Bout of the Night, Valdovinos vs Castaneda, at the latest Borizteca Boxing show
On Friday evening, November 17, 2017, at the Salon Mezzanine Hall in Tijuana, unquestionably the Bout of the Night on the 13-bout Borizteca Boxing Promotions fight card had to be the thriller between Ricardo “The Blessed” Valdovinos (5-0) from San Diego and Alex “Koreano” Castaneda (3-1) from Rosarito. These two super lightweights literally banged heads for the entire six, action-packed rounds. With everyone so wrapped up in watching this bout, to include the meticulous timekeeper, the bell to end the final round didn’t sound until almost two minutes (actually 1 minute and 51 seconds) after the regulated three minutes.
From the opening bell, both Alejandro Castaneda (l) and Ricardo Valdovinos (r) threw their punches with bad intentions. All photos: Jim Wyatt
Why was everyone so caught up in Bout #12? For one thing, Valdovinos had promised to knock his opponent out. Second, the mention of that boast had reached Castaneda and had him training extremely hard. Third, during the match, it appeared the treacherous Castaneda made four separate attempts to maliciously headbutt Valdovinos and five, both men were known for their Mexican style of fighting – that in-your-face and bang away at your opponent without letting-up.
Masterfully set up, Ricardo Valdovinos’ left hook caught Alex Castaneda by surprise and down he went. Any lesser of a man would have stayed put on the canvas but Castaneda didn’t hesitate and quickly returned to his feet.
At the conclusion of their exciting contest, both men looked physically drained as veteran referee Jesus Soto raised the arm of the victorious Ricardo Valdovinos. Photos: Jim Wyatt
In the final round of this last man standing battle, Valdovinos landed what everyone believed to be the finishing blow to knock Castaneda out. But, like the energizer bunny, Castaneda quickly returned to his feet as if he had just lost his balance and not been hit by a perfectly thrown, well-leveraged left hook. In the end, all three judges had Valdovinos as their winner: one had it 58-55 and the other two had it 59-54 for Valdovinos.
Now for the complete rundown of this exciting night of boxing:
In Bout #1, they had super welterweights, 19-year-old Lucas Santa Maria (150 lbs., 5-1, 3 KOs) from Garden Grove, Calif. versus Fermin “El Muerto” Canedo (152 lbs., 3-19-1) from San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. Truth be known, Canedo didn’t offer much by way of offense and for the majority of the fight employed only defense. In the second round, after being hit repeatedly, Canedo went down on one knee to complain of this shooting pain going up his right arm to the shoulder which resulted in an early stoppage. Anyone who has experienced this type of injury knows how painful it is.
Bout #1, before the opening bell, Lucas Santa Maria (l) from Garden Grove, Calif. and Fermin Canedo (r) from San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mex. met in the center of the ring to receive final instructions from referee Francisco Pacheco.
At the conclusion of Bout #1, we see Lucas Santa Maria having his arm raised in victory after his defeat of the game Fermin Canedo (r).
Bout #2 featured lightweights, 22-year-old Jose Maria Delgado from the Robert Garcia Academy, Oxnard, Calif. (130 lbs., 0-0-1) going up against Israel Pineda of Camalu, B. C., Mexico (130 lbs., 1-4). In his debut, Delgado fought to a mixed decision draw against Antonio Cardona. Delgado’s opponent, Pineda, got off to a rough start losing four fights in 2016 and then in September of this year faced what you might call a cupcake (Jesus Sandoval 0-22) to register his first victory. In Saturday’s contest, Delgado wasted little time and went straight to landing the clean combinations and pounding Pineda’s body. During intermission, Pineda’s corner convinced him to stay put on his stool and not come out for round two.
Bout #2 combatants, (l to r) Jose Maria Delgado and Israel Pineda together with Delgado’s trainer Robert Garcia plus referee Francisco Pacheco posed for this pre-fight photo in the center of the ring.
At the conclusion of Bout #2, we see referee Francisco Pacheco raising the arm of the victorious Jose Maria Delgado.
Bout #3 had featherweight Gilbert “The Iberian Lynx” Garcia (122 lbs., 1-0, global ID# 811845) from San Diego, Calif. going up against Edgar Ornelas of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico (0-5, 125 lbs.). After a wild and wooly Keystone Cops chase in which we saw Ornelas’ flailing arms fling in multiple directions, Garcia eventually pinned his opponent in the neutral corner and began working over his body. After the fourth punch struct Ornelas’ midsection down he went and Garcia had his second victory after just 47 seconds.
At the conclusion of Bout #3, we see Gilbert Garcia (l) who got the TKO victory over Edgar Ornelas (r) having his arm raised in victory by referee Jesus Soto.
Can you imagine? You have just won your second professional fight, and you and your Mom get to have your photo taken with Robert Garcia, who many fight fans believe is one of the top trainers on the Planet.
Bout #4 with super featherweight Mario Ramos (2-0, 126 lbs.) from the Bound Boxing Academy in Chula Vista, Calif. versus Victor Barraza (0-6, 130 lbs.) from the same town as Ornelas, lasted one minute and 50 seconds longer than the Garcia vs Ornelas bout. That’s because Barraza added the segment where he was punching nothing but air and then went down in the same neutral corner but only after being hit by an overhand left. With the win, Ramos improves to 3-0 while Barraza drops to 0-7.
Before the start of Bout 4, the boxers, Mario Ramos (l) and Victor Barraza (r) receive last minute instructions from referee Jesus Soto.
Before you knew it, Victor Barraza was lying on his back in the neutral corner.
Mario Ramos of Chula Vista has his arm raised in victory by referee Jesus Soto after he defeated Victor Barraza of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico.
Bout #5 saw Omar Aguilar (1-0, 141 lbs.) from Ensenada, Mexico and signed by Zanfir Promotions going up against the less experienced Leandro “Cowboy” Monreal (0-0-1, 140 lbs.) from Rosarito, B. C., Mexico. Simple enough, the much taller Aguilar’s punches were more powerful and accurate as he went up and down Monreal’s body to wear him down and as a result referee Jesse Soto was obliged to step in and call a halt to this onesided beat down at the 1:56 mark of round one.
After referee Jesus Soto realized that Leandro Monreal was in big trouble and not responding to the many blows he was receiving, he quickly stopped the bout.
Bout #6 featured the 17-year-old Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (3-0, 1 KO), the highly touted southpaw from the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard, Calif., taking on Jorge Mosqueira (1-1) from La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The match ended at the 1:22 mark of round two. It was Rodriquez’s consistent combinations of left hooks and left uppercuts that finally broke Mosqueira’s will to continue.
Before the opening bell sounded, referee Jesus Soto went over his final instructions before Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (3-0) from the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard, Calif. went to battle with Jorge Mosqueira (1-0) from La Paz, B. C., Sur, Mexico.
Before long, Jorge Mosqueira had decided his ribs had received enough punishment from the power shots of Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. So, instead of getting back on his feet after a knockdown, he stayed put on one knee until the referee counted to 10.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriquez has his arm raised in victory after registering the TKO victory over Jorge Mosqueira of La Paz, B. C. Sur, Mexico.
Bout #7 with Mulapi Enjani (2-5-2, 114 lbs.) from San Diego by way of the Republic of the Congo who trains at the Sweet Science Boxing Club in Bonita got himself a real workout when facing Adriel Osuna (0-2, 112 lbs.) from Ensenada, B. C., Mexico. Despite all of the punches to the head and midsection, Osuna just kept coming. In the end, the decision was never in doubt as Enjani improved his record to (3-5-2).
In Bout #7, it was Mulapi Enjani (l) going up against Adriel Osuna (r).
Mulapi Enjani (l) has his arm raised in victory by referee Jesus Soto.
In Bout #8 they had a local favorite, featherweight Brandon “2 Smooth” Cruz (1-0, 125 lbs.) from Chula Vista, Calif., who trains at the Bound Boxing Academy in Chula Vista, going up against Carlos Escobedo (0-4, 125 lbs.) from Tijuana, B. C., Mexico. This bout was more about how can Escobedo cope with so much adversity. First off, he had this noticeable bump on his left forehead. Next, he was having troubles with the protective gear inside his boxing trunks, and finally, he was going to have to deal with Cruz and the inevitable onslaught of blows. Amazingly, Escobedo was able to cope, at least up until the final seconds of the final round. That’s when he got caught with this full bore, devastating uppercut. And still, Escobedo was able to return to his feet before the count of 10.
At the outset of Bout #8, we see the boxers Brandon “2 Smooth” Cruz (left, 1-0, 125 lbs.) from Chula Vista, Calif. and training at the Bound Boxing Academy in Chula Vista getting set to face Carlos Escobedo (r) from Tijuana.
Jaws dropped when the crowd saw Brandon Cruz (black trunks) land this uppercut to Escobedo’s chin. Not many thought Escobedo could survive such a blow, but he did. Before the referee’s count reached 10, he was back on his feet.
Concerned about the fallen Carlos Escobedo who was twisting about in pain after a low blow from Brandon Cruz, referee Jesus Soto knelt down beside him to check if Cruz could continue.
After the scorecards were collected, it was discovered Brandon Cruz (l) had won himself a decisive victory with scores of 40-34, 40-34 and 40-34.
Bout #9 featured 18-year-old bantamweight Juan “Nite Nite” Miranda (2-0, 1 KO, 118 lbs.) from San Diego, Calif. who currently trains at the Sweet Science Boxing Gym, Bonita, Calif. going up against Jesus Osuna (1-5, 119 lbs.) from Tijuana, B. C., Mexico. If your last name last name is Osuna, you should be wary of fighting Miranda. Back on June 16th of this year, “Nite Nite” Miranda destroyed Adriel Osuna from Ensenada and won a unanimous decision. In this one, the scores didn’t make much sense as Miranda won a mixed decision with scores of 40-36, 38-38 a draw and finally 39-37.
(l to r) Southpaw Juan “Nite Nite” Miranda goes on the attack against the outgunned Jesus Osuna.
Juan “Nite Nite” Miranda (r) of San Diego secures the easy victory over Jesus Osuna (l) of Tijuana. Referee holding up Miranda’s arm is Jesus Soto.
Bout #10 was more or less an introduction, demonstration of how superior the 32-year-old, 5’5″ tall, 114 lbs., super flyweight Dewayne Beamon can be. After Friday’s win which was shown on the Best N Boxing, a lot more boxing fans will be up to speed. Beamon’s opponent on Friday night, Zenon “Changuito” Venancio (now 1-2, 113.5 lbs.) from La Paz, Baja Calif., Mexico and his corner showed the good sense of throwing in the towel early. For the last four to five months Beamon has been training in Las Vegas and now there is talk that Beamon will be moving on to the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard, Calif. after Beamon and the legendary trainer had a chance to meet. Truth be known, Beamon’s opponent on Friday had been far less active with only two bouts in three years. With Beamon having a record of 48-2 as an amateur and already 13-0 as a professional, he is certainly on the fast track to becoming a major player in the super flyweight division. Why the late start? Beamon accomplished all of this after first pleasing his parents and earning a college degree.
In Bout #10, it was the polished super flyweight Dewayne Beamon (l) virtually having his way with Zenon “Changuito” Venancio (r).
Bout #11, a six rounder, featured 37-year-old, 5’11” tall, 154.3 lbs. Rafael “Pride of San Diego” Ramirez (18-4-2) who recently signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s ‘The Money Team’ to make his second comeback. Ramirez’s last fight, a win over Alejandro Alonso took place on August 17, 2013.
Rafael Ramirez (l) gets the ever so close victory over Manuel Garcia (r).
Ramirez’s opponent on Friday evening was tough guy Manuel “Showboy” Garcia (5-13, 157 lbs.) who competes locally at venues in Mexicali and Tijuana. It must be pointed out that after Garcia’s 18 bouts that 13 of his 18 opponents had winning records and nine were undefeated. Garcia’s popular fighting style brings out the best in his opponents. His style kind of reminds you of a ferocious, hard-charging bull.
By the end of their six-round fracas, the victorious Mr. Ramirez had his tongue out and was gasping for air. Looking back at his stunning performance, the tools of the trade that saved him were his mobility, the stiff, accurate jab, plus the not so frequent stops to unload a barrage of quick combinations.
Bout #13, the Main Event of the evening, was a six round Super featherweight clash between Mario “Guero” Ramirez (8-1, 129 lbs.) from Camulu, Mexico, going up against Alfredo Pitta (4-9-1, 129 lbs.) from Tijuana, B. C., Mexico. Ramirez, with the quicker hands and better defense, won the match of boxers rather than brawlers.
(l to r) Mario “Guero” Ramirez from Camulu, Alfredo Pitta from Tijuana
Friends, family plus the coaching staff gathered around to celebrate Mario “Guero” Ramirez’s big win.
With the current situation of Box Rec not posting the results of fights in Tijuana and the Promoters putting pressure on both Box Rec and the Tijuana Boxing Commission to change this policy, it’s been said that henceforth the nine Tijuana Boxing Promoters will in unison abstain from having any Pro Boxing shows after December 15, 2017. This unfortunate state of affairs will be monitored daily by SportofBoxing.com.
