Sunday, September 5, 2021
Twin Cities fight fans were treated to a night of entertaining boxing headlined by Jesus Ramos against Brian Mendoza in a 10 round super welterweight matchup. Ramos, of Casa Grande, Arizona entered the fight with an undefeated record of 16-0, 14 KOs. Mendoza, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was 19-1, 13 Kos.
Ramos gained and maintained control of the fight through the third round, probing with his jab and cutting off the ring as Mendoza circled and countered when possible, occasionally having to block punches and find his way out of the corner or off of the ropes. Mendoza effectively moved his head and found his mark at times, particularly with the left to the body and the hook to the head over Ramos’ southpaw lead right hand. Ramos started to find his mark with the straight left hand in the fourth, landing it a few times to the head and a couple of times to the body. Although neither fighter was overwhelmingly dominant through the first half of the fight, by the end of the fifth it was evident that Ramos’ persistent forward momentum behind his consistent jab was piling up the lead for him through effective aggression.
In the eighth round Ramos really started landing, catching Mendoza a couple of times for solid combinations on the ropes, beginning to tee off a bit. Mendoza still answered the bell to the ninth with determination, moving and punching back as Ramos picked up the intensity of his attack. Heading into the tenth and final round, the crowd was excited as the momentum was set for a competitive closing, although Ramos appeared to be comfortably ahead. Ramos closed with a skillfully boxed tenth round, winning the fight with a unanimous decision, all three judges scoring it 98-92 in his favor.
Opening the card at the 122-pound super bantamweight division was Michael Angeletti of New Orleans, LA, who improved his record to 4-0, 3 KOs with a 3rd round TKO of Alexis Salido, Sanora, Mexico, whose record now falls to 2-1, 1 KO. Angeletti dominated throughout the fight, utilizing his taller stance and elusive ability, deflecting and rolling away from many of the game punching combinations with which Salido attempted to battle him. Angeletti scored a final knockdown in the 3rd when his pounding body punches proved too much for the exhausted Salido, who dropped to his knees at which time referee Mark Nelson waved the fight off, declaring the Technical Knockout.
Travon Marshall of Capitol Heights, Maryland made fast work of Maycron DeSilva, Sao Palo, Brazil in their 140-pound super welterweight fight, landing particularly brutal body shots throughout the first round. In the second round, he landed a solid left hand to the liver, shifting to his right and landing a vicious right to the body followed by a right uppercut between DeSilva’s gloves, dropping him onto the seat of his pants. DeSilva got up at the 8 count but the referee stopped the fight at 1:03 of the first round, building Marshall’s record to 2-0, 2KOs, DeSilva falling to a perfect losing record of 0-3.
In the third fight, scheduled for 6 rounds, super welterweights Justin Cardona, 5-0, 3 KOs, Salina, CA and Jomar Robles, 2-1, 1 KO, San Juan, Puerto Rico, went to battle. Given that Robles, the slightly taller southpaw, weighed in at 135.4 and Cardona weighed 137, this could be considered an above the weight lightweight competition. In any case, neither fighter had a problem making the 140-pound super welterweight limit. While Robles proved very durable, Cardona stalked him with hands held high behind a strong left jab and continuous uppercuts and hooks, pounding the body and landing punishing head blows throughout the fight. He never hurt him enough to get him in trouble, though, so the bout went the full six rounds, Cardona winning via unanimous decision, all three judges scoring it 60-54. Cardona’s record builds to 6-0, 3 KOs, Robles falling to 2-2, 1 KO.
Kyrone Davis, 15-2-1, 6 KOs from Monmouth, New Jersey met Martez McGregor, 8-4, 6 KOs, Maywood, Illinois in the super middleweight division for the 4th fight. Davis had a definite edge by the late third round as the two men battled toe to toe, landing hard combinations on each other. Davis took major control at the close of the third, beginning to rock him a little with head shots. The punishment he unleashed in the fourth appeared to take its toll, slowing McGregor significantly as the fight progressed into the fifth.
McCgregor pleased the crowd with a surprising surge in the fifth, landing a barrage of punches that slowed Davis down a bit, forcing him to fight through the round, possibly the first one of the night that he lost. McGregor continued the momentum through the sixth, landing significant combinations and taunting Davis. Unfortunately for him, though, McGregor was deducted one point for landing his forearm on the face of Davis when he threw a right uppercut as he had him against the ropes. Early in the seventh, another point was deducted from him for hitting on the break. McCregor fought hard in the eighth, possibly winning that round, although it was close. Overall, it was a very entertaining fight and the two combatants proved very durable. They were well balanced and punched with power and showed great determination in their efforts. Kyrone Davis got the unanimous decision, two cards scored at 75-74 and one at 77-72. Obviously, without the two deductions of points, Martez McCregor would have won that fight via split decision.
The sixth fight featured Armando Resendiz, 12-0, 8 KOs, Nayarit, Mexico against Marcos Hernandez, 14-4-2, Frezno, California in a 10 round middleweight fight. The first three rounds proved to be very competitive, both fighters landing effective punches. While Hernandez was able to land his jab effectively and move his head well to avoid punishment, Resendiz was effective in countering that jab, cutting the distance and landing punches, first in combination to the body and thereafter to the head. Hernandez would land hard punches to the head, be they the right hand or the left hook, causing a roar from the fans, but Resendiz answered him back with hard punches of his own, causing more crowd reaction. By the midway point it was a decidedly competitive match and quite exciting for the crowd.
The excitement continued in the sixth and seventh, as Hernandez seemed to be in control with the consistent jab, landing occasionally significant left hooks or right hands over the top, but Resendiz continued, aggressively forging ahead in his attack on the body and head while effectively bobbing and weaving. The eighth and ninth were just as competitive and in the tenth, Resendiz gave it everything he had, throwing his punches with all his force. Hernandez made him miss enough not to get in trouble and landed some of his own, but Resendiz seemed to have the edge in the final round, leaving the crowd wondering what the final result would be as they awaited the judges’ scorecards. Marcos Hernandez won via unanimous decision, 97-92, 96-93,96-93.
In the seventh fight Starling, Castillo, 15-0 12 KOs, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, battled Juan Carlos Burgos, 34-5-2, 21 KOs, Tijuana, Mexico in a scheduled 10 round lightweight fight. Castillo, a southpaw, enjoyed a reach advantage and utilized his right jab early. While Burgos effectively found his range and consistently landed to the body, by the end of the third round Castillo seemed to have a lead and to be in control. Still, Burgos slipped and parried punches well, continuously pounding the body in the fourth, letting Castillo know he wasn’t allowing him to take an easy victory. Neither fighter ever seemed to be in trouble as the fight continued, but there was a consistent back and forth in a very competitive and entertaining fight. Going into the 10th and final round, Burgos came in with the pressure as Castillo moved and countered, both fighters trading turns to have the other against the ropes. Other times they continuously exchanged punches in the middle of the ring. Neither wanted to yield to the other. They fought hard to the final bell.
Starling Castillo won a unanimous decision, 96-94, 97-93, 98-92. Those are very decisive scores, but even the 98-92 card should not be interpreted as an easy win for Castillo. He had to earn each point every round and Burgos displayed a great deal of talent and determination.
The first walk out fight was between, Iago Kiladze, 25-5-1, Sachkere, Georgia, and heavyweight Matthew McKinney, 8-3-2 (5KOs), Fullerton, California, in a six-round matchup. McKinney went down twice in the second round, both times on his knees, the first occasion with what appeared to be a grazing punch and the second time from a right hand to the body. Kiladze won via second round TKO.
VeShawn Owens, Minneapolis, 12-2 (11 KOs) entered the ring at super lightweight against Michael Ogundo, 16-12 (13 KOs), Quincy, Massacusetts. Ogundo switched at times to southpaw but fought mostly right-handed. Ogundo came forward at the opening bell, making it a fight. Owens was smart, utilizing the jab and blocking and slipping punches well. When the fight was forced inside, he maneuvered Ogundo to the ropes and unloaded with a barrage of body shots and came back up to the head. He landed more punches and his punches had a little more power to them than Ogundo’s in the first. Ogundo fought most of the first round right-handed but switched back to southpaw early in the second and Owens caught him with a good right uppercut. Owens was persistent with the jab and consistently landed at least two punches to every punch Ogundo landed in the round, pressing him to the ropes and pounding his body with a speedy shoeshine. He also slipped Ogundo’s shots well and landed counters.
Owens continued his domination through the third, Ogundo still competitive but getting the worst of the exchanges. In the fourth round Owens continued backing Ogundo up and jabbing, slipping Ogundo’s punches and landing his own with an aggressive defense. At the end of a persistent succession of combinations, backing Ogundo towards the ropes, Owens landed a right uppercut to the body followed by a right uppercut to the head, dropping him to his knees. The referee stopped the contest, Owens earning a 4th round TKO victory.
