Week of 7-4-08
Rocky Mountain Rumble-ings
After an extended hiatus, the Rocky Mountain Rumble-ings are back, for good. This edition will catch up the past couple of weeks involving Colorado based fighters.
First up we have no less than three shows coming up in the next 8 weeks or so, with AirTight Boxing coming up first on July 10th. That show will feature ‘Red Hot’ Rob Frankel in a stay busy bout. Next up is Jim ‘Smitty’ Smith and Poor Boys Pro Boxing, on August 2nd. A Colorado/Nebraska State Championship fight between Colorado’s Victor Villereal and Nebraska’s Patrick Thompson will headline the event. Following that will be C.C. Edwards and his company Moonlight Promotions on September 20th. The main event being worked on would see Terri Cruz fight for an NABF female title.
We have some big fights coming up for our prospects and a new face in town, Roger Huerta, who is getting his stand up training from one of the best in the business, Trevor Wittman. So read on for this week’s edition of The Rocky Mountain Rumble-ings.
Where Does Verno Go?
Verno Phillips went into Corey Spinks backyard of St. Louis and pulled the unthinkable. He took a close decision thus lifting the IBF strap which Spinks had taken from lightly regarded Rodney Jones in February of ’07. The IBF belt was not on the line when he lost a split decision to Jermain Taylor later that year.
How unthinkable was it? Don King, Spinks promoter, didn’t think twice about putting a rematch clause into the contract, so Verno gave up no rights so he and his promoter, Banner headed by Artie Pellulo, are free to stage his first title defense against anyone in the IBF’s top ten.
There have been many rumors but before the rumors was the mandatory, Sechew Powell. Powell was the highest rated contender that was until he was shockingly upset by young upstart, Deandre Latimore. To put it simply, Latimore simply did more. He outworked Powell and actually made an interesting fight with the usually woeful on the eyes, Powell, before stopping him in the seventh.
Mandatory gone.
Now there are many rumors circulating about the first defense. Phillips, with the IBF strap over his shoulder, is now back in the ‘big’ picture at jr. middleweight, not that he ever left, only Joe Calzaghe and Antonio Tarver have longer reigns in the Ring Magazine’s top ten. Speaking of The Ring, Phillips is the number one contender, rated above the magazines owner, who happens to campaign in the same division, Oscar De LaHoya. In an ideal world, for Phillips, De LaHoya would have chosen him as a replacement for Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September. If he beats Phillips he would become the Ring champion at 154 pounds setting him up for his final bout against what should be Miguel Cotto in December.
This would give the 20+ year veteran a much deserved payday near the end of a long and hard fought career.
But in reality there is no ‘upside’ to De LaHoya defeating a man with 10 losses on his ledger, outside of a ‘Rocky-ish’ angle which could easily be worked into the promotion.
So who will Phillips end up facing?
Originally rumored was a unification bout against WBO champ, Sergei Dzindziruk. The logic being that with Pellulo having recently signed a trio of Russian prospects, he could kick start their careers at home while getting Phillips a shot at a second belt.
Next was a showdown with Vernon Forest, until he was upset by Sergio Mora. Insiders remember well when Forest came to the Mile High City for sparring while preparing for Ricardo Mayorga. He and Verno had a ‘gym war’ session that is legendary in Colorado boxing circles.
Many believed Phillips’ best days were behind him after the Eddie Sanchez fight. But Verno had a ‘flat tire’ as his new boxing boots tore the skin from the ball of his right foot, making it hard to set and throw the right hand. That performance was a blessing in disguise as it led to the Spinks fight, sans a rematch clause.
That takes Spinks out of the equation.
The latest is John Duddy who would like to follow in Mora’s footsteps and come down a weight class and ‘cherry pick’ a title if you will. Consider the fact that Phillips turned pro when Duddy was a mere year and half old and you can see his team’s logic, get the old man, the week link, if you will.
But this old man continues to seemingly take dips in the fountain of youth as he shows no real signs of slowing down. He is an awkward fighter who will give anyone fits in the ring and he uses his legs to win. If he were slowing down, that would be the first signal but after having carried Phillips through 54 pro bouts his wheels continue to carry him to victory.
Gone are the glory days of beating the likes of Lupe Aquino and Julian Jackson but, at the very least it would be nice to see Phillips make a few defenses, earning the lion’s share of purses for retirement, and ride off into the sunset on the beach in his native country, the beautiful Belize.
Of course, only De LaHoya can make that sunset truly ‘Golden’.
Boxing From The Rockies Calendar
Let’s talk local shows then local fighters.
Steve ‘Match Makin’ Mestas and AirTight Boxing are back at the Paladium on Thursday, July 10th. This show is a homecoming of sorts for ‘Red Hot’ Rob Frankel, 23-9-1, 4kos, who hasn’t fought at home in over a year. He has done well on the road picking up the NABA lightweight title along the way. He will be in a stay busy bout against tough as nails journeyman Daniel Gonzales, 9-15-2, 3kos. The rest of the card looks very strong as well with once beaten Juan Santiago, 4-1, 3kos, taking on Brian Cummings, 2-2, 2kos, who is gifted but misguided. In a knock down drag ‘em out welterweights Terry Butterbaugh, 2-0, 1ko, will square up with cross town rival, both hail from Colorado Springs, Brandon Buchanon, 5-7-1, 1ko. In female action one of Colorado’s top amateurs, Brittney Cruz, 1-0, will face off with Jessica Sanchez. Tickets are moving quickly as Colorado will come out to support Rob Frankel so get yours earlier rather than later.
Next up is Jim ‘Smitty’ Smith and Poor Boys Pro Boxing at Softball Country for a show entitled ‘Night Under The Stars’ as the fight card will be held outside. This show is scheduled for Saturday, August 2nd. The main event will feature a Colorado/Nebraska State Championship bout, sanctioned by both the Colorado as well as the Nebraska boxing commissions, between Colorado’s Victor Villereal, 6-1-1, 3kos, and Nebraska’s Patrick ‘Head Hunter’ Thompson, 13-13-1, 5kos. The under card is still in the works but nearly complete with Brad Jackson, 5-0-1, 4kos, and Julio Lanzas, 5-14-6, 1ko, hooking up for an immediate rematch of their draw earlier this year. Lightweight hopeful Jairo Delgado, 1-0, 1ko, steps up to some experience as he takes on trial horse Javier Segura, 4-14, 4kos. Amateur standout Tommy Atencio will make his much awaited pro debut on this card as well.
The final card in this streak will be C.C. Edwards and Moonlight Promotions who will host a show on September 20th in the Mile High City. The show is in the preliminary planning stages but they are hopeful to put Teri ‘Lil Loca’ Cruz in the main event for an NABF title fight. We will keep you posted as this card develops.
Unbeaten jr. welterweight prospect Mike Alvarado, 21-0, 14kos, will take on battle tested veteran Cesar Bazan, 47-10-1, 30kos, on the Cotto-Margarito undercard from Vegas, July 26th. Alvarado has been moved carefully up the ranks by Top Rank matchmakers Brad Goodman and Bruce Trampler, in much the same way they moved Kelly Pavlik. A world title shot cannot be far away.
Marvin ‘Much-2-Much’ Cordova, 19-0-1, 11kos, is back in live action following an exhibition, on August 23rd in Las Vegas. He will take on Derrick Samuels, 15-3-1, 4kos. Incidentally his stable mate, with whom he did the recent exhibition, Geoffrey Spruiell, 7-5, 2kos, will see action on the same card against Ryan Ellul, 4-1, 1ko.
Week In Review
One of Colorado’s prospects was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten this past week as Joey Silva, 8-1, 4kos, was upset by Mexico’s Jose Mercado, 6-7, 5kos. Mercado landed a pair of counter right hands that sent Silva to the canvass for the first time in his career. He beat the count but the following onslaught brought on the stoppage from referee Jerry Cantu at 2:16 of the very first round. Mercado earned the ‘moment of the night’ on the Telefutura telecast with the stunning KO victory.
Donald ‘2-Slick-2-Quick’ was able to get back on track after his loss to newly crowned world champ, Timothy Bradley. Camarena earned a majority decision over Oscar DeLeon, 27-9, 18kos. With the win Camarena improves to 19-4, 9kos and more importantly puts himself back in the hunt at 147lbs.
Another of Colorado’s hopefuls, Manuel Perez, 12-4, 2kos, got back on track after losing his WBC World Youth title to undefeated Matt Remillard in his last bout. Perez didn’t get the typical ‘get back on track opponent’ as he took on Phillipino champion and Manny Pacquiao sparring partner, Aaron Melgarejo, 11-5-1, 3kos, on the Top Rank card on Versus. It was a close competitive fight but Perez’ jab and footwork was the difference in the unanimous decision win.
Fighting Females
Salina Jordan, 2-5, 1ko, lost her fourth in a row to Ana Julaton, 4-0, 1ko, in California.
Tonya Gallegos, 4-8, 2kos, will have her hands full against undefeated Mary McGee, 14-8-0, 8kos, in Gary, Indiana on August 2nd.
Ham & Eggers
Miguel Albares, 5-5,-1, 2kos, was stopped in the first round by Luis Cruz, 6-0, 4kos, on the Pacquiao-Diaz undercard.
The ‘Native Sensation’ J.J. Corn, 47-19-2, 26kos was stopped by Kenny Ellis, 35-6-3, 24kos, at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. The end came at :38 of the fourth in a scheduled six rounder.
From The Cages Of Colorado
Despite his recent controversial loss, Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt is quickly closing in on another shot at the UFC crown, as Dana White didn’t view it as a loss or a step backward.
Roger Huerta, who will take on Kenny Florian as part of UFC 87: Seek & Destroy, is now getting his standup training from one of the best in the business, Trevor Wittman at T’s KO Fight Club in Wheatridge, Colorado. Wittman says that Huerta is a pleasure to work with and is learning very quickly.
Wittman also has his ‘protégé heavyweight’ in Shane Carwin who recently debuted in the UFC with a first round knock out. He landed a picture perfect 1-2 and even earned a $25,000 knock out bonus. He is one to watch for in a wide open heavyweight division.
Rumor Mill
Aurelio Martinez and Inside Boxing, fresh off a show two weeks ago, is planning another local fight card for late September. These shows are promoted in association with Berry Fey and Fey Line International. Look for Donald ‘2-Slick-2-Quick’ Camarena to see action.
A bout is currently being worked on between Colorado’s Larry ‘Pitt Bull’ Gonzales and New Mexico’s ‘Hurricane’ Hector Munoz. If consummated this would be a great regional match up between two come-backing fighters at the cross roads of their respective careers.
Chris “Polish Hitman”
Morris
Aout The
Author
Chris Morris is a life long boxing fan who was hooked on sport after the 1981 “Super Fight” between Thomas “Hitman” Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. His father took him to the closed circuit telecast when he was only 10 years old. He has watched every major fight and most every televised bout since.
He moved from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Denver, Colorado in 2000 and decided to get involved in the sport as a referee and judge. While pursuing this Morris found out that he could still fight as an amateur at his advanced age. He embarked on an amateur career, to give him credibility as a referee, and even won a Colorado State Golden Gloves title at 147lbs at the ripe old age of 31!
He has been covering the local boxing scene ever since. His moniker “Polish Hitman” is a tribute to his favorite fighter Thomas Hearns and his Polish heritage.
Chris Morris owns and operates RockyMountainBoxing.com and can be reached at "mailto:Editor@RockyMountainBoxing.com" or 720-231-7724 and is readily available for comment.
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Rocky Mountain Rumble-ings is a weekly newsletter that covers the fight sports in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. This Article is written EXCLUSIVELY FOR FIGHTNEWS.COM and cannot be used without express written permission.