Mark Ortega
Former Olympic gold medalist and rising super middleweight Andre Ward [18-0, 12 KOs] of Oakland, California passed his latest test on his way to a world title Friday night with a workmanlike unanimous decision over Henry Buchanan [17-2, 12 KOs] of Capitol Heights, Maryland in the main event of the ShoBox: The New Generation telecast.
Ward went twelve rounds for the first time in his career, winning every single round on all three judges scorecards to a tune of 120-108. Each round followed a similar pace, with Ward doing an excellent job cutting off the ring in order to keep Buchanan on the outside of his range. Buchanan was willing to give Ward openings by planting his feet to attempt to mount an offense, and that was when Ward would fire off three or four punch combinations and pile up points while Buchanan was still preparing to throw a punch. Ward snapped Buchanan’s head back nearly a dozen times, mainly off of counter right hands and left hooks. Buchanan was mainly looking for one big shot, and Ward never gave him a chance to land anything close to a significant punch.
Ward is expecting to fight again in either April or May, preferably at the Oracle Arena in his hometown of Oakland, California. “People around the neighborhood are starting to give me grief about that, not fighting in Oakland. I think it’s time, and that is what we plan on doing,” said Ward following his impressive victory. Super middleweight is an exciting division that offers a variety of possible opponents for Ward to face, including Allan Green and Edison Miranda. Ward wanted to make it clear that there were many fights offered to him in the months leading up to his most recent victory, and they were all accepted on his side of things. One fight in particular was a proposed fight between Ward and former unified middleweight champion of the world, Jermain Taylor. It has been made very clear that Ward is looking to seriously step up his level of competition in 2009, and that could include a challenge for a world title.
In the co-featured bout of the evening, as well as the opening bout of the televised portion of the card, red hot lightweight prospect John Molina [15-0, 11 KOs] of Covina, California knocked out Joshua Allotey [16-7, 14 KOs] of Washington, D.C. in three rounds. Behind a heavy body attack, Molina was able to wear the Ghana fighter down. Molina dropped Allotey early in the third with a wicked shot to the liver that referee Dan Stell ruled a low blow. Allotey was given lots of time to recover, but it turned out to do him no good but delay the inevitable, which was to be stopped by a perfectly-placed left hook to the body. This was Molina's first bout under world-renowned trainer Joe Goossen. Molina is likely to return to the ring in either late March or early April, possibly for a fight on ESPN.
In the evening’s walkout bout, Watsonville, California’s Carina Moreno [21-1, 6 KOs] scored an eight-round unanimous decision over Sharon Gaines [11-12-1, 3 KOs] of Las Vegas, Nevada. As per her usual, Moreno clearly won nearly every round and has established herself as one of the best female boxers in the world. Moreno won on scorecards of 80-72 twice and 79-73. UltimateBoxingResults scored it a shutout, 80-72.
Following his previous fight, a six-round majority draw against Jose Alfredo Lugo in November, highly-regarded junior welterweight Mike Dallas, Jr. [6-0-1, KO] of Bakersfield, California said he felt sorry for whoever his next opponent turned out to be. Dallas lived up to his word, pounding out an easy four-round unanimous decision over the game but outgunned Anthony Martinez [21-28-3, 9 KOs] of Turriabla, Costa Rica. Dallas impressed the crowd with his top-flight hand speed that he showcased in his five and six punch combinations. In the fourth round, Dallas threw fifteen consecutive punches without a response from Martinez that drew the crowd to their feet. In his last fight, Dallas seemed to gas out with two rounds remaining, and in this contest he seemed to have more than enough energy to go a couple more rounds if he needed to. “I was ready for six, so I kinda was fighting at a six-round pace,” remarked Dallas following his victory. Dallas is likely to return to the ring in the next few months.
Heavyweight Manuel Quezada [26-4, 16 KOs] of Wasco, California, extended his win streak to fifteen with an impressive fifth-round knockout of Eric Boose [14-4-1, 8 KOs] of Puyallup, Washington in a rematch of their April 2006 four-round bout that saw Quezada win a decision. Boose started off fast, winning the first two rounds on volume alone. Boose worked heavily behind the jab, but Quezada did an excellent job picking it off and countering with straight rights. At the end of the fourth, Quezada buzzed Boose with a one-two combination that sent him into the ropes. There wasn’t enough time left in the round for Quezada to follow it up, but he finished what he started in the following round’s opening with another great straight right hand. The official time of the stoppage was ten seconds into the fifth round.
Quezada will now attempt to move up the rankings and is possibly in line for a fight against former heavyweight champion of the world, Riddick Bowe. Quezada’s next bout will either come on Goossen-Tutor’s HBO date headlined by Paul Williams-Winky Wright on April 11th or a few weeks later in a return to the Tachi Palace.
Local lightweight fan favorite Poppies Martinez [2-0, KO] came away with a close victory in a four-round majority decision over Oakland, California’s Yonas Gebreegziabher [1-3]. Martinez, the former PFC Lightweight champion, is slated to return to action at the Playboy Mansion in March.
In another rematch, 44-year old former cruiserweight champion Arthur Williams [46-15-1, 30 KOs] came out on top in a ten-round majority decision over Dewey Cooper [17-3-3, 10 KOs] in a return bout to their October clash at the Tachi Palace. Cooper began with an early advantage, opening up a cut above one of Cooper’s eyes in the first round. Williams fought a smart fight and used his edge in experience to control the pace of the fight. Williams would pepper Cooper with right hands all night. The eighth round provided the fight’s best action when both fighters landed big shots that had their opponent stunned. Cooper made a comeback in the middle rounds but didn’t do enough in the final frame to get a draw, losing by scores of 96-94, 98-92, with a third card being even at 95-95. UBR scored the bout a draw, 95-95. Following the fight, Cooper said he is likely done with boxing and plans to dedicate himself full time to full-contact fighting.
In his first bout in over three-and-a-half years, Ruben Cuellar [3-1, KO] of Tulare, California scored a six-round split decision victory over James Ventry [7-7-1, 4 KOs] of Niagara Falls, New York. Ventry overcame a first-round knockdown to put himself in the thick of the fight, but didn’t do enough to earn a victory. The official scores were 59-54, 58-55 for Cuellar and 57-56 for Ventry.
Oakland, California’s Tony Hirsch overcame a seven-month layoff, the longest of his career, to win every second of every round against the overmatched Anthony Cannon [4-11, KO] of Saginaw, Michigan in a four-round middleweight bout. Hirsch had his way with Cannon, especially near the ropes where Hirsch was able to fire at will against an opponent who seemed to only know how to play defense. Cannon had his earmuffs on for most of the bout, and would occasionally try and answer Hirsch with comic-book style left hooks and straight rights that Hirsch saw coming. The bout was originally slated for six rounds, and neither fighter knew that had changed until the fourth round was over, a slightly odd fact.
Paul Mendez [1-0, KO] of Oakland, California won his professional debut over the Lemoore native Justin Wines [0-1] in a four-round middleweight contest. Two left hooks dropped Wines in the second, who managed to get to his feet. Referee Marcos Rosales put a stop to the bout officially at 2:21 of the second round.
Boxing and mixed martial arts will return on April 23rd at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino. Tickets will be made available online at Tickets.com, and will be brought to you, as always, by Goossen-Tutor Promotions in cohesion with Palace Fighting Championships.
Mark Ortega can be reached via e-mail at mark@ultimateboxingresults.com
All photos by Jason Pachura.
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