No question about it, Showtime boxing has grabbed the hot
hand with its Super-Six middleweight tourney - and
continued on track last noche with a twin-bill barn-burner
with all the trimmings.
Curtain opened at 2100 hours with lightweight co-feature
starring WBC #1 ranked port side slinger Antonio DeMarco
and past WBA strap holder Jose Alfaro, in a second to none
table setter to the main event.
Gets off to a slow start with both card-carrying warriors
from south of the border taking notes - the taller DeMarco
having the edge behind a right hand range finding jab
while looking to counter Alfaro who patiently searched for
openings to no avail.
Stanza two it's all DeMarco - on display was a healthy mix
of jabs, assorted right hooks, that were complemented by
an accurate straight left hand - somewhere en route to the
DeMarco eventual TKO win, some viewers surely labeled the
tough Nicaraguan as wearing the cliché "a puncher's
chance"
- but coming off second best round after round or not,
Alfaro showed he too had skills.
The albatross on this night was his facing a taller
southpaw that enjoyed height, reach, and superior
quickness in all departments - toss in elusiveness and it
was clear on this night DeMarco would have the advantages
of an uneven playing field.
The stanza ten finis began with Alfaro entangled in the
ring ropes after being on the receiving end of a barrage
of power punches -"I'm firm, fair and stupid" referee in
charge Cortez, separates them - then, another flurry and
Alfaro down again from right hook - a third drop to the
canvas courtesy of a 21st century acceptable "taking a
knee" resulted in a no-mas at 2:07 of numero ten.
Post Scripts: Antonio DeMarco (23-1-1, 17 KO) - age 23 -
Mexican native comes across as classy kid - no visible hot
dog in sight. Easy on the eyes work ethic - but the brain
trust should think caveat emptor come the opponent
choosing. The Edwin Valero choice sounds reasonable, but
the 135-pound elite carry surnames Marquez, (Juan) Diaz,
Casamayor to name a few that collectively have skills and
veteran experience as well.
Jose Alfaro (23-5, 20 KO) ~ age 25 -
the Nicaraguan gamer is one tough customer - as he was
quoted in post fight interview gave credit to DeMarco
before explaining he simply had no answer to the quicker
opponent. No excuses just the facts. Would like seeing him
again against one of the lesser talents at lightweight.
.................................................................
Yonnhy Perez - Joseph
"King Kong"
Agbeko recap
If the lightweight action thriller was a tough act to
follow, the feature bantamweight title bout easily
eclipsed it with non-stop exchanges round after round -
while the scoring on paper that went unanimous Perez
117-110, 117-110, 116-111 was fair enough, it doesn't tell
half the story.
The scorching tempo never once cooled
over twelve rounds of gloved warfare - toss in the
inadvertent meeting of the minds that saw Agbeko down in
stanza ten and complaining of a head butt, and it was
clear both wanted the "W."
The defending IBF champ Agbeko entered
the favorite and from the opening candle on showed he
could wage war on both the inside and outside - but so too
could his California via Colombian challenger.
The key to victory was Perez having
more in the tank over the championship stanzas of 10-11-12
- thus the 117-110, 117-110, 116-111 numbers on the
official scorecards - my unofficial had it 117-111 Perez
on points and 8-3-1 under the round by round method.
Still, had the scoring been in favor of
Agbeko I wouldn't have been all that surprised.
Post Scripts: Joseph "King Kong" Agbeko
(27-2, 22 KOs) ~ age 29 - Bronx, NY via Ghana - guess is a
return will be in the making now that both waged a fan
friendly battle of attrition. Regardless, Agbeko vs. the
Holy Ghost would be a draw.
Yonnhy Perez (20-0, 14 KOs) ~ age 30 -
Santa Fe Springs, CA via Colombia - displayed true grit,
and remained disciplined from the start to finish. Showed
he could work at close quarters and from outside. Good
chin and quality stamina. Circle the name.
Closing Comments: was a pleasure seeing
Steve Albert teaming with Al Bernstein - but roving fool
Jim Gray with the strange questions should be replaced.
GEL -
