Villereal Picks An Ear Of Corn

by Chris Morris, Ringside

Although it was cold and windy outside there was some hot action in the ring tonight at Softball Country where Jim "Smitty" Smith and Poor Boys Pro Boxing in association with C.C. Edwards and Moonlight Productions as well as Raul Utajara from Ghost Town Gladiators. 

Tonight at Softball Country Victor Villereal decided to 'pick an ear of corn', JJ Corn that is.  Early in the third round Villereal landed a hard right hand above the left ear of JJ Corn and he went down in a hurting heap.

Villereal made it known early that he was going to pressure and push his 2 day notice opponent, J.J. Corn, from the opening to the final bell.  Villereal concentrates on the soft body of Corn for most of the first two rounds as the fighters share some smiles and laughs along the way.

That 'nice guy' act was put to rest by Villereal at :33 of the third round when he turned Corn and landed a hard right hand above Corn's left ear, destroying his equilibrium and sending him hard to the canvass.  Referre Curtis Thrasher waved it off without a count as Corn couldn't beat the count. 

Villereal moves his ledger to 7-2-3, 5kos while Corn falls to 47-21-3, 26kos.

In the co-main event of the evening Brad Jackson was able to stick and move while cutting Terry Butterbaugh over his left eye which ultimately ended the fight.

Jackson comes out in his typical fashion popping the jab behind nearly continuous movement while Butterbaugh is diving in and trying to close the gap.  Jackson lands an uppercut from a dangerous distance and bloodies Butterbaugh's nose with the peppering jab to win the first round.

The second round sees more of the same.  Jackson constantly up on his bike with Butterbaugh following him around the ring.  Butterbaugh, who is slow of hand and foot, must apply pressure to win rounds but he must first learn how to cut off the ring.  Pressure Fighter lesson 101.

Jackson throws combinations but he is always moving before his last punch is thrown so he doesn't land with any authority, but he piles up points and wins rounds.  Midway through the round Jackson lands a jab that opens up a nasty gash on the left eye lid of Butterbaugh. 

Before the fourth round begins referee Curtis Thrasher asks ringside physician, Dr. Joel Lovato, to take a look at the cut.  He recommends stopping the fight and Thrasher agrees.

The winner by TKO at 3:00 of the third is Brad Jackson who remains undefeated moving to 7-0-1, 5kos while Butterbaugh slips to 3-2, 1ko

I'd like to see Brad Jackson in with a stiffer test next time around.  I believe Jackson and Colorado Springs' Brandon Buchanon would be a very good and scrappy test for Jackson.

The featured bout of the evening gave Colorado another glimpse into the future of our sport as 'Terrible' Tommy Atencio hit Joel Padilla with everything in his arsenal stopping him at 2:28 of the third round.

Atencio looks to be the 'real deal' with an abundance of amateur experience and a solid professional style that is sure to keep his name on the lips of Colorado fight fans.

He has a distinct height and reach advantage over his opponent and he lands combinations almost at will.  He has an educated jab that he uses to perfection to set up his shots.  Padilla is game and throws haymakers with hurt written all over them but Atencio's defense is outstanding as he slips and catches the head shots while blocking body shots with the elbows.

Atencio drops him in the second with a perfectly timed counter left hook after a wild uppercut from Padilla.  He beats the count and survives the round.

Atencio is going for the kill in the third as he comes out banging big shots to Padilla's head and body before catching him in the ropes with an uppercut followed by and left and right hook that puts him down and out.

Atencio remains undefeated at 2-0, 2kos while Padilla loses yet another moving to 1-7.

The opening bout of the evening saw another of the Atencio clan enter into the professional ranks as super middleweight Isaac 'The Iceman' Atencio made his pro debut against Mexico's Gilberto Meza.

Atencio uses a 'Philly' style with the left hand low and the right hand catching.  He has a long and stiff jab that will serve him very well as he advances through the ranks.  Atencio lands triple right hands in the corner which easily carries the round.

Atencio is looking to close the show as he is throwing big bombs and although many are landing, Meza is going nowhere fast.  After landing a hard left hook, Bobby Atencio calls from the corner to 'put it on him right now' and Isaac complies landing heavy combinations to rock Meza from pillar to post.

The third round is more of the same as Atencio unloads on Meza, who is quickly becoming a 'heavy bag' with feet.  Atencio changes up and goes hard to the body for the better part of the round and it softens Meza up enough that his corner throws in the towel between before the fourth round begins.

Atencio debuts with a TKO win while Meza opens up 0-1.

In lightweight action Jorge Carrasco kept his unbeaten streak alive as he outpointed Eric Bradford over  four rounds to run his record to 2-0, while Bradford falls to 0-3.

Bradford is very quick and jumpy hard to find let alone hit so Carrasco decides to concentrate on the body in the first.

By the second round Carrasco is picking his shots but looks afraid to commit to his punches.  He gets an earful from the corner and Shann Villhauer, who also trains Mike Alvardo, and seems to be thoroughly 'disgusted' with his young charges efforts in the ring.  Telling him he 'has to get guys like this outta there' and 'they don't get any easier than this' rather than telling him how to accomplish the task at hand.

Carrasco cruises to an easy shut out decision as judges Ed Kugler, Jeanne McEvoy and Tyrone Short all score the bout 40-36.

Louis 'The Facelifter' Monaco and Jon 'Killer' Kaiser put on a very spirited four round exhibition in which Kaiser put on a body punching clinic to the delight of the Colorado fight fans.

The cold weather didn't keep the fight fans from showing up in force as it was a pretty full house estimated at 1000 fight fans including Mike Alvarado, Davarryl Williamson, Kenny Lemos, Danny Almanza and Kenny Lemos.  It was also nice to see Greg Martinez back at ringside, a commission official for over 6 years, who just returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq with the US Navy.

Look for the next show at Softball Country to come in February.

11-9-08