July 24th was supposed to be the changing of the guard in the Jr. Welterweight Division, as young 21 year old Francisco "Panchito" Bojado was going up against 38 year old wily veteran Jesse James Leija, who was supposed to be Bojado's stepping stone to the elite level. Well, Jesse James Leija must didn't get that memo, as he was stubborn and gave a lot better that he got.   Early on Leija set the tone of the fight by starting really fast appearing to be the younger of the two fighters. The first round went to Leija. The second it appeared as though Bojado would live up to the much publicized hype of being one of the future superstars of boxing, as he caught Leija with a vicious left hook that would deposit Leija on the canvas, giving you the impression that "Now I see what they're talking about."   As soon as the drama came it went just as fast. There was no follow up to what had just happened, no sense of urgency, or I got him now so let me keep the pressure on him. The rest of the way it was rather a very dull fight. What amazed me going down the stretch was that Bojado, only 21 years old, was being outworked by 38 years old Leija.   Bojado seemed to be stuck in one gear as he started looking for one big shot as Leija took whatever he could and built up points, stealing rounds as Bojado appeared to be looking for lightning in a bottle that would never happen. He never looked as though he felt he was losing, there was never a sense of desperation or digging down from the gut to pull out the win. Being a former fighter myself, I can't imagine what must have been going through Bojado's mind. There is no way he could have thought that he had built up a substantial lead and wasn't worried about the decision.   A fighter knows when he is in a real fight and he also knows that if he is not dominating his opponent there is a good chance that the decision might not go his way. I was sitting at home waiting for him to reach down within himself, to pull out that something special that had the boxing world so sure that this kid was going to be a huge star whose last two fights were on HBO.   I still think Bojado is a very talented young fighter with tremendous skills but going into this fight I thought he would be severely tested by Lejia who still has a lot of fight left in him and isn't quite ready to call it a career. Leija will be a stern test for any young fighter coming up, with the exception of Miguel Cotto. I think Cotto is too strong and already fights like a veteran who won't waste his time swinging, just to show his hand speed. Cotto's punches have bad intentions on them and I think he would finish Leija off if he had him down like Bojado did.   I think mentally Bojado wasn't ready to step up to this challenge. Maybe my older brother Floyd Sr. not being in his corner may have affected him. Nothing against Buddy McGirt who is a very good friend of mine and an awesome trainer as well. It just appeared that Bojado was not completely there or perhaps didn't realize the magnitude of this fight.   I would imagine we will see Cotto vs Leija in the near future. With this victory Lejia has extended his career just a little bit longer and also put himself in position to appear on HBO again against some young up and coming fighter and of course securing a very nice retirement check for himself.   I'm happy for him and hope he doesn't stick around too long. He just happened to have the right guy in front of him tonight in Bojado. In hindsight, which is always 20/20, the jump to Lejia was too much to soon... 7-24-2004   Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2004