The “Brawl on The Brazos” was put together by Jesse Rodriguez Promotions and the Co-Main Event of the night was between Manuel “The Punisher” Rojas (11-2, 4 KO’s) from Dallas, Texas against Chris Singleton (15-2, 7 KO’s) from Louisiana. Before the fights started, and to my amazement and the crowd, the national anthem was done by guitar, Jimmy Hendrix style and it set the stage for a great night of fights for the boxing fans in Waco Texas. The eight round title fight was for the UBO Latino Light Weight Title and NTF knew that it was going to be a war. And that is because Rojas, who is well known around the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex always comes to fight. Rojas, who has power in both hands, used them to punish Singleton with stinging left hooks to the head and the body throughout the fight.
In the first two rounds of the fight, Rojas jabbed away at Singleton and followed them up with several crunching left hooks to the body of his opponent. After Singleton slipped in a short uppercut, you could hear his corner telling him to keep doing the same. But it was Rojas who controlled the pace of the fight as he forced the action in the second round as he continued to land left hooks to the body of Singleton. In the middle of the second round, Singleton was dropping his left hand in an attempt to lure Rojas to step into his right hand but it was to no avail.
Throughout this fight, Rojas constantly landed his left hook to the body and head of Singleton and followed it up with his right hand to the body as well. Rojas picked up the pace in the third round and appeared to have hurt Singleton with a straight right hand that the crowd enjoyed. Rojas then landed a big left hook and Singleton began to back up in the ring and you could hear Singleton’s corner shouted instructions for him to get busy. Rojas finished the round by landing another signature left hook.
Rojas kept up the pace in the fourth and fifth round and he kept Singleton on his heels as he backed him up with constant pressure. The crowd got excited when Rojas landed a left hook while in close and Singleton went down, but the referee called it a slip. Singleton appeared to be just waiting to land his right hand, but Rojas never gave him a chance to use it.
Finally in the sixth round, while fighting in close on the ropes, Rojas landed a huge straight right hand that put Singleton on the canvas and the crowd went wild. Singleton took the count and tried to plead with the referee about the punch, but it was a clear shot and knockdown. Singleton continued to fight, but Rojas put on the pressure until the bell sounded and Singleton went back to his corner looking discouraged. Rojas was clearly ahead on the cards at this point as he continued to be first with his punches and the pressure.
In the last two rounds, Rojas continued his relentless pace against Singleton who seemed settled for just trying to land a punch with only his right hand. Rojas came to Waco with winning on his mind and at the end of the fight, he also gained the respect of the Waco fans in a well deserved performance. The judge’s scorecard read 78-73, 78-74, 78-74 all in favor of Rojas for a unanimous decision and new UBO Latino Light Weight Champion.
“WELCOME TO WACO.” CASTILLO V. HILL
You would have thought that it was a world title fight. That is the type of applause and enthusiasm that the Waco crowd had for its native son, Antonio “Nonie” Castillo (1-0). Before the fight, NTF asked him how he felt about his opponent, and he was direct and to the point when he said “I tell myself no one is going to get in my way…..If you’re in my way, I’ll go through you.” And that is the style that he used for all four of the rounds in front of his hometown fans. Castillo tipped the scales the previous day at 136 and from the first sound of the bell in the first round, Castillo went after Anthony Hill with a serious and focused look on his face beaming confidence as he began landing punches with bad intentions. In front of a jam-packed house at the Waco Convention Center, Castillo stalked Anthony Hill from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma around the ring and then landed a nice right hand to the head of Hill. Hill just took the punch, and switched to the southpaw stance, a trait we had seen before and something he continued to do throughout the fight. You could feel the excitement in the arena from the crowd, who cheered for every punch that Castillo landed.
Hill’s ring tactics were exactly the same as the last time NTF saw him, and despite his record, he can box, and he can take everything you throw at him. And that is exactly what he did, as Castillo walked him down around the ring in the second round. Castillo, who had an outstanding amateur record, used his boxing skills to jab, feint and then let his right hand go early in the second round. Even though Hill was slightly taller, it didn’t make a difference because Castillo was constantly in his face. At the end of the round, the Waco crowd started to chant his nickname “Nonie” “Nonie,” which gave the auditorium the feeling of a big time championship fight. At the end of the second round, Castillo slipped in an uppercut on the inside and Hill just shook his head as he went to the corner.
At the beginning of the third, the jubilant crowd started chanting Castillo’s nickname again. Then Castillo landed a huge left hook to the stomach of Hill, who buckled for a moment against the ropes and Castillo went after him. Castillo then began to batter him with punches in the corner and Hill almost fell through the ropes. Despite the big punch Hill took, he recovered and gestured for Castillo for more and the trash talking began.
In the final round, the crowd was in a frenzy, hoping that the hometown kid would get the knockout on his debut night. As the bell sounded for the final round, Hill came out on his bicycle and started trash talking again to Castillo who took it to no mind as he moved forward with the same look on his face that he had in the first round. Once again, the Waco fans started to cheer his nickname again, hoping that he would get the knockout. Castillo then connected with a left hook and Hill countered back. In the middle of the round, they both went toe to toe and the crowd went crazy and the chants for his nickname started again. Hill was just surviving at this point as he threw lunging one handed punches in hopes of landing that lucky punch. Unfortunately for Hill, his antics and bravado didn’t help him in any way at all. As the bell sounded, someone in the crowd behind me said “Welcome to Waco,” which summed up the night of excitement and pride for the hometown fighter, Castillo. The cards by the judges ringside were 40-36, 40-35, and 40-35, a unanimous decision for Castillo.
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