Kevin Hoskins once again derailed from the fast track
Ups and downs of boxing: After knocking Eduardo Rivera out in the first round back on February 21, 2013, at the Sheraton Hotel in San Diego, Kevin Hoskins’ career appeared to be on the upswing with nothing but blue skies ahead. Photo: Jim Wyatt
Friday, March 8, 2013
You might be asking, who’s Kevin Hoskins? Hoskins is the 22 year-old, super featherweight from Moreno Valley, CA who came to town February 21 and derailed the career of Eduardo Rivera at 1:14 of the first round on the latest Bobby D Presents fight card at the Four Points By Sheraton Hotel in San Diego. At the time, Rivera (9-0-1) was undefeated and his career was on an upward trajectory.
(l to r) We first have Braulio Santos then Kevin Hoskins at the Thursday, March 7th weigh-ins. The following day, Friday, March 8th, the two pugilists did battle for all of :57 seconds.
In panel four, down goes Hoskins from the two solid left hooks. Final photo shows Santos having his arm raised in victory by referee Daniel Sandoval.
Fifteen days later, the power puncher had the same thing happen to him but in even less time, 57 seconds of the first round, at the Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, CA. A fellow by the name of Braulio Santos (10-0-0, 9 KOs) of Carolina, Puerto Rico, lowered the boom.
It’s as if Santos had been called on to avenge Rivera’s loss. We’re now checking phone records to see if Santos did in fact receive any correspondence from Rivera prior to Friday’s fight.
How did Hoskins get derailed from his fast track? Santos demolished Hoskins by doubling up on his left hook, first to the body and then to the chin. The very same punches that Rivera threw at Hoskins but with less authority.
“Santos’ knockout was spectacular,” said Steve Farhood who worked the commentary for Showtime on their Friday broadcast. “His form in throwing the double left hook was perfect. For a fighter who had no previous TV exposure to make that kind of a splash guarantees a return to the airwaves.”
“Hoskins spent the final two days,” said Santos,“trying to intimidate me. He tried to get in my face during the weigh-in, talked all kinds of smack, but I didn’t let it get to me. I didn’t care. It’s what happens in the ring that counts, not what you say or do beforehand.
“There’s no extra pleasure beating him the way I did. I was just doing my job. I’m very, very happy though, and ready to do it again. I just fought two weeks ago. With tonight’s fast fight, I’ll be ready to go in another two weeks.”
While in San Diego, we found Hoskins (7-2 with 5 KOs) to be a very like able gent. He’s one of 16 children. He has six sisters and two brothers on his mom’s side, and six sisters and a brother on his dad’s side. Believe it or not, they all grew up in the same house. One can only imagine the scraps they had come mealtime. When he was seven years old, his dad passed away and Hoskins was then raised by his grandparents.
Now here’s the rub on Hoskins: In his nine professional fights, only twice did the match go to the scorecards. The others ended post haste with an explosive knockout. If you add up the time he spent in those seven quickie bouts, it comes to 7 minutes and nineteen seconds. The promoters feel they’re being cheated and he’s highly over-paid.
In Friday’s Main Event, undefeated junior middleweight Hugo “The Boss” Centeno Jr. (18-0-0, 9 KOs), from Oxnard, CA, had little problem defeating KeAndrae “Lightning” Leatherwood (17-3, 10 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The 6-foot-1-inch, 22-year-old Centeno, a former amateur standout with a 78-inch reach, was making his ShoBox and 2013 debut. He’s shown steady improvement since turning pro in March 2009 and has impressed not only fans and media but also the two current world titleholders with whom he’s sparred, welterweight Paulie Malignaggi and middleweight Peter Quillin.
Undefeated junior middleweight Hugo “The Boss” Centeno Jr. (R) joins the long list of boxing greats from the town of Oxnard, CA. KeAndrae Leatherwood became his latest victim on Friday evening, March 8, 2013 at the Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, CA.
The ambidextrous Centeno registered six consecutive knockouts at the outset of his career. After fighting twice in 2009, three times in 2010, Centeno, who is trained by his father, fought six times in both 2011 and 2012.
As an amateur, Centeno had 90 wins against 8 losses and won a ton of tournaments. His impressive resume as an amateur becomes even more remarkable when you discover a major portion of his training was done first in an old shed, then out of a small garage in his own backyard with his dad as the trainer.
In the top photos we have Hugo “The Boss” Centeno Jr. (R) giving KeAndrae Leatherwood a good boxing lesson. In the photo below, we see the legendary Roberto Duran who was in attendance for this night of boxing at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA.
