By Roy Marquez
Photos: Marlene Marquez
The
last time we saw Jesus “El Matador” Chavez was on
February 3, 2007 when a badly injured right knee
resulted in a knockout loss to Julio Diaz during a
defense of his IBF Lightweight Title. In the year that
has passed Chavez rehabbed his injured right leg and
renewed his will to fight. Tonight Chavez faced a
dangerous fighter in Daniel Jimenez of San Juan, Puerto
Rico. With 17 quality wins and only 2 losses, Jimenez
would not make for an easy return to the ring.
Saddled with a metal brace strapped to his knee, Chavez
(43-4, 29 KOs) understandably looked stiff at the bell.
What was unexpected was the number of Jimenez right
hands Chavez swallowed while losing round one.
Undeterred, Chavez picked up the pace to win rounds two
and three. Though Chavez managed to find a little
rhythm along the way he was still too susceptible to the
right hand. A Jimenez right hand buckled Chavez’ knees
in the fourth; a round all three judges scored for
Jimenez. In round five Jimenez slowed. Chavez began
catching Jimenez with increasing frequency with hooks to
the body and head. The Chavez attack weakened Jimenez
leaving visible evidence on his face. Chavez carried
the momentum through the eighth, banking the middle
rounds. But Jimenez would rally in the ninth and
tenth. Unfortunately for Jimenez he had no starch in
his punches and he was unable to hurt Chavez. After ten
rounds of lightweight boxing action the scorecards
favored El Matador 97-93, 96-94 & 96-94.
Polished professionals Jhonny Gonzalez and Edel Ruiz
approached each other with caution and respect. The
skill level of the Mexican combatants was on display as
they felt their way through the opening two rounds.
Ruiz, of Los Mochis, Mexico, won a slow opener on the
strength a few left hooks that earned the respect of
Gonzalez, a former bantamweight world champion.
Gonzalez, who also favors the left hook, fed Ruiz a
steady diet of right hands to take the second. The
third started slowly enough until a Gonzalez double left
hook floored Ruiz (28-20-5, 17 KOs) mid way through the
round.
Seconds later another Gonzalez left hook dropped Ruiz,
scoring the 2nd knockdown of the round.
Bravely, Ruiz got to his feet only to face a torrent of
Gonzalez punches. Down for the third time, Ruiz was
counted out at 2:23 of the 3rd round.
Gonzalez improved to 37 wins, 6 losses and 31 KOs.
David
Rodela landed a right hook that Ramon Ayala will see for the
first time when he watches a TV replay of the punch that
knocked him out. Referee Jose Cobian counted Ayala (6-1, 1
KO) out at 1:08 of the fourth round to end the contest.
Leading up to the final blow the lightweight bout was
tightly contested. The third round featured an extended
exchange that brought the crowd to a roaring frenzy. Rodela
(9-1-3, 5 KOs) was rocked in the round but regrouped and
fought to the bell. “I learned a lot from [sparring with]
Manny Pacquiao; now I don’t lose my head when I get hit.”
Rodela, of Oxnard, CA, entered the ring with a metal rod in
his femur, a reminder of a horrific accident that occurred
four years ago to the day.
Off the
air bouts
Newwark,
New Jersey’s Michael Anderson battled Escondido’s Dashon
Johnson to a majority decision draw over four junior
middleweight rounds. With the draw Anderson is 2-0-1 as a
professional while Johnson improved to 0-1-1. Jack Mosley,
trainer and father of Sugar Shane Mosley, worked the
Anderson corner.
Welterweight Hector Ramos got knocked down in his first and
only round as a professional but won the fight just the same
when Sergio Ramirez (0-2) retired on his stool before the
start of round two. Fighting out of San Antonio, TX, Ramos
emerged victorious in his debut.
Ashanti
Jordan’s knockout string continued with a third round
stoppage of Joseph Jones (4-3, 2 KOs). Jordan, of San
Francisco, CA unleashed a barrage of punches to overwhelm
Jones and end the fight at 1:47 of the third round. Jordan
is now 3-0 with 3 KOs as a professional.
In a
crowd pleasing junior middleweight fight, Mexico City’s
Luis Fernando Uribe stopped Pablo Montes De Oca with an
uppercut at 2:16 of the sixth to improve to 20-0 with 15
KOs. Montes De Oca (9-14-2, 6 KOs) was game throughout,
but went down in the fourth before bowing out in the
sixth. Both men preferred the hook, but Uribe’s were
shorter and faster to their target.
