Boxing legend Roberto
'Manos de Piedra' Duran, in conjunction with Team
Freedom and DRL Promotions put on one heck of a
show from Club Cinema in Pompano Beach, Florida,
this past Saturday, April 22.
After having
had a chance to review records and talk to the
boxers at the press conference, it became
evident that this card was going to showcase a talented group of young fighters, several of which were undefeated.
The main
event was a classic match-up between a Puerto
Rican slickster, Jose Nieves, (15-0-2, 8 KOs) and
a crafty and gritty Mexican slugger, Tomas Rojas,
(22-8, 14 KOs). Styles make fights and this
ten rounder was no exception.
Nieves scored
freely, his jabs finding a permanent home on
Rojas' face; but the native of Veracruz, Mexico
would not be denied. He pressed the action,
landing some heavy shots of his own which had
Nieves visiting the canvas in the fifth and sixth
rounds.
The official
scoring indicated that Nieves would add a
unanimous decision to his resumé, 95-93, 96-92
(twice). However, the fans didn't think Nieves
deserved the W, and they booed the decision
loudly. Congratulations to the winner and to
Tomas Rojas as well, who brought it to Nieves for
the most part of the bout.
The
co-feature of the night turned out to be an
exciting and thrilling ten rounder, featuring
Miami's own Hicklet 'El Marielito' Lau versus
Colombia's Richard Gutierrez. For those of you who
judge a fighter solely by his record, please do make an
exception with Lau, who has had very few 'easy'
fights in his six-year professional career.
Hicklet has
fought -and lost to- some of the best in the
junior welterweight and welterweight divisions,
i.e., Ben Tackie, (UD 10), Rafael Ruelas, (SD10),
Cosme Rivera, (UD12), Emmanuel Clottey, (UD10),
Henry Bruseles, (UD12), Carlos Maussa, (UD12),
Kermit Cintron, (TKO9), Ray Oliveira, (UD12), Joel
Julio, (TKO4). Some of these losses came about in
close matches, and as may have been the case this
Saturday night, he has been a victim of the judges
in others.
The recipe
for success for Hicklet Lau is very simple.
Although not a heavy puncher, at 6 feet he has an
edge in reach which he should always take
advantage of. He has a solid jab, particularly
effective when he pumps it in twos and threes, and
he is no stranger to following the jab with
combinations. When Hicklet Lau boxes, he does
well; nonetheless, his preference -however
misguided- is to brawl, down and dirty, throwing
caution to the wind. Unfortunately, when Lau
brawls, he comes up on the losing end of the deal.
On Saturday
night Lau was scheduled to meet an undefeated -and
heavy handed- prospect in Richard Gutierrez, whose
record shows that he didn't get to face an
opponent with a winning record until his 14th
professional career, which brings me back to
how deceiving records can be.
Taking
nothing away from Gutierrez, who is now trained by
Franco Gonzalez, he came to fight, in shape
physically and mentally.
It was an all
out battle from the opening bell, no such thing as
a feeling out round, or a warm-up, with Lau
pressing the action and the shorter Gutierrez all
too happy to oblige him.
The Colombian
set the tone in the opening round, punishing
Hicklet whenever he came within his power range,
doing enough to make it 10-9 Gutierrez.
Lau
boxed well in the next round, using his jab, and
doing enough to win the stanza.
Round three
left no doubt that this was going to be a scrap;
with Lau taunting his opponent, who seemed a bit
frustrated. It was a close round to call.
Hicklet comes
back to his corner bleeding from an ugly gash
under his left eyebrow, blood running down his
face. The cut came as the result of an elbow,
although the referee called it an accidental butt.
In the fourth round and with the cut re-opening
up early on, Lau presses the action but gets
tagged easily by Gutierrez. Both men are enjoying
the exchanges, smiling, taunting each other. It's
a brutal pace with nothing but power shots thrown,
jabs be damned! A close round where Lau might have
edged his opponent.
Fifth round and Lau comes out boxing, jabbing,
utilizing his reach advantage to tag Gutierrez.
The pace slowed a bit in this round, which I
believe Lau eked out.
Gutierrez changes the pace in the sixth round,
pounding combinations to Lau's head and body. It
is an exciting round that makes it clear who has
the power. Gutierrez 10-9.
Lau answers the bell in the seventh moving,
boxing, while Gutierrez chases him, seemingly
frustrated and anxious to make something happen.
Gutierrez stalks his prey, scoring with a hard
combination to the head that hurts Lau. Gutierrez
10-9.
Gutierrez seems determined to make the 8th
round the last, but a game and crafty Lau fights
from the outside. While the referee stops the
action to have a piece of dangling tape cut from
Gutierrez's glove, Lau urges the crowd on, and
they respond in kind. Hicklet Lau is definitely a
fan favorite. Once again, this was a close round,
that could have gone either way.
<Referee Frank Santore calls the ring doctor to
Lau's corner to check on the deep cut that keeps
re-opening itself. Doctor gives the ok and the
fight continues...>
Hicklet comes out pumping the jab, giving
angles and attempting to frustrate Gutierrez, but
the Colombian delivers a vicious body attack to
Lau's body within the last 20 seconds of the round
that earns him the round. Gutierrez 10-9.
Tenth and final round opens up with Lau
throwing combinations, dancing away from
Gutierrez. It doesn't last long, Gutierrez lures
him to the phone booth and Lau gets the worst of
the exchanges. A courageous Lau fights back and
scores with combinations of his own that may have
helped him eke out the round.
Undoubtedly a tough fight to score; and when
the official announcement is read Richard
Gutierrez is awarded a majority decision. The
individual scoring went as follows: John Rupert
96-94, Ric Bays 96-94 and 95 all from Fred Fluty.
By the way, Referee Frank Santore Jr. did an excellent job
in this fight.
Hicklet Lau drops to 19-17-2, 9 KOs while
Richard Gutierrez ups his record to 18-0, 11 KOs.
Undercard
Results:
Heavyweight
Lenroy 'TNT' Thomas (1-1, 1 KO) defeated Jason
Ellison (0-1) by knockout in the first round.
Official time 1:26. 'TNT' Thomas is trained by
Buddy McGirt.
Junior
welterweight Héctor 'Baby King' Sánchez (6–0, 2
KOs) won a unanimous decision over Tomondre King
(3-12- 5). Judges scored it as follows: John
Rupert 59-55, Fred Fluty and Jean Warring saw it
60-54.
Troy Harden
(4-0, 3 KOs) won a majority decision in 6 over
Roberto Astacio (5–1). Judges scored it as
follows: John Rupert and Jean Warring 58-56 while
Ric Bays had it 57 all.
Junior
middleweight Yukeno Andino (4–0, 1 KO) won
a unanimous decision in six over Adam Ortiz (1-
2). This was the only mismatch of the
evening.
Side Note: The Commission should not even allow
Ortiz to fight again; the kid means well but he is
not a boxer, and more than likely never will be.
He took a pounding in this fight, (as well as in
the last one), that should earn him at least
a 60 day suspension even though he didn't get
knocked out. Shame on his corner who
obviously does not have his best interests at
heart. The kid is an accident about to happen and
should be saved from himself. By the way, back to
deceiving records, Andino had a solid amateur
career, and had been sparring with Oscar de la
Hoya in Puerto Rico.
Congratulations to the promoters of this event who
will be back in action very soon. Boxeo Azteca
televised the event live to 150 cities,
approximately 700,000 homes were tuned in.
Club Cinema will host an ESPN2 FNF card May 19th;
it will be promoted by Winky Promotions, Peter
Kahn Entertainment and DRL Promotions.
Want to keep
up with Roberto Duran? Visit his web site
here
Editor's Note: Our heartfelt thanks to Dalia Duran for
her assistance and cooperation.
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