but even still he kept pressing and trying. All three judges had the fight for Chicas by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 twice.
Former amateur standout Andy Vences (5-0, 2 KOs) of San Jose, California boxed his way to a four-round unanimous decision over a game natural featherweight in Jose Garcia (3-7-1, 2 KOs) of Bakersfield, California.
Vences, 133.5, used his superior boxing skills and edge in power to outfight a determined, but undersized slugger Garcia, 134. The Bakersfield did manage to catch Vences with regularity throughout the bout, but at times it looked as though Vences was working on different things he has been trying in the gym. Vences had no respect at all for Garcia’s punch. In the end, all three scorers had the bout 39-37 for Vences.
In an all-out war even better than it was imagined on paper, Benjamin Briceno (2-1) of San Leandro, California edged former amateur standout Mario Ayala (2-1) of Sacramento, California with a four-round majority decision that thrilled from bell to bell.
Briceno, 122.5, landed with all his power behind every punch as the fight began. It was really all Briceno for the opening minute of the fight. Just when it looked like Ayala, 120.5, may be completely overtaken, the Sacramento resident fought back, landing hard shots to Briceno’s head. With Ayala springing to life, Briceno’s pace began to slow after his hyper start.
The next three rounds were fought on even terms, with both fighters taking their licks and giving them too. When one fighter would let off the gas pedal, his opponent would pick up his attack to take advantage of their foe’s fatigue. Each round was hard to score, but two judges gave the edge to Briceno, 39-37. The lone dissenter had it 38-38, even. It was really a fight that fighters this good, this early in their careers do not need to take. However, every paying customer would likely love to see a rematch.
In a really solid scrap, Jesus Sandoval(3-1-3) of Redwood City could not shake his troubles fighting at home, fighting to a four-round majority draw with tough as nails Sammy Perez (1-2-3) of Tigard, Oregon.
Two-way action was steadfast throughout the bout. Neither fighter paid much attention to defense, not counting their all-out offense. After a fairly even action-packed first round, Sandoval, 131, began the second in more of a boxer’s mindset. Perez, 130, eventually forced the brawl back on midway through the round. It was a style that would carry through the last two rounds as well.
The most clearly decided round was the fourth, which was almost all Sammy Perez. After a nice straight right from Sandoval, Perez came on like gangbusters and pressed the hometown favorite around the ring. Eventually Sandoval’s right eye opened up as he took punches in a neutral corner. The sight of blood only egged on the onrushing Perez. After a brief respite, Perez came on again in the final seconds, landing just before, during and after the final bell. To the disappointment of the crowd, one judge had the fight a shutout for Perez, 40-36, but was overruled by two even 38-38 cards. For the second time in three fights at home, Sandoval left with a hard-fought draw.
Darwin Price (3-0, 1 KO) of Saint Louis, Missouri scored his first professional stoppage with a one-sided beating of over less than two rounds over Northwest journeyman Omar Avelar (2-10, 1 KO) of Lummi Reservation, Washington.
Price, 141, showed an aggressive side that had been lacking in his first two pro outings. Of course the fact that Avelar, 148, was little more than a human punching bag may have had something to do with Price’s mean streak. Price dropped Avelar with a left to the body late in the first, before the bell rescued the Washington native from further punishment. Price got right back on his slow-recovering foe, eventually landing a flurry culminating with a left to the body that dropped Avelar yet again. Referee Brent Venegas opted to let the fight continue, but after Price uncorked an assortment of unanswered punches, Avelar’s corner decided to throw in the towel. Time of the stoppage was 1:58 of round two.
In a total mismatch, Mayweather Promotions’ cruiserweight Andrew Tabiti (2-0, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada made very short work of soft-bellied Eric Slocum (0-2) of Columbus, Ohio.
Tabiti, 193, officially scored two knockdowns because a third occurred simultaneously with the Slocum’s towel being thrown in the by the corner. Slocum, 195, went down from a straight right in the opening minute. Tabiti followed with some light body work to induce the second knockdown. Slocum got up at eight, but was on his way down from a right as the towel came in at 1:27 of the first round.
Photos by Erik Killin
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com or followed on Twitter @MarioG280.
