North Texas Fisticuffs
You would be hard-pressed to find a fight fan in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metorplex who doesn't believe that Oak Cliff's Roberto Marroquin is destined to win a major title at some point in his career. In the current hierarchy of North Texas based fighters Marroquin is without a doubt the one fighter who has managed to resonate to some tangible degree with fight fans on a national level. Promoted by boxing powerhouse Top Rank, Marroquin has been prominently featured on a number of major fight cards.
But, despite enjoying a meteoric rise over the course of his career it’s a bit perplexing that the general hype regarding Marroquin has cooled somewhat in the wake of his first, and only, professional loss this past April to Francisco Leal. It’s the great double standard applied to talented pugilists. Go undefeated and people will begin to question who a fighter has fought. Lose a competitive bout and all of a sudden people are in a hurray to declare the fighter an exposed fraud. Hell, it’s a no-win situation for a fighter and unfortunately, Marroquin has had to be subject to hushed whispers from his detractors. It’s unfair to levy such expectation and hope on any fighter but like it or not, that is the fight game.
Marroquin has managed to bounce back from his first loss, winning convincingly against two serviceable opponents. The most recent example was Marroquin’s whitewashing of Carlos Valcarcel this past weekend where he headlined the “Top Rank Live” card televised on Fox Sports Net. While that in itself is a great accomplishment one can’t help but think that 2012 should be the year that Marroquin makes the leap from talented regional attraction to bonafide title contender.
To hear both Marroquin and his promoter tell it, time is on their side. True, Marroquin is only 22 and despite having a glossy record of 21-1 the humble young fighter still has some technical holes that he needs to work on in order to become a complete fighter. But even at such a young age, relatively speaking, one can hope that Top Rank will begin to work to get Marroquin on some bigger stages. A fighter of Marroquin’s level should be a staple on ESPN, or, better yet ShoBox.
2012 brings with it a lot of hope and promise and for a fighter standing on the precipice of a title shot, fans of Marroquin can only hope that the new year brings a new champion to North Texas.
Photo by Stacey Verbeek
A source close to the situation has just informed North Texas Fisticuffs that Roy Spoon will not be fighting Marcus Hicks on the January 14 Element Fighting Championship card. In place of Spoon will be Longview’s Joshua Lee.
No luster is loss in this intriguing fight between hard0hitting welterweights. Hicks, a former WEC title challenger, is the personification of action while Lee brings with him the heart of a lion.
North Texas fight fans no doubt remember Lee for his two scintillating performances at against Jason Fisher and the aforementioned Roy Spoon at XKO 11 and XKO 13 respectively. To put it simply, Lee does not come to the DFW to lose.
Stay tuned to North Texas Fisticuffs for all your late-breaking news.
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WINSTAR CASINO, Saturday, Dec.17th, 2011,Thackerville, Okla. (Fox Deportes/FSN)
MAIN EVENT WINNER - ROBERTO MARROQUIN - DALLAS, TEXAS, UNANIMOUS DECISION, 100-90, 100-90, 100-90. Roberto Marroquin (124 lbs) vs. Carlos Valcarcel (124.2 lbs).
UNDERCARD:
Hector Vazquez (147 lbs) vs. Julio Cesar Rangel DALLAS TEXAS(145.4 lbs), 6 rounds, welterweights; WINNER - HECTOR VAZQUEZ, DALLAS, TEXAS, Unanimous Decision, 59-55,59-55, 59-55
Andy Ruiz (262.6 lbs) vs. Theron Johnson (231 lbs), 6 rounds, heavyweights; WINNER - ANDY RUIZ, Unanimous Decision, 60-53, 60-53, 60-53.
Ivan Najera (135.2 lbs) vs. Jerry Fuentes (134.6 lbs), 4 rounds, junior welterweights, WINNER - IVAN NAJERA, Unanimous Decision, 40-35, 40-35, 40-35.
Luis Zarazua (124.2 lbs) vs. Guadalupe Perez (123 lbs), 4 rounds, featherweights, WINNER - LUIS ZARAZUA, Unanimous Decision, 40-34, 40-34, 40-34.
Jessie Roman (135.8 lbs) vs. Angel Rodriguez (137.2 lbs), 6 rounds, lightweights; WINNER - JESSE ROMAN, Unanimous Decision, 58-55,57-56, 57-56.
Jose Roman (133.4 lbs) vs. Alejandro Rodriguez (133.4 lbs), 8 rounds, lightweights; WINNER: JOSE ROMAN
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WINSTAR CASINO, (MAIN EVENT), Saturday, Dec.17th, 2011,Thackerville, Okla. (Fox Deportes/FSN)
Main Event
Roberto Marroquin (124 lbs) vs. Carlos Valcarcel (124.2 lbs)
Undercard:
Jose Roman (133.4 lbs) vs. Alejandro Rodriguez (133.4 lbs), 8 rounds, lightweights;
Hector Vazquez (147 lbs) vs. Julio Cesar Rangel (145.4 lbs), 6 rounds, welterweights;
Andy Ruiz (262.6 lbs) vs. Theron Johnson (231 lbs), 6 rounds, heavyweights;
Jessie Roman (135.8 lbs) vs. Angel Rodriguez (137.2 lbs), 6 rounds, lightweights;
Ivan Najera (135.2 lbs) vs. Jerry Fuentes (134.6 lbs), 4 rounds, junior welterweights;
Luis Zarazua (124.2 lbs) vs.Guadalupe Perez (123.2 lbs), 4 rounds, featherweights no comments
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So, as a service to our beloved boxing scene here is a quick little calender of events that are taking place in the North Texas area.
Dec 17 - Professional boxing returns to Dallas (about damn time) as Black Gloves Promotions will host an exciting card at Gilley's in downtown Dallas. Expect the Hatley Brothers along with some of the area's more talented pugs in a night of great fisticuffs.
Jan 6-8 - The LBC Box-Offs at a location TBD. Catch some of our LBCs best and brightest boxers!
Jan 12-14 - The Regional Silver Gloves takes place in Little Rock, AR.
Jan 21 - Dallas Golden Gloves weigh-ins
Jan 25-28 - Dallas Golden Gloves taking place in Garland
Feb 1-4 - National Silver Gloves takes place in Independence, MO
Feb 10-12 - Texas State Box-Offs in Dallas. Location TBD
Feb 29- March 3 - Texas State Golden Gloves no comments
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There was alot of controversy, revenge and payback coming into this rematch between Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto, the newly crowned WBA Junior Middweight Champion of the world. A championship belt he lost by taking a beating from Margarito two years ago. Which later became a controversy when Margarito got caught with loaded gloves just before his fight with Shane Mosley. And as expected, it fueled the speculation of whether he had loaded gloves when he fought previously against Cotto. And from the film of that fight, it sure did look like he had something in those gloves, but only Margarito knows. In previous interviews between Cotto and Margarito, Cotto had actual pictures of the mysterious hand wraps of Margarito, which showed evidence of tampering. Even with this pictured evidence, Margarito and his camp continued to deny any wrongdoing.
But in Saturday’s rematch, it was clear that Cotto was not getting hit by anything other than a glove. This time it was Margarito who was getting hit with loaded punches from Cotto and they were legal ones. In front of a large contingent of Puerto Rican (“Boricua”) fans from New York, Cotto started off in the first round connecting with crisp punches with both hands and very good movement as Margarito moved forward. Margarito tried to use his long jab and height advantage, but Cotto landed the better combinations.
In the second round, Cotto caught Margarito with a huge big right and as the round progressed, he caught him with another big right. Margarito again continued to move forward, but Cotto landed the best punches. Just before the beginning of the third round Margarito’s right eye, which he had several operations on before this fight, was already starting to close. Most of the damage to his right eye was from a pounding he had taken in his fight with the pound for pound king of the ring, Manny “Pacman” Paquiao back in 2009. Despite that, Margarito, the aggressor, started to pick up the tempo. He appeared to land just as many punches as Cotto and the round could have been called even.
In the fourth round Margarito continued to put the pressure on with his style of always moving forward, despite getting hit by punches by Cotto. Cotto at this point seemed to become defensive and settled for counter punching. Margarito appeared to have won this round. As the fifth round began, Margarito seemed to have the momentum as he used his jab and his straight right to connect punches on the defensive Cotto. Cotto then connected with a huge good left to the already closing eye of Margarito. He then followed up with the same punch at the end of the round, but it was not enough to win the round.
The sixth round was more of the same as Margarito kept moving forward and Cotto moved backward and around the ring. It seemed as if though he was saving his energy for the latter rounds, but in the eyes of the fans, it looked like he was getting pushed around the ring. And in the eyes of the officials, going backward never looks good to try to make points. Margarito appeared to have won this round as well. In the corner, just before the seventh round, Margarito’s right eye was almost completely shut. Nevertheless, he continued to put the pressure on Cotto and appeared to have landed the most punches. Cotto still connected with several combinations, but it looked like he couldn’t or didn’t want to follow up with more punches. In this fight, he seemed to want to box more and not take any chances.
In the eighth round, Cotto’s corner must have told him to pick up the pace, and he did. In this round, he began to hold his ground and started landing good combinations to the head of Margarito, who at this time could hardly see. It seemed apparent that his corner and he himself knew that now was the time to take advantage of the one-eyed Margarito. It also seemed that he might have been using this time to get a little revenge and punish Margarito. As the round ended, which Cotto clearly won, the doctor went to the corner to look at the eye of Margarito. Although the eye was completely shut, he was allowed to fight on.
In the ninth round, a desperate Margarito came out attempting to land whatever he could on Cotto, but Cotto continued to land with both hands. Cotto must have knew that the end was coming for Margarito and he landed combinations and solid punches with his left hand. He used his coaches strategy of circling his opponent and staying off the ropes and then attacking at the right moment to the eye of Margarito.
Just before the tenth round, the doctors began to look at the closed eyed of the battered Margarito and confusion arose. It took more than the usual time for the doctor to make a decision and just as it appeared that the fight might go on, the fight was stopped. Pandemonium erupted in the ring as the Puerto Rican fans celebrated the win of their favorite “Baricua,” Miguel Cotto. Just as the fight had ended, Cotto walked over to the corner of Margarito and just stared at him for a moment. A moment that Cotto said, “I just simply stood there to look at him. I simply stood there to taste the victory.”
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You know, they don’t call him “Brutal” for nothing. In an absolute one-sided dominating fashion, Colleyville’s “Brutal” Johnny Bedford emerged victorious in his UFC debut Saturday night on The Ultimate Fighter Finale at the Pearl at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
Bedford made his UFC debut on the heels of his appearance on this past season of the popular UFC reality show. In against fellow cast member Louis Gaudinot, Bedford made the most of his first opportunity in the Octagon by simply beating the smaller Gaudinot from pillar to post. Though both fighters were fighting at the bantamweight limit of 135, Gaudinot looked much, much smaller when compared to the 5’10” Bedford. This became even more evident as Bedford proceeded to beat the tar out of Gaudinot over the course of the fight. Punches, kicks, knees, and elbows were all thrown with reckless abandon by Bedford who literally beat the fight out of Guadinot in route to a third round stoppage.
It was as impressive a performance as a fighter could hope for on the biggest stage of their career and with the win we should expect to see more of Bedford in the UFC Octagon very soon.
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