Charlie 21er, Live at Fight Night Club

by Charlie 21er

Golden Boy’s Fight Night Club has proven to be a huge success.  Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles sold out Thursday night for its first card of the year.

The round card girls were hot, the fights were decent, and the beer was expensive.  From beginning to end, the action lasted about 3 and a half hours—not bad for a $20 ticket.

Victor Ortiz was the main draw Thursday night as he got in rounds against an overmatched Hector Alatorre, a blown up light welterweight who had lost six of his last seven fights.

Ortiz, Ventura, CA, has been clocking rounds and attempting to raise his stock again after a hard loss to Marcos Maidana and a questionable post-fight interview last year.  And clocking rounds was all he did against Alatorre whom he had hurt in the second and sixth rounds of a 10 round bout.  In fact, Ortiz seemed to possess the skill and power to finish his man at all times during the bout, but opted to take the fight the full 10 rounds instead.  When the bell rang for the tenth round, the fighters came out, touched gloves and immediately went at it.  Ortiz put his combinations together finally and pushed forward, stopping his man in 51 seconds of the final round with a perfect right uppercut, the third punch in a stiff combination.  Alatorre dropped suddenly to the canvas and was unable to continue the fight.

This victory for Ortiz sets up a possible bout against former lightweight titleholder Nate Campbell on the Kahn-Malignaggi undercard in May.

Undercard Action

Ricky Lopez of Oxnard California improved his record to 7-0 with a unanimous decision against a determined Hugo Ramos 2-5-2.

Ramos immediately put Lopez on the back foot for the 4 round fight, trying to lure Lopez into a brawl.  Lopez regrouped and got back to boxing after the exciting first round and put in some good work.  Ramos was shaken in the third, but covered up and got his legs beneath him.  Ramos rallied enough over the last half of the round to take it.  In the fourth, both fighters threw caution to the wind in an exciting back and forth battle that saw both men hurt.  Both were gassed in the final minute but continued throwing, Lopez landing the better punches.

All three judges scored the fight 39-37.  The BTBC’s man in the crowd had it 38-38.

Philadelphia’s  Karl Dargan impressed the crowd as he was virtually untouchable against Jose Alfredo Lugo of Los Mochis, Mexico.  Dargan 7-0 (3) boxed at distance and put together lightning fast combinations, frequently beating his opponent to the punch.  Lugo was game, but could not find a way inside against Dargan.  At the end of the fourth, another painfully one-sided round, Dargan landed a tooth rattling straight right.  The hollow pop of fist against cheek elicited a collective sympathy groan from the crowd.  Impressively, Dargan timed this punch as Lugo was throwing one of his, landed it, and was out of the way by the time Lugo’s arrived.  Lugo retired on his stool, his record going 10-13-1 after losing his last 8.  When the fight was called off, hardcore boxing fans got to see Dargan’s trainer Naziim Richardson in the ring, big as life.

One of last year’s FNC favorites, Charles Huerta, seemed to get a hometown decision against Guadalupe De Leon, the man who beat Derrick Wilson who beat Huerta by shocking first round knockout last year.

Huerta seemed gunshy as De Leon took it to him and pushed the action and it wasn’t until the third round that Huerta woke up and decided to throw more than a punch at a time.  When Huerta decided to work, he was very accurate, but he didn’t seem to have a clue about how to deal with somebody who throws 8 punches at a time.  De Leon took it to Huerta who was successful at times with potshotting, but appeared to be overwhelmed as he went life and death in a 6 rounder.  Raul Caiz had the closest correct score at 57-57, Max DeLuca scored it 58-56, and David Denkin had it a ridiculous 59-55 for a MD win in Huerta’s favor.  The man in the crowd gave it to De Leon 58-56.

Luis Ramos and Walter Estrada felt each other out and warmed up for four rounds in a scheduled four rounder.  The most spirited exchange was after the final bell when both fighters remembered that they were not, in fact, sparring.  All three judges gave it to Ramos 40-36.  The BTBC man in the crowd decided that it would be a good time to get another drink and make a bathroom run, but may have scored it 39-37, giving the first round to Estrada for being a little bit busier.

After the main event, the crowd was treated to a performance by Candyman 187.  The Man in the Crowd didn’t bother watching this since they didn’t look like this:

The FNC structure has improved and the crowd was responsive.  The TV screens throughout the venue now show the fight as well for the instances in which the ref is blocking your view.  This also helps with a visible ring timer and between-round replays.  Somewhere up north, people were watching curling and ice skating; down in So Cal, hundreds upon hundreds of people turned up to see three hours of fighting.  Golden Boy is bringing it back to Los Angeles.

The Fight Night Club will run once a month through November.

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Diaz-Malignaggi: The Story from the Stands

Charlie 21er

21 August 2009

Houston, TX

George Bush Intercontinental. Step outside and dig the heat. Thirty degrees of difference from Bush to the city. Thirty minute ride to the Toyota Center. 95 degrees and it’s only ten. Stop for a drink. Plenty of time to kill. Weigh in doesn’t start for another three hours. Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi to be victim to Juan “The Baby Bull” Diaz as he travels north on the scale. Golden Boy putting on the show.

The cab driver takes me out of the way to Lizzard’s Pub. The place reeks of the hip. Lizzard’s tries hard to look like it doesn’t belong to the Greenway Plaza. Lizzard’s averts its eyes from River Oaks. Lizzard’s caters to both. The bartender pins me for a tourist. “I’m here on business,” I tell him. “So am I,” he yukks. He pours a double shot on rocks. I let it sit for a minute. I like to taste my Scotch. “Who do you favor for the fight tomorrow?” He answers like a local, “Diaz all the way.”

I can’t blame them for saying it. Diaz is a beast. Diaz moves forward. Dangerous Diaz digs the body. Baby Bull Bullied Marquez. Check It: 28 February 2009: Diaz takes on #2 Pound for Pounder Juan Manuel Marquez. Diaz comes forward with a purpose. Diaz fires hooks to the body. He backs Marquez to the ropes and punishes him. He brutalizes Marquez for 5 rounds. Marquez figures it out in 6. Marquez moves the fight to the center of the ring. He cuts Diaz with an uppercut in 8. He finishes it in 9. Diaz is on his back in the center of the ring. It’s the second knockdown of the round. The ref waves it off. We remember that Marquez is a great fighter. We remember that Diaz gave him a hell of a fight. We write off the knockout.

Malignaggi comes off of a win against a nobody. The fight is forgotten. We remember his TKO against Hatton. Malignaggi should have done better. Hatton has heart. Hatton has power. Hatton doesn’t have finesse. Malignaggi fights on the back foot. Malignaggi channels Prince Hamed. He digs Hamed. Hamed inspired him. He bobs and weaves. He spins out of the way. He throws punches from all angles. Hamed did all this. Hamed did things wrong and made them work. Hamed packed dynamite in his fists. Item: Malignaggi isn’t Hamed. Hatton, unHurt hands Malignaggi a hiding. Verdict: Malignaggi can’t handle the pressure. Fighting with feather fists fail to foil pressure fighters.

During the build-up, Malignaggi got his excuses in line. Expect a homecooked, hometown decision from Houston. Looking back: Chris John vs. local boy Rocky Juarez on the Marquez vs. Diaz undercard. John boxes smart and shows us he’s for real. Juarez fights hard. Juarez tries. Juarez is one dimensional. John wins it 116-114. All three judges score it a draw. Marquez was smart. He took it out of the judge’s hands. Malignaggi isn’t a finisher.

Malignaggi wasn’t born yesterday. He can smell a screwing. He wanted a larger ring. He wanted the fight at the Jr. Welter limit. He wanted neutral officials. Promotions ixnay on all demands. The ring will be small at 18ft. The fight will be at 138. The judges are from Oklahoma, California and Texas. One is of Mexican decent. Malignaggi says “I’m going to have to knock him out to win.” He says it like he can do it. We know he can’t.

The weigh in is the usual local who’s who. Diaz fans outnumber Malignaggi 10:1. Both fighters in their skivvies. Malignaggi starved down to a slim 138. Diaz plumped up to a big 137. Diaz sports the freshman fifteen to all his fights. Diaz has Golden Boy behind him. Golden Boy brings Bernard Hopkins to the weigh in. Golden Boy brings Shane Mosley. Malignaggi has one guy in his thick New York accent in the crowd. They face off for the photo op. The New Yorker yells “There’s your punching bag, Paulie!” The rest of the crowd cheer their boy. The rest of the crowd don’t expect it to go the distance.

Sometimes I go with the rest of the crowd. Malignaggi looked awful in his last big fights. I didn’t see him taking the pressure. He hadn’t showcased his footwork in a long time. Top guys made him look bad. B Level fighters made him look sloppy. He didn’t have what it took to work on top.

Diaz is what I look for. Diaz throws punches and punishes. Diaz makes men regret ever trying to hang. If Hatton can crack the Magic Man then so can Diaz…
The crowd got ready in the parking lot. The crowd worked around the high beer prices. They tailgated instead. They came in half drunk. They finished the job before Daniel Jacobs entered the ring to kick off the televised fights. They were already rowdy. It would get worse. The televised fights were going the distance.
Fans heckled. Fans howled. Jacobs wins convincingly over ten. Fans keep drinking. Fans fake fight. They throw air jabs. They land crosses on invisible opponents. High fives. Guerrero looks to redeems himself over twelve. Guerrero gets cut. Guerrero fights smart. Guerrero hangs on. He wins on the cards. He wins for real.

I go for another drink as I wait for the Diaz fight. The fans are loving it. It’s left field at Dodger’s Stadium. It’s Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. The fighters are only contenders. These are hometown fans. They get like this for any reason.

The ring announcer echoes through the hallways. Fans flock for seats. Malignaggi gloms Arturo “Thunder” Gatti’s intro. Malignaggi got a call from Gatti after the Cotto fight. Gatti complements a durable warrior. The crowd boos. The crowd jeers. They throw drinks. Drinks fall short. Drinks douse dozens in the front.

Diaz starts his walk. His music is drowned out. A fan turns to me, “He’s gonna knock Malignaggi the f**k OUT!” I can’t disagree. The bell rings and they get to it. Diaz does what we expect and comes forward. Malignaggi does what we expect and moves back. Malignaggi is cut in the first round. Diaz disposes of dull jabs. Diaz fires off bombs. Diaz hits air. He glances the Magic Man’s face. He hits arms and elbows. It’s expected. It takes a round to figure it out.

Round two is the same. Diaz eats three jabs moving in. Diaz fires off hard shots. He lands one to every three. Malignaggi is moving quickly. Malignaggi boyishly bounces backwards. He patiently peppers Diaz with showers of shots. Diaz throws a monster left hook. Said hook only meets leather. Malignaggi fires off with a right uppercut. Said uppercut splits Diaz’s eye. Diaz doesn’t fight well through blood.

Four rounds in and it’s two to two. Diaz pressured forward. Diaz clipped Malignaggi good. Malignaggi clowns shaky legs. His legs really are shaky. It’s round five and the crowd goes nuts. Diaz throws a series of hooks. One, two, three, four--all against a high guard. The crowd cheers anyway. Diaz is cut bad and keeps fighting through it. If anything he proves he can fight through blood.

Diaz finds his distance. Diaz digs deep. Malignaggi’s has trouble getting back to plan A. Malignaggi loses six and seven. He leans back with his hands down. Diaz wings shots and they clip the Magic Man’s face. His head bobbles like Hamed’s. Houston cheers. They smell blood. It’s going well.

Malignaggi rethinks his strategy. Malignaggi can’t trade. He needs to get on his toes. He needs to weave low, he needs to circle again. The bell rings. He comes out and fires jabs. Throw three and land one. Keep Diaz thinking about jabs. Sneak in a right. Move lateral and stick a hook. Throw three jabs and back off. Rinse. Repeat. Malignaggi is back in a groove. He’s durable at least. Diaz can’t get in close like Hatton. A fight breaks out behind me. Beer is thrown. Furious fans fumble through the seats. Meanwhile Malignaggi takes eight through eleven.

Last round. The crowd stands. The crowd tries to rally their man. Malignaggi wants to slug it out. Diaz always wants to slug it out. They both exchange. Diaz’s punches look like they hurt. Malignaggi hangs close. He flurries and backs off. He comes back for more. Diaz obliges. Diaz takes the round. The crowd cheers.

I have Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi taking it 115-113. I had him controlling the action with his jab. I had him moving away. I had him avoiding flush shots. I felt bad for Houston. Houston hates a loss. The cards are read. 115-113, California. 116-112, Oklahoma. 118-110, Texas. At 116 to 112 I already know the outcome. All to the winner, Juan “The Baby Bull” Diaz. The fans cheer. The fans go nuts. I wonder if the fans know he lost. A look around and I can see they don’t care.

I finish my drink.

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Agbeko vs. Darchinyan Revisited

by Charlie 21er

A few fights back, when Vic Darhinyan was scheduled to fight Christian Mijares, I predicted that Mijares would shut Darchinyan out over the course of the fight. My reasoning for this was rooted in what we had seen in the Nonito Donaire fight: Darchinyan is a powerful, awkward, southpaw slugger, but also crude and predictable. It did not make sense that a superior boxer could not recognize the openings and exploit them.

As we know now, this was not the case; but on Saturday night, there was some logic restored to the boxing world as Joseph Agbeko brought a hard fight directly to Darchinyan’s face, defending his bantamweight title.

It should be noted that Darchinyan was moving up in weight; also, Agbeko either possesses a dolemite chin or Darchinyan did not carry his power the three pounds north into the higher weight class. Without his power, Darchinyan has little to offer within the rules aside from his crouching, southpaw style.

Credit should be given to Agbeko, his previous two fights came against southpaws. He performed like a champion, and did everything right—right hands down the middle—all night long—right to a unanimous decision. Those right hands, when thrown the way Agbeko was throwing them are kryptonite to southpaws.

Prior to the fight, Showtime held a survey as to whether or not Darchinyan would capture the bantamweight title and perhaps go further…a surprisingly high percentage said that Darchinyan would win at least 5 titles before retiring. I have a feeling those ridiculous numbers came from the entire population of Burbank, CA. Darchinyan will have to find someone else to get his next title from, because Agbeko wouldn’t cooperate.

→I appreciate Darchinyan’s ability to talk trash prior to a fight. He does it like a pro. When he lost, he praised everything Agbeko did and honorably conceded defeat. Maybe he’s growing up…

→If Darchinyan’s promoter didn’t want anything to do with Donaire before this fight, they most definitely don’t want him now. Some things had been said about Donaire’s camp not wanting to fight Darchinyan; well why should they? They won. That’s like asking Pacquiao if he wants a re-match with Hatton. Unnecessary.

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Fight Night Club Numero 1

by Charlie 21er

Today I had a rare day off, and decided to attend Golden Boy’s “Fight Night Club” at club Nokia, a nightclub venue located near the Staples Center. Tickets were $28, ticketmaster fees were around $10, parking was $5, and Budweiser was $8. So if you go to the next one, meet me in the parking lot for a pre-game.

Despite the unusual choice of venue, I was pleased to find that the place was small enough that there really wasn’t a bad seat (or spot, since the cheap tickets were standing room only), and when I found myself in a bad spot, I just moved a few feet over for a better view. The ring was located on the main stage, and the pit area is located a few steps lower than the surrounding floor, allowing us in the back to get a good view of the action. Security was tight, so I am not sure if the balcony seats are worth the $60, but I can’t imagine they were any worse than being on the ground floor. Overall, I was very satisfied with the view.

The turnout was also pretty good, and only got better as the night went on; considering there was a Lakers game going on simultaneously, I was surprised at how many people made it out, true fight fans. By the end of the night, the place was comfortably filled: plenty of people without feeling crowded.

Those of us who were there were treated to five fights, and a chance to see Bernard Hopkins in person (I left before he came out).

In the first bout, Ricky Lopez 4-0 (2) took on Rufino Serrano 1-1 in a decent four rounder. The first thing I noticed was that Lopez is SHORT, but it didn’t matter much. Lopez was quick to get on the inside behind an accurate right hand lead in the first two rounds, and landed good hooks when he was close enough to his man. Lopez slowed down a little in the third and was on the back foot for most of the round as Serrano came forward and fired away; nothing landed of note, really, from either guy, but I gave it to Serrano for the aggression. Round 4 was a recap of the first two rounds with Lopez countering Serrano’s looping punches. The judges scored it 40-36, all for Lopez. BTBC had it 39-37 for Lopez.

The second bout had Charles Huerta 11-0 (7) against Noe Lopez Jr. [until tonight, undefeated, but currently 4-1 (3)] in a featherweight scrap. Both fighters were cautious in the first round, with some good exchanges, but nothing of particular note landed. In round 2, Lopez went down and the referee ruled it a slip. From my position I couldn’t see a punch landed so it seemed a reasonable call, but after Lopez got up, he wasn’t the same. Huerta jumped on him and began landing the hard stuff until the bell ended the round. In the third, Huerta continued where he left off and landed a teeth-exploding right hand that resonated throughout the club (the crowd responded appropriately) and dropped Lopez. Lopez beat the count, but when the pressure was turned on again, he took a knee without being hit. After he got back up, Huerta jumped on him and knocked him down again, causing the referee to call an end to the fight at 1:03 of the third round.

Luis Ramos took it to Baudel Cardenas in a lightweight 6-rounder that didn’t go the distance. Ramos looked the best of all the fighters on the card with his smart, accurate, punching, and steady bodywork. In the first round, he nailed Cardenas with a straight left to the stomach that put him down. Cardenas gamely got to his feet, but his body was a consistent target throughout the fight. In the second, Cardenas 18-17-2 (6) showed his experience as he bullied his opponent and worked him on the inside. Ramos tied up when necessary and landed solid blows to Cardenas’ head, knocking grease into the audience. Cardenas took it rather well. This continued for the next two rounds: Cardenas doing solid work on the inside, Ramos getting his distance and rocking Cardenas’ brain and mixing it to the body. Round five looked like a repeat of the last three, until the last minute when Ramos backed Cardenas against the rope and fired a quick 1-2 upstairs that dropped Cardenas along the ropes to the canvas. Cardenas looked out of it as his mouthpiece fell out of his mouth and he crawled to all fours. The ref waved it off at 2:26 and Ramos advanced to 11-0 (6)

In the main event, another six rounder, David Rodela 13-1 (6) and Juan Garcia 14-3 (5) went at it for the coveted “Quakerstate Durability Championship Belt,” the same one you could get a picture taken with in the corner (along with two HOT-T-T ring card girls). Despite the belt on the line, the fight was pretty good. The first two rounds went to Rodela as he used his jab smartly and worked Garcia to the body. Round three went to Garcia as it seemed that Rodela abandoned his jab in favor of powerpunches. Garcia avoided a lot of them and found his range, staggering Rodela at the end of the round. Rodela decided not to hang on, and instead fired back until the bell. Good stuff. In round 4, Rodela hit Garcia with a bomb that caused him to bend over at the waist against the ropes. It looked like he was going down, and Rodela backed off…until Garcia decided that he wouldn’t go down and Rodela jumped on him again with uppercuts. It reminded me of Jack Dempsey hovering over Jess Willard, except in this version Willard comes back, and Garcia recovered, somehow, and continued to exchange until the end of the round. In the last two rounds, Rodela kept looking for a knockout and Garcia just got in close and countered the wild punches from Rodela. Rodela was awarded a split decision. BTBC had it a draw. Judges Ray Corona and Alejandro Mapula were on drugs with the ridiculous score of 59-55 for Rodela.

After the cameras turned off, we were treated to the last bout between Ramon Flores 3-5 (3) and Jose Roman 4-0 (3). Flores knocked Roman down in the first round, but Roman recovered quickly and boxed smart. Flores was clearly the cruder of the two, and frequently missed wide punches, hooks from the outside and Darchinyan uppercuts that weren’t accurate in the least. In round two, I wrote down “ZERTUCHE-PAVLIK!!! GOTZ-DAMN!” in my notebook, because Roman clocked Flores along the ropes and put him to sleep on his feet. Flores turned off like a robot and teetered forward for a second before Roman went to town and put a few hard uppercuts and hooks into his head for good measure. Flores was done-for, and lay on the canvas for a solid 5 minutes before they had him up on a stool. A stretcher was used to extricate him from the premises, and just as well, because that guy was on queer-street, and will probably be there for a few days still.

Overall, a good time. $28 is a solid price for the fun of watching a live card with excited fight fans. Apparently there was a $1000 bonus for the two fighters who put on the best fight, this may have influenced the fighters, because all 5 bouts were pretty action packed. There will be a “Fight Night Club” once a month for the next 3 months. Check it out, and drink in the parking lot.

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Stick a fork in ‘em…he’s done.

by Charlie 21er

Last night we saw the end of Edison Miranda’s hope to be a contender (The Contender notwithstanding). Who would have thought it? Remember, way back when, when Miranda was a feared knockout artist, tearing through the boxing ranks like a thresher through so much wheat? Damn that was like, 2 whole years ago, I’m getting old.

Something happened between then and now and Miranda stopped being so scary. A look at his record shows that he still knocks fools out, but tonight he was exposed—err, overexposed as an incredibly one-dimensional fighter. Andre Ward solidly boxed his way to a comfortable unanimous decision in a fight that was not remotely as interesting as I thought it would be.

So far this year I have been compiling an awful record on the BTBC’s predictor league, so I didn’t feel so bad picking Miranda by lucky KO, but come on now, Edison, can you tell me what your game plan was? I’m starting to look bad here. Aside from an accidental headbutt in the first round that opened a cut over Ward’s left eye, the 2004 Olympian was never really ever in trouble. It made Miranda look less like a one-punch monster and more like a flat-footed plodder. It was like B-Hop vs Pavlik except at the skill level of JC Chavez Jr.

Speaking of the Pavlik fight, which signaled the beginning of the end of Pantera’s career as a contender, how is it that Pavlik is a championship level flat-footed banger and Edison is now a journeyman level flat-footed banger? Where did these guys veer off from each other?

Mix it up! Did anybody see Miranda go for the body at all when he wasn’t throwing a low blow? Pavlik frequently goes to the body; the guy just flat-out mixes it up. Miranda’s game-plan tonight was completely devoid of any body attack, just swing and miss, swing and miss big shots aimed for Ward’s head, which was rarely there to get hit. Rinse, repeat.

Cut off the ring! For crying out loud, you’d think you were watching Jack Dempsey vs Gene Tunney the way Miranda was following Ward around; the guy never seemed to take a sideways step, so Ward was off of the ropes as soon as he touched them with Miranda following him, not throwing jabs… And for the few occasions that Ward was leaning on the ropes, Miranda just stood there, not making Ward pay, or he was swinging for Ward’s head…and missing.

In Pavlik’s recent outing against Rubio, Pavlik found himself chasing Rubio most of the fight, but Pavlik cut off the escape routes, got him on the ropes and made him pay, this involves trapping the opponent, finding a distance, keeping the pressure to create openings and exploiting them. This is Pavlik’s game plan, every damn fight, but he shows that yes, he’s a one-dimensional fighter, but he works that one-dimension really well. Miranda is a one-dimensional fighter, and he’s getting worse at it. I wanted to wring his neck as I was watching him on a little pirated stream on my computer, doing nothing but waving Ward in, and then absorbing punishment (something stupidly similar to Margarito smiling after Mosley dropped bombs on him) .

Well, Mr. Edison Miranda, welcome to the ranks of the Journeymen, where you will get beaten by those on the way up, and weed out those never-will-be’s stupid enough to get caught. I hope you get used to it, because you’ll never be a serious contender anymore.

PS. For you Angelenos out there reading the BTBC first thing in the morning, Juan Manuel Marquez will be making a public appearance about noonish at Olvera Street in downtown LA. The location is vague, but I’m just saying what the internets told me. This will be followed by a press conference, open to the public, featuring Mainstream Mr. Moneybags Mayweather Jr. and Marquez at 2 p.m. at the Los Angeles Public Library, Central Library. 400 S. Hope St. I might go if I can drink through my hangover in time.

Charlie 21er and the rest of the BTBC Crew can be reached via the BTBC Fan Forum: http://www.btbc.proboards.com/

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