It was another great night of professional boxing in Fort Worth Saturday night, and it was brought to the metroplex once again by Standing 8 Promotions. Even though it was cold and raining, it didn’t stop the true boxing fans from weathering it out, and they were rewarded with a night filled with a dynamite boxing card.
The Bud Light Pro Fight Christmas Bash was the sixth event of boxing which started with the “Bud Light Pro Series” in February of 2013. Standing Eight Promotions has been a leader in bringing professional boxing events to the metroplex and last night’s fights ended the year with a bang. In the main event, Texas Light Middleweight Champion Hector “El Diamante” Vazquez (12-1, 2KO’s) from Irving, Texas defended his title for the second time against the tough and gritty Anthony Lenz (14-3, 7KO’s) from Las Vegas. This turned out to be a one of the toughest opponents Vazquez has met and fists were flying from the opening bell. Both fighters tried to establish their jabs in the early rounds and it appeared that Lenz was the busier of the two. In the third round, Lenz the southpaw, was able to land the better of the exchanges and Vazquez’ nose was starting to bleed. Toward the end of the round, Vazquez was able to back up Lenz on the ropes and he landed a good combination.
The heavier punches by both fighters started landing in the fourth round as Vazquez landed numerous combinations on Lenz several times on the ropes. Vazquez seemed to change into a higher gear in this round as he went toe to toe with Lenz in the middle of the ring. Vazquez continued in that gear and landed a right hand and a left hook at the end of the round.
Despite the nose bleed, Vazquez began to force the action in the fifth round as he connected with two big left hands to the head of Lenz and followed it up with a nice combination. Lenz was able to connect with several left hands toward the end of the round and as the bell sounded, the confident Lenz raised his hands as he went to the corner. In the sixth round, Lenz landed a long left hand to the middleweight champion’s head and began to back him up. Lenz forced the action throughout this round as Vazquez countered every punch. As the round ended, Vazquez landed a combination and the tough Lenz took the punches in stride.
After all of the heavy punches that had landed so far by both combatants, a noticeable abrasion had developed under the right eye of the tough Lenz as the seventh round began. It was no surprise to the huge crowd in attendance, because both fighters were giving it their all in the ring. Both fighters continued to trade shots in this round, but Vazquez began to turn it up another notch as he continued to land heavier shots to the head and body of Lenz. Lenz attempted to walk down Vazquez but he would have none of it as he landed a great combination at the end of the round.
As the bell sounded for the final round, it was a very close fight and it looked like it could go either way. With the crowd cheering on both fighters, Lenz got on his bicycle as he circled around the ring as Vazquez pursued him. Vazquez was by far the busier fighter in this round as he landed numerous hard left and right hands, and combinations as he pursued Lenz around the ring and on the ropes. They both went toe to toe at the ten second count, and it was apparent that Vazquez had clearly won the round. Because of this and the previous round, Vazquez was able to win by majority decision as the cards read 77-75, 77-75, 76-76.
Vazquez hasn’t lost since February of 2009 and after his performance Saturday night, it appears that he doesn’t plan on relinquishing his title any time soon.
Undercard:
Larry “Slo Motion” Smith from Dallas, Texas took on Joey “Panama Flash” Mundoodie (5-2, 2KO’s) from Fort Worth, Texas in a tough four round bout that had the crowd in attendance smiling just before the fight started. It all started with the ring entrance of the flamboyant Smith as he entered the arena accompanied by a song sung by his beautiful young daughter to the delight of the crowd. As the bell rang for the first round, the veteran Smith got to work quickly as he attempted to establish his jab against the quick handed Mundoodie. In the second round, Smith quickly landed a nice straight hand to the head of Mundoodie as they both moved around the ring. Mundoodie then started to get the best of it as he was able to connect with a majority of punches on the veteran Smith. Mundoodie then landed several punches on Smith as he was against the ropes. He then followed it up with a left hook, but Smith returned the favor and landed his own left hook on Mundoodie as the bell sounded. In the third round, Mundoodie was able to be the busier of the two fighters and clearly won that round. In the final round, Mundoodie went after Smith and was able to land numerous punches Smith in the corner as Smith countered away. As Smith countered everything that Mundoodie dished out, the crowd began to shout “Larry, Larry, Larry.” Both fighters went toe to toe at the end to the delight of the crowd. Mundoodie went on to win by unanimous decision.
In the super featherweight division, the lightning fast Tony Lopez (8-0, 3KO’s) of Fort Worth, Texas outpunched Quincy Wesby (2-3) from Dallas, Texas in another four round fight. Lopez who is trained by veteran trainer Paul Reyes took no time in getting to work as he pursued his opponent around the ring as he landed super fast jabs and combinations. Although Wesby had speed to match, it just wasn’t enough to keep up with Lopez. In the third round, Wesby began to slow down as he countered and tried to land whatever he could. And in the final round, Wesby was in survival mode as the very focused Lopez dominated the round as he had done in all the other rounds. Lopez went on to win by unanimous decision. Keep an eye out for the undefeated Lopez as he continues with his undefeated record.
Heavyweight Thanasis Michalaoudis (7-0, 6KO’s) landed a vicious right hand to the body of Tobias Rice (4-10, 2KO’s) in the first round of the only heavyweight fight of the night that rocked Rice against the ropes and he was almost out on his feet. He survived the continued pounding by Michalaoudis and made the bell. Rice came back in the second and third rounds, but he got caught by a short overhand right in the fourth round by Michalaoudis and he went down to the canvas. He got up quickly and started to make a comeback at the end of the round, but it was a little too late. Michalaoudis went on to win by unanimous decision.
In what I think was the most technically sound fight of the night, featherweight John Baladez (4-0, 2KO’s) from Austin, Texas, took on local favorite James DeHerrera (3-1, 3KO’s) from Fort Worth,Texas. From what appeared to be an evenly matched fight on paper, Baladez made it clear that he wasn’t to be reckoned with, despite coming all the way from Austin, Texas. The taller southpaw Baladez quickly began to land left hooks and then landed a vicious left hook that put DeHerrera on the canvas. Visibly shaken, DeHerrera went on to survive the first round. At fifty two seconds of the second round, and after landing numerous combinations, Baladez landed a huge left hook that rocked DeHerrera into the corner. He quickly followed it up with a triple combination of lightning speed and the referee stepped in to stop the fight. TKO at fifty two seconds of second round. Hopefully Baladez comes back to the metroplex, because he is a very talented boxer.
In the light middleweight division, the tough Constatine Ramirez (0-1) from Sweetwater, Texas went against Jonathan Ramirez (2-0) from Arlington,Texas. At the very beginning of the first round, the southpaw Martinez landed a huge straight hand that caught Ramirez as he was coming forward and he hit the canvas. Ramirez recovered quickly as he fought his way back to finish the round. Both fighters landed with equal punches in the second round until Ramirez returned the favor and caught Martinez with a left hook at the end of the round, which sent him to the canvas. Martinez survived the last five seconds of the round and returned to his corner visibly in shock. The tough Martinez attempted to come back in the third, held his ground, but Ramirez won the round. The gritty Martinez came out in the fourth just as hard as he had in all the previous rounds, as he attempted to land the big punch, but it never came. Although Martinez put up a great fight, he was just a few punches behind the taller Ramirez. Ramirez went on to win by unanimous decision.
In the super middleweight division, David Hance (0-1) from Dallas, Texas took on the very tough and heavy handed Mike Tufariello (3-0, 3KO’s) from Carrolton, Texas. It was the debut fight for Hance, and he couldn’t have gone against a tougher fighter for his first time in the ring. Hance started off the first round, looking quite well as he landed stiff jabs against his undefeated opponent. But it didn’t take long for Tufariello to find an opening and he found it as he landed a right hand and a colossal left hook that sent Hance backward to the canvas. The fight was stopped by TKO at 1:17 of the first round.
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