My Two Cents on the ESPN Pay-Per-View Under-card!

What a great night at the fights my fellow fanatics. Antonio Margarito put the finishing touches on a “Michael Angelo” type night at the fights. It’s too bad we did not get to see Juan Diaz vs. Ebo Elder because that probably would have solidified this as one of the best cards ever. Regardless, it was still pretty damn good! Let’s recap.

The television portion of the evening opened with San Antonio, Texas bantamweight prospect Raul “Cobrita” Martinez taking on the rugged Mexican, Jose Alfredo Tirado. Martinez, a two-time national Golden Glove champion, showed his amateur pedigree as he completely out-classed the game, but limited Mexican over six heats. “Cobrita” showed excellent use of the ring, good hand speed, and a good array of punches as he boxed his way to a unanimous decision victory to extend his undefeated record to 8-0 with 6 KOs. The San Antonio native did show good defense, but is susceptible to the straight right hand as he was caught clean several times. He does have a little pop, but does not seem to have serious power as Tirado absorbed several clean power shots, but was never seriously hurt. Martinez has the tools to become a player at bantamweight and is a prospect worth keeping an eye on.

The second fight featured was an entertaining heavyweight crossroads scrap between Jameel “Big Time” McCline and undefeated prospect, now contender, Calvin “The Boxing Banker” Brock. In a contest that saw the young North Carolina native floored in the seventh round, “The Boxing Banker” graduated from “prospect” to “contender” status with a unanimous decision victory over the ranked and respected McCline. I’ll be the first to admit that Calvin impressed me with his talent, speed, power, ring generalship, and heart, as he continually beat “Big Time” to the punch and connected with some excellent combinations. Brock overcame his biggest challenge in the seventh round. After being floored with a half hook, half uppercut, which severely hurt him, Calvin came back strong with solid combinations to the body and the head and showed he has the heart of a lion by closing the round strong. Even though he was the shorter and lighter man, Brock used his jab effectively and muscled his way in to do some excellent body and head work that would keep McCline on his toes. This kid may be just what this lack-luster division needs, as he seems to have all the tools to be an exciting fighter to watch. We’ll see how far he can go in a division full of giants.

The third fight featured the comeback of a legend as “Sugar” Shane Mosley made his anticipated return to the welterweight division with a ten-round unanimous decision over the young David Estrada. Mosley, working with new trainer John David Jackson, used his speed and strength advantages to out-hustle the game, but less talented Estrada. “Sugar” showed some of his old sweetness as he seriously hurt David in the fifth round with a hellacious body shot. Estrada, using tricks he learned from his legendary trainer Angelo Dundee, managed to survive the round. David had his moments in the fight, and showed a lot of toughness, but in the end, Mosley’s experience and talent prevailed. The problem with Shane was that he rarely got off combinations and got caught with a lot of wide hooks and straight right hands. As for Estrada, this kid does not have much talent, but his guts, determination, and work ethic will take him far in this sport and he will be a hard night’s work for any welterweight. This division is starting to look like a good one again.

Writer’s note: What a great night of boxing as we got to see some new faces emerge, and an old one prevail. We got to see the possible futures of the heavyweight and welterweight divisions, along with some good old fashion toughness. We got to see the very beginning of a bantamweight career, and one that made the jump from prospect to contender. The winds are changing! Who knows what the future will bring, but it seems that boxing is headed in the right direction, as there were some great fights on Saturday night!

Sergio Martinez can be reached at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com