Caught the Friday nite HBO Latino card from Tucson, AZ and came away with more positives than negatives - first score was in not speaking the language - a bonus that took out the usual tummy upset commentary by company hacks doing the lip service.

The De la Hoya offering for the "world cup" featured flyweights to bantams representing Mexico vs. Thailand that had more than a few sparkling pairings.

First order of biz is recognizing that all competitors were "property" of the WBO  group, thus the numero uno vs. the number two, etc. was more intramural than world recognized - still, the action for the most part was better than the usual club fight fare.     

Opening bout saw Mexico’s Hugo Cazares facing Thai’s Kaichon Sor Vorapin in WBO Jr. Flyweight action - Cazares defending the bauble has the edge in opening feeler out stanza before dropping Kaichon late in number two as both exchanged flurries.

Stanza three sees the Thai having the better as he picks up the pace and the edge continues through candle four - but then it would be Cazares time who grabs number five before closing the show in stanza six.

The closing round began with Cazares being dropped by a Vorapin right hand - then it was a big straight left hand putting Vorapin down - beats the count only to fall again to the canvas - referee Bobby Ferrara quickly calls it no mas at 2:14 seconds mark of six.   

Next up saw super bantams Sod Looknongyangtoy at WBO #1 slot facing #3 Daniel Ponce de Leon in a see-saw battle of attrition that saw Ponce down in stanza two -  and 0-3 in stanzas before turning things around.

It was a battle of southpaws that resulted in a less than pretty affair - still, both fighters displayed heart with each changing tide - it would go the full dozen with de Leon nipping Looknongy at the wire.

Scoring went unanimous for de Leon 115-112, 115-0112, 118-109 - my unofficial had it de Leon 114-113 in points and 7- 5 using round by round method.

Semi-final WBO bantam title affair saw age 33 Ratanachai Sor Vorapin defending the bauble against #1 ranking Jhonny Gonzales (age 25)  in what was in this viewer’s eyes the best technically sound contest on the card.

The taller Gonzales showed eye catching inside left hooks and combinations as he drops the game veteran in stanza two - and then again in round three the power hook has the tough Thai veteran twice visiting the canvas.

Surprisingly, the shorter, stocky southpaw somehow manages to claim number five as he empties all batteries in a two-fisted onslaught of survival.

Gonzalez would close the show at 22 seconds mark of stanza seven as he flailed away with both hands with Sor Vorapin against the ring ropes - referee Robert Byrd wisely halted the one sided action at that point.

Final bout of the evening had Fernando Montiel WBO super flyweight champ successfully defending the bauble against its number one ranked Pramuansak Posuwan via a unanimous decision to the tune of 114-112 - 114-112- 115-112.

My unofficial had it all Montiel -  118-109 in points and 10-1-1 under the round by round method. Early rounds inaction could well have played a role in the official closer scoring - a clearly flagrant low blow saw Montiel down in stanza eight and scored a knockdown, thus 10-8 Posuwan. Referee then quickly played "catch up" come final candle 12 with a knockdown call when the Thai slipped rather than being clipped.

Closing comments: this Golden Boy Promotions presentation is a positive innovation that could well be the start of something good for the less known warriors that wage battle at them smaller class divisions. The "World Cup" approach pitting Mexico vs. Thailand delivered something of a professional answer to the amateur game that pits teams vying for a trophy-  along with the dinero.
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Fernando Montiel ( age 26, 32-1-1, 24) WBO champion - World #7  
Pram Posuwan ( age 36, 29-1, 17) WBO #1 - World 30
Ratan Sor Vorapin (age 33, 65-9, 42) loses WBO title - World # 6        
Jhonny Gonzales ( age25, 31-4, 27) wins WBO title - World #1
Daniel Ponce de Leon (age 25, 27-1, 25) WBO wins title - World #10
Sod Looknongyangtoy (age 28, 25-1, 10) WBO#1 - World #31
Hugo Cazares (age 27, 22-3-1, 16) WBO Champion - World #2
Kaichon Sor Vorapin (age 23, 17-8, 6) WBO #1 - World # 12
 

PS ~ While the individual WBO vs. World rankings are pugilistic planets apart, so too is the individual sanctioning bodies from one another - all of the above contestants gave it their best - and this debut showed fight fans enjoying the ring action sans need of the hype-n-hoopla that normally goes along for the ride.

Kudos to all that put this one together.

GEL   

Questions? Comments? Write Geo Elsasser

10-30-2005