VICTORIES FOR IVAN CALDERON AND MIGUEL COTTO

The small town of Caguas, Puerto Rico represented well last night, displaying great enthusiasm and support for native son Miguel Cotto, as well as fellow Puerto Rican Ivan Calderón, both displayed their skills in a superb edition of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.

2000 Olympian Ivan Calderón, with an unblemished 16-0 record, fought Nicaraguan Lee Sandoval for the NABO Straw weight hardware in the co-feature of the evening. But first things first...

Malicious rumors have abounded implying that Puerto Rican fans have withdrawn their support for Félix "Tito" Trinidad. Last night's thunderous and electrifying standing ovation for Tito should put all those rumors to rest.

Oscar de la Hoya has attempted to fool the public with self-serving and desperate attempts to lure Tito back in the ring. De la Hoya has been shameless in his "efforts" to rematch Trinidad. However, it is no secret that Trinidad offered Oscar an opportunity to rematch at least three times while he was still an active fighter, all of which were declined. This writer finds it amusing that as soon as Tito retires, he becomes a priority in the boxing schedule of the Golden Boy. May I suggest a dinner invitation for Ronald "Winky" Wright instead...

Félix "Tito" Trinidad continues to enjoy the fruits of his labor and remains very much RETIRED! It was great to see him so animated, enjoying a night of boxing, showing support for these two promising youngsters.

With all that out of the way, let's go to Ivan Calderón vs Nicaraguan Lee Sandoval for the NABO Straw weight belt.

Round 1:The opening round had Calderón throwing picture perfect uppercuts, working his opponent's body well, making him miss a lot. It was a solid round for Ivan. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 2: A strong round for Calderón, who continued to dazzle with great combinations, good work to the body, and good defensive skills. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 3: Calderón hurts Sandoval to the head here with huge combinations. Referee admonishes Sandoval for hitting behind the head. The youngster is poised and in total control. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 4: Ivan crosses very well and lands powerful right hands in this round. He is firing at will and displays power in both fists. Sandoval stalks, and leans forward when he throws his punches; Calderón makes him pay every time. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 5: Calderón plants his feet and fights in the center of the ring. Throws powerful combinations which are beginning to take a toll on Sandoval's face; his body must be feeling it too, as his mid-section is taking a pounding. Sandoval is rocked several times in this round. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 6: Calderón's speed and fluidity are quite impressive. He continues to do damage with his right hand, and is clearly in command of this fight. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 7: Major activity here by Calderón. He is showcasing two fisted thunder in this round, rocking his opponent several times. The uppercut is working very well for the youngster, who has managed to slow down Sandoval almost to a crawl. The Nicaraguan is becoming less and less efficient. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 8: Speed is key here. Sandoval has to chase and stalk Calderón, rendering himself unable to set his punches. Ivan darts in and out with great ease. He is on cruise control, and beautiful to watch. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 9: An off round for Calderón, who still manages to control the action. He has never gone over 10 rounds, and seems to be a bit less intense in this stanza. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 10: Calderón moves, feints, dances... dominating the round and the fight so far. Sandoval totally incapable of reaching, let alone hurt Calderón. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 11: Once again it is all Calderón, banging and escaping with ease. He is connecting at will, gets tagged with with a Sandoval right hand, recovers and trades big in the last seconds of the round. Great conditioning for the Puerto Rican fighter, who is venturing into unchartered territory here. (Calderón 10-9)

Round 12: The crowd cheers loudly, on their feet, supporting Calderón who is now teeing off Sandoval's head at will. Sensing that he needs a KO to win, Sandoval attempts to put pressure on Calderón, to no avail. Calderón closes the show with a bit of show boating, waving the crowd on, and with Felix "Tito" Trinidad watching him intently. How inspiring to see Tito involved in the sport he represented so well, as a supportive mentor to the up and coming. (Calderón 10-9)

And so it went; judges José Torres and Raul Nieves saw Calderón lose one round to Sandoval, with scores of 119-109 while judge Carlos Colón agreed with our unofficial 120-108 score.

In the post fight interview, Calderón had this to say: "I became somewhat impatient in the 11th and 12th rounds when I saw that he would not go down from my shots, but I know that I'm not a knock out artist but that I have great boxing ability. He caught me with a good right hand on the eleventh but he didn't capitalize on the opportunity so I had enough time to clear my head and continue my plan, which was to come inside throw the 1-2-3 and move away." From Sandoval, this comment: "The kid was very slick and fast, his punches aren't that hard but he was very difficult to pin down."

To the chants of "Cotto," "Cotto," we move on to the main event of the evening. Twenty-two year old native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Miguel Cotto, 12-0, 9 KOs, faces off against Mexican Ubaldo Hernandez, 18-9-2, 9 KOs in a ten rounder.

This is Cotto's seventh fight of the year 2002, and if the stare down means anything he will win big, as Ubaldo Hernandez chose not to make eye contact with the local hero.

Round 1: Big right hand sends Hernandez to the ropes, and there is a nice exchange in the center of the ring mid round. Tito looks on, the crowd continues to chant Cotto's name and this round goes to Cotto, who seems very motivated, eager to trade and the stronger of the two contestants. (Cotto 10-9)

Round 2: Ubaldo has a brief moment on the ropes, however his nose starts to trickle blood courtesy of Cotto's power. (Cotto 10-9)

Round 3: Ubaldo goes through the ropes, and Cotto steps away, showing great sportsmanship. Cotto headhunts a lot, perhaps should be working the body more. The end result remains the same, with Cotto winning this round with ease. (Cotto 10-9)

Round 4: Miguel comes out strong, hurts Hernandez with a solid shot to the ear, disorienting the Mexican fighter, stunning him. Cotto moves in and scores with powerful left hooks, almost at will. A nick has developed under Cotto's right eye, as a result of a punch, and this may be a factor in the fight, although it doesn't seem to be a major problem yet. Cotto moves and scores big in this round. (Cotto 10-9)

Round 5: Another exhibition by Cotto, who throws beautiful combinations in this round as well. He rocks Hernandez with a hammer-like right hand, which he really lets fly with less than a minute to go in the round. Tito looks closely as Cotto closes this round big! (Cotto 10-0)

Round 6: Hernandez breathes through his mouth in this round, constantly coming forward only to say hello to Cotto's two fisted thunder. Cotto tags him with a left hook that buckles his knees, but time runs out before he can finish Hernandez. (Cotto 10-8)

Round 7: Cotto comes on strong to the body here, cooking liver and ribs in the process. A left hook to the liver seems to have caused major damage, as Hernandez attaches his right arm to his body and winces in obvious discomfort. Tito hasn't looked away from the action since the opening bell. Ubaldo goes down, nose bloodied, air supply diminishing by the second; disgusted and frustrated he makes the arrangement permanent, and Cotto is declared a winner by TKO 1:31 into the round, making this his 10th career KO.

When Hernandez was waved off, the crowd of over 8,00 fans roared, and lead by Trinidad, stood on its feet with arms extended in victory. A great showing by Ivan Calderón and Miguel Cotto tonight.

In a post fight press conference, Cotto expressed his emotions of the evening, adding: "It really is overwhelming to see the coliseum packed with thousands of fans who come to support me, I really want to thank them for their expression of love and support towards me."

The highlight of the evening for me... the few seconds when Atlas and Papas mic lost power.

In other action, former WBA welterweight champion Andrew 'Six Heads' Lewis (22-1-1, 20 KO's) scored a first round KO win against Oscar Delgado (22-18, 10 KO's)

Ruben Fuchú (7-1, 6 KO's) scored a first round TKO against Joseph Gonzalez, (1-1, 1KO).

Edwin Algarín (6-1,5 KO's) also scored a TKO, 59 seconds into the fourth round of his bout against Dominican Henry Matos (8-16, 3 KO's), who suffered a shoulder injury and was unable to continue.

Ramón Cruz (7-1-1, 3 KO's) won via the short route, when he did away with his opponent, Iván Matos (2-1-1,2KO's), within 2:11 of the second round.

In closing, congratulations to ESPN2's FNF, to the people of Caguas, and to all the winners. A shout out to our good friends at nocaut.com, who had their site's name displayed on Calderón's blue trunks. And last but not least, a heartfelt salute to Félix "Tito" Trinidad, who beamed with pride in his new supportive role.

P.S. Oscar, you do know Winky's address, don't you? Dinner for two, it's the wright thing to do!!

Photo Credit: nocaut.com