AFTERMATH: A Wrap-Up of All the Weekend Action (And Inaction)

Three “Next Big Thing” candidates–as well as a slew of clubfighters and contenders–entered the ring over the weekend and not a single “hot prospect” resembled anything more than a bit player in the future.

The poorest showing was turned in by Marvin Sonsona, who offered little resistance in crumbling like a stale piece of zwieback against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Vazquez stopped Sonsona with a left hook to the body in the fourth round after landing a whiplash right that shook Sonsona against the ropes. It took only one round for Vazquez, now 18-0-1, to solve the simple southpaw puzzle in front of him. Sonsona, only 19, boxed well over the first three minutes, but when the bell rang for round two, he suddenly began running low on ambition. Soon he found himself listening to referee Luis Pabon toll off the count of ten. As is often the case in boxing, Sonsona was anointed superstar-in-the-making status after only scoring one decent win over a span of 15 bouts.

Now, of course, we will have to contend with the same rigmarole concerning Vazquez, a competent fighter whose future prospects will be easier to judge after he steps into the ring with an opponent who offers at least token resistance. On Saturday, Sonsona could barely even muster that.

*****

“Swift” Danny Garcia notched a hard-earned split-decision over Ashley Theophane over ten rounds on a fine clubshow presented by Golden Boy Promotions and aired on ESPN2 from the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas. It was a bruising scrap, but perhaps not as close as the scorecards indicated. Garcia showed no head movement, no footwork, and no jab. Still, he is “much talked-about.” Theophane is willing but short in the skill department and Garcia had no trouble digging shots to the body and countering whenever he wanted to. Theophane, who was still fighting guys with records of 1-28 as recently as two and a half years ago, let his own limitations get the best of him; a little more oomph and execution and perhaps Theophane, who landed numerous isolated lefts and rights throughout, might have upset the dope. Either way, Garcia will almost certainly make some wiseguys happy sooner or later.

*****

Finally, Mike Jones, practically a myth on par with the Yeti these days, emerged from the fog of legend and looked completely ordinary in smacking around limited Henry Bruseles over 10 not particularly engaging rounds in Atlantic City on a Top Rank show aired by Fox Sports Net. This fight brought to mind the time Geraldo Rivera revealed to the world what Al Capone had in one of his vaults: not a goddamn thing. Jones is a physical marvel, however, and looked like a super-middleweight in the ring against Bruseles, who has fought seven times since being steamrolled by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2005. Jones, 20-0, did show some fundamentals between the ropes, along with a fair commitment to bodywork, but certainly not enough to justify all the palaver. Besides his imposing size—made all the more glaring by the fact that he was facing a career junior welterweight–Jones does not appear to have any noticeably dynamic skills. Perhaps they will develop in the future, although Russell Peltz, on the fringes of boxing since abusing his power as boxing “czar” of ESPN2, makes no bones about the fact that he will be holding Jones back for his own purposes. Bruseles, in over a decade as a professional, has yet to beat a single B-level opponent.

*****

A hurtful scrap took place between Philadelphia-based Boricua Gabriel Rosado and veteran Mexican grinder Saul Roman as the chief support for the Jones-Bruseles waltz. The two took turns bruising each other over ten grueling rounds, with Rosado, who has played spoiler before, showing a few more dimensions than the predictable Roman. Rosado came away with the split decision and the chance to get clobbered as an opponent on ESPN2 again sometime in the near future.

*****

Incredibly, Rodel Mayol (who should get the word SNAFU tattooed across his back) received a fair shake in Mexico after Omar Nino nearly decapitated him with a left hook thrown while referee Vic Drakulich, out of position, tried to intervene to warn Nino about low blows. The bout was ruled a technical draw, allowing Rodel to retain his XFM title, the one he earned after headbutting Edgar Sosa into smithereens a few months ago. Of course, when Bernabe Concepcion poleaxed Steven Luevano after the bell last summer, cross-eyed forum ranters banged out, to the best of their spelling ability, “protect yourself at all times” in between howls of indignation. Mayol, one of the dirtier fighters in the game, should not be pleading to referees in the middle of a fight. Thankfully, the Filipino light flyweight, who was taken out of the ring on a stretcher, did not suffer serious harm.

*****

The fight of the weekend–not the year, please get a grip–was the rousing brawl between Antonio Escalante and childhood nemesis Miguel “Mickey” Roman in a corker of a clubfight. Roman, 28-7, came out pressuring from the opening bell and Escalante looked shaky early before settling down to outwork and outpunch Roman over ten furious rounds, scoring a knockdown in the eighth. Although Escalante, an exciting fighter, is not the reincarnation of Salvador Sanchez, Roman was at least 20,000 leagues away from him in skill. At one point, Roman was 22-0 in his career and he must certainly have had one of the phoniest undefeated records in boxing. Roman came up feasting on 1990s Univision stars like Oscar Arciniega, Cuauhtémoc Gomez, Raul Juarez, and Cesar Soto. He fought Gomez three times, Soto twice, and Arciniega twice. Except for Soto, all of these fighters have been flyweights at one time or another. Surprisingly, Jesus Chong is not among his victims. Still, Roman, crude as he is, fought hard and made things uncomfortable for Escalante, who often fights like a man suffering from choreomania. Not only is Escalante a case study in wasted energy, he also has the kind of defense best described as “non-existent.” Escalante can draw crowds in El Paso, but the tricky part now is to see whether Golden Boy keeps him at the local level for decent paydays based on a healthy gate, or whether they will throw him in with the dogs right away for the Big Money. As wide-open as Escalante appeared on Friday night, they should tie a porkchop around his neck and head to the kennel.