Star Boxing: Rodriguez, Cauthen Victorious In San Antonio

This week’s ESPN2 “Wednesday Night Fights,” took place at the Municipal Auditorium in San Antonio, TX. The card, which was promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, featured Delvin Rodriguez taking on hometown fan favorite Oscar Diaz for the USBA welterweight championship, a belt Rodriguez had once held, and as he stated prior to the fight, was extremely determined to get back.

The Rodriguez vs Diaz fight was one of the most anticipated fights to hit the state of Texas in a long time, and both fighters had promised beforehand that they would not disappoint. As both fighters touched gloves in the center of the ring each fighter looked to be in the best shape in their careers as Diaz and Rodriguez both looked extremely strong and ready to go.

Early on it was clear that Rodriguez and Diaz were each looking to establish their jab. As Rodriguez continued throwing his jab out it was clear that he was looking to set up his best punch, the straight right hand. Half way through the round Rodriguez landed a big straight right hand right down the middle, Diaz took the punch well though and kept coming forward.

As Diaz continued to press forward Rodriguez uncorked a lead left that caught Diaz flush on the cheek. Rodriguez established early on that he was the quicker of the two fighters, but Diaz did not seem to be fazed by anything. The next two rounds saw Rodriguez take advantage of his reach and box Diaz from the outside. Mid way through the second round Rodriguez landed a huge right hand, something that would become a recurring theme throughout the night. Diaz continued to press forward and bring the fight to Rodriguez as Rodriguez looked to box and pick Diaz apart from the outside.

Just when it seemed as though Rodriguez was in total control of the fight, Diaz uncorked a huge over hand right that wobbled Rodriguez early in the fourth round. Diaz’s hometown fans erupted in a roar as it seemed as though maybe their fighter’s persistence was about to pay off. As Diaz rushed in he was met with two huge over hand rights from Rodriguez that stopped Diaz in his tracks.

The rest of the round was a bit of a slug fest as both fighters abandoned any boxing style they had and began to brawl, as most ringsiders had expected they would. Rodriguez was the busier of the two fighters and seemed to maybe even have won the round.

As the fifth round began it was clear that Rodriguez had fully recovered from the previous round and began once again boxing Diaz from the outside. Rodriguez’s punches seemed to begin taking a toll on Diaz as Diaz’s face began to swell. The hometown fans began cheering for their fighter, hoping to motivate Diaz. The roars from the crowd seemed to inspire Diaz as he pressed forward with even more aggression then in the previous rounds.

Diaz was able to score with some looping overhand rights and left hooks as he tried to work his way back into the fight. Although Diaz had his moments, it was clear that Rodriguez was in total control of the fight at this point.

The 7th, 8th and 9th rounds saw Rodriguez kick it into another gear. He was boxing beautifully, landing three and four punch combinations almost at will. Although Diaz continued to come forward, it seemed at this point as though Diaz was just simply overmatched. Everything Rodriguez threw connected, and Diaz’s attack began to slow.

Entering the 10th round Diaz’s right eye was completely closed and there was a slight trickle of blood flowing down his face. In what many felt was supposed to be a very evenly matched fight, Rodriguez simply seemed to be too much for the hometown Diaz and even began backing him up. As the 10th round ended something didn’t seem right about Diaz.

Diaz arose from his stool to start the 11th round but something was definitely wrong. Diaz seemed to be on shaky legs and when the referee asked if he was ok and wanted to continue Diaz collapsed. It was an emotional scene as Diaz lay motionless on the canvas. A stretcher was immediately rushed into the ring and doctors began treating Diaz on the spot. Diaz was quickly taken out of the ring and rushed to an ambulance.

Rodriguez, the gentlemen he is, asked the announcer if he could have his microphone to address Diaz’s hometown audience. Rodriguez thanked everyone for coming and asked that everyone keep Oscar in their prayers. The victory was bittersweet for Rodriguez as it was clearly the biggest win of his career but also very tragic.

Before Rodriguez said anything about his victory he first talked of Oscar. “I am praying for Oscar and his family and will continue to pray for him throughout the night. I ask everyone else to pray for him.” Rodriguez then talked briefly about the fight. “I feel great now and I felt great coming in. I felt very strong tonight.

“I wanted to box and use my jab and set up my straight right hand. That was the game plan coming in and that what I stuck with. He hit me with a good shot in the fourth and it wobbled me a little bit, but as you see I came firing right back. After that I felt really good and loose. Maybe it woke me up a bit, I am really not sure. But after that round I started to really pick him apart and knew that it was only a matter of time,” said Rodriguez.

Speaking of his opponent, “Oscar was the toughest guy I ever fought. Let me tell you, both of my hands are sore. I hit him with some real bombs and he just kept on coming,” stated Rodriguez. “I can’t begin to explain how excited I feel inside, this was a major win for me.”

Regarding his future, “Well right now I am just very happy for myself, my team and my family. I think I showed tonight that I am one of the top guys in the welterweight division. I really feel that I am ready to take the next step and would love to challenge any of the world champions in my division.”

In closing, “Again though as excited I am right now, this is also hard for me. I would never wish what happened to Oscar upon anyone. Oscar is a great guy, and a great competitor. God bless him.”

With the win Rodriguez improved his record to 23-2- 1,14KO’s and also regained his USBA welterweight belt. Diaz dropped to 26-3, 12KO’s. Overall it was a fantastic performance for Rodriguez. Not only was he able to box beautifully, when the two stood toe to toe, it was Rodriguez who was getting the better of the exchanges. Rodriguez definitely showed the boxing world he is ready for the next step and certainly put the welterweight division on notice.

The co-feature of the night and first televised fight saw Terrance Cauthen take on the undefeated power punching Alexis Camacho. Cauthen, whose nick name is “The Heat,” had stated before the fight that this was a fight he absolutely needed. For Camacho it was the first time on national T.V. for the undefeated prospect out of Austin, TX and he surely was looking to impress.

The first round was a feeling out round with both fighters looking to time the other coming in. Camacho continuously moved forward but could not find his range and every time he threw a punch the southpaw Cauthen would take a quick step back. Camacho was the clear aggressor in the round while Cauthen landed the cleaner punches. The next three rounds saw more of the same as Cauthen looked to box and counter as Camacho persistently pressed forward throwing wide looping punches. It appeared that Cauthen was just a little bit too quick for the younger Camacho as he persistently caught Camacho coming in with his lead right hook.

The fifth round was by far the best round of the fight as Cauthen and Camacho exchanged huge right hands half way through the round. Cauthen got the worse of the exchange and was clearly hurt. Cauthen tied Camacho up and when the referee separated them, both fighters had blood streaming down their face. Somewhere in the exchange a clash of heads had occurred and Cauthen was cut above his left eye, while Camacho suffered a nasty gash on the top of his head.

Both fighters were examined by the ringside physician and the fight was allowed to continue. Camacho, thinking his opponent was still hurt rushed in trying to finish the fight but on the way in he got caught by another lead right hook. Camacho relaxed a bit and at the end of the round he landed another big right hand and seemed to have Cauthen in trouble again, lucky for Cauthen the bell sounded to end the round.

The 6th, 7th and 8th rounds saw the more experienced Cauthen outbox Camacho. Cauthen seemed to just be too quick and slick for his younger opponent and repeatedly caught Camacho coming in with lead right hooks. Cauthen outworked Camacho over the final three rounds en-route to winning a unanimous and well earned decision. Scores were 78-74, 77-75, 77-75

After the fight Cauthen expressed how important this fight had been to him. “I’m back! Man I needed this one. Praise to God,” began Cauthen. “I didn’t expect him to be so big and strong coming in but man that kid was tough. I stuck to my game plan though and I knew that if I kept boxing him and kept timing him coming in with my right hook that I would be able to win the fight.”

Regarding what’s next for Cauthen, “Well, I know I got work to do, but I only trained for this fight for three weeks, and I still was able to give this kid a boxing lesson. He was undefeated and supposed to knock me out. Well I guess there was a change of plans, because he didn’t knock me out and he is not undefeated anymore,” stated Cauthen. With the victory Cauthen moves to 33-4, 9KO’s. Camacho suffered his first defeat and his record now stands at 16-1, 15KO’s.