COTTO VS. MARGARITO II UNDERCARD RECAP

By Jaime Feal

Welterweight Division (147 lbs.)

Mike “Machine Gun” Jones (25-0) vs. Sebastian “Iron” Lujan (38-5-2)

For Jones’ NABA and NABO welterweight championship.

Round 1:

Mike Jones, undefeated fighter from Philly, begins in the orthodox stance, as does Lujan. Lujan misses with a lazy left hook. Jones looking to jab. The feeling out process continues for the first minute. Now Lujan presses forward with the first meaningful combo. Jones lands a couple body shots. Jones fires an uppercut and three straight jabs. Lujan comes inside and tries to go to the body with hooks. Pace picking up and the fighters trade on the ropes. Lujan lands a jab. More jabs and ring generalship from Jones. “Machine Gun” finally throws the right hand behind the jab and it slightly wobbles Lujan. Lujan backs away and regains his legs. Jones pressing forward with a nice combo and finishes the round with some more nice jabs. 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 2:

The boxers begin round 2 more aggressively and start trading immediately. Lujan is coming forward but Jones countering nicely. Mike Jones is the calmer and more technical fighter right now. Lujan trying head movement to avoid the telephone pole jab of Jones. Good uppercut-left hook combo by Jones. Jones’ left hand is lethal, both with the jab and the uppercut. Lujan is against the ropes getting his body worked over by Jones. Jab-Jab-Straight combo from Jones. Left-right-left hook combination to the body now. Nice leaping left hook by Jones, who is completely outclassing Lujan. 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 3:

Jones has his earmuffs on and defends Lujan’s opening jabs, then goes to the body with hooks. Jones scoring more points with the jab. Lujan misses with a hook. Jones using his length and reach to frustrate Lujan. Good feint by Jones, who has thick and powerful shoulders and a much better frame than Lujan. Jones is super slick, pot-shoting Lujan and always keeping the right hand cocked in case he needs it. Beautiful display of boxing from Jones. Light hooks to the body and more jabs punctuate yet another round for “Machine Gun.” 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 4:

Lujan trying to come out more aggressive. Jones countering with good movement and hand speed. Lujan looks sloppy as he misses with a hook. Lujan trying to make it a brawl and is starting to land. A left hook from Lujan hits the mark. Jones is backing up more now. Good jab from Jones. 1 minute left in the round and it’s up for grabs. Lujan with a series of jabs. Ref breaks the fighters as they clinch. Lujan with his hands down inviting Jones into a slugfest. Lujan misses with an overhand right. Lujan scores to the body and Jones hits the head with the jab to end a close frame. 10-9 round for Lujan.

Round 5:

Jones misses with a left hook and the fighters tie up. Ref breaks them and Jones lands a nice left hook. Lujan answers with a left hook of his own. Good body combo by Jones. This fight is much more competitive now. Lujan giving Jones something to worry about with his aggression. Jones scores more points with the jab. Lujan is backing up and Jones digs to the body. Good right from Jones. Lujan misses the counter. Great left hook for Jones and Lujan shakes his head. Lujan has his hands down and is getting hit with light shots. Big right hand from Jones has Lujan backing up and shaking his head again. 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 6:

Jones looks very relaxed and confident again. The 4th round appears to have been an anomaly. Mike Jones is the boxer here and Lujan is the brawler. Crowd begins to grow restless because Jones isn’t landing power shots but he is scoring enough to impress the judges. Now Lujan finally answers back and comes forward and lands halfway through the round. Nice right hand from Jones. Lujan has his hands down again. Jones lands a jab as Lujan simultaneously lands a left hook. Lujan with a nice hook to the body, but a better left uppercut from Jones. Lujan is backing up to close the round as Jones lands several left hooks to the body and jabs to the head. 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 7:

Mike Jones backs away from a Lujan combo to start the round. Jones keeping good range with the jab. Jones scores to the body with quick hooks. Lujan plods forward with his head down and eats an uppercut. Lujan again looking sloppy as he misses with his punches. Jones sticks him with a jab as he bobs on his feet. Lujan lands a jab. Jones with a much higher volume of punching and scoring more points. Lujan apparently just looking to land a big shot. 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 8:

Lujan lands some hooks inside and a left to the head then a jab and nice right hand. Jones lands some hooks to the body. Jones backs up and picks Lujan apart with a series of jabs and a left hook. Lujan with a nice jab coming forward. Jones with a very nice body-body-head combo ending in a hard left hook. Jones slips some punches thrown by Lujan. The fighters trade hooks to the body on the inside. Jones backs away from a big overhand right thrown by Lujan. Now Lujan slipping Jones’ punches. Good left hook form Jones and a jab shortly after. 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 9:

Lujan looks to come out with a purpose this round but Jones deters him with some hooks. Lujan throws several jabs but only one lands. Jones pace is significantly slower and he is not as crisp as before. Lujan is bobbing around. Now Jones shows some energy with a nice three jab combo. Jones working exclusively behind the jab for a minute straight. Lujan with his hands down getting caught by the jab. The fighters trade on the inside and when they break Jones pops Lujan’s head back with a jab. 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 10:

Lujan coming forward for the first half minute landing better blows. Jones lands a hard left jab now. Fighters separate and Lujan comes forward and digs to the body with a left hook. Jones again with the earmuffs looking to counter. Jones scores again and again with the jab. Lujan has no answer for Jones’ speed. Lujan throws an overhand right that Jones ducks under. Jones backing up dodging Lujan’s punches. Jones lands a nice left uppercut and a solid right hand to end the round. 10-9 round for Jones

Round 11:

Lujan jabs twice and lands a hook to the body. Jones bleeding from the mouth and looks slightly bothered by it. Lujan misses and Jones ties him up. Lujan lands a left hook and slips a punch. Jones scores with a left hook and Lujan shakes his head. Jones misses with an overhand right. “Machine Gun” rapidly goes to the body and then lands a nice right hook. Hard jab from Jones. Big left uppercut from Jones gets the crowd’s attention. Another jab from Jones. Big right uppercut to the body from Jones. Lujan grimaces from that uppercut, which may have been a low blow, and Jones tags him with a combo while Lujan has his hands down. 10-9 round for Jones.

Round 12:

The final round begins with a bit of a pushing match and the ref breaks the boxers. Jones scores with some light shots to the body. Nice right hand to the body. Jones looking to cruise to a decision with defense and intelligent punching. Jones lands an overhand right. Half a minute to go in the fight. Big jab from Jones sends Lujan back to the ropes. Jones throws more rapid fire hooks to the body and a solid right hand. The round ends with Jones hammering Lujan to the body and head while he has him trapped in the corner. 10-9 round for Jones.

The Judges score the fight 118-110, 119-109, and 119-109 for the winner by unanimous decision, Mike “Machine Gun” Jones.

Junior Middleweight Division (154 lbs.)

Pawel “The Raging Bull” Wolak (29-1-1) vs. Delvin Rodriguez (25-5-3)

Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank

For the vacant IBA intercontinental Junior Middleweight championship.

Round 1:

Rodriguez begins throwing the jab as Wolak walks forward. Rodriguez lands a good jab. Wolak with a jab of his own. Wolak with a nice combination while Rodriguez is backed into the corner. Rodriguez with a hard left hook. Wolak with a big right hook to the body. Wolak continuously moving forward and lands a good jab. Wolak lands another jab but Rodriguez connects with a right uppercut. Wolak lands several hooks to the body. 10-9 round for Wolak.

Round 2:

Wolak moving forward to start the second round. Rodriguez crouched down taking away his height and reach advantage. Wolak able to get inside with ease. Wolak smothering Rodriguez. Rodriguez now gets through Wolak’s guard with a left hook. Wolak has him in the corner and digs to the body. Very nice right uppercut from Rodriguez with 5 seconds left. 10-9 round for Wolak.

Round 3:

Wolak moves forward and lands a good hook. Rodriguez is still crouched over. Rodriguez lands a good right uppercut and Wolak is bleeding from the nose. Rodriguez with another hard right uppercut to the head. Now a big right hook from Rodriguez. Rodriguez connects with a left hook. Wolak moving forward but not throwing enough. Rodriguez scoring points with the left hook and right uppercut. 10-9 round for Rodriguez.

Round 4:

Wolak picks up where he left off with the forward aggression. “The Raging Bull” scores with a right uppercut. Rodriguez lands with a two punch combo to the head. Rodriguez nails Wolak with several hard hooks. Big right uppercut has Wolak staggered and bloody. Wolak smiles which usually indicates he got hurt. Wolak misses with a loopy right hand. Rodriguez with more hooks and uppercuts and he is starting to take over the fight. 10-9 round for Rodriguez.

Round 5:

Wolak trying to get inside and Rodrgiuez ties him up. The fighters both land hooks at the same time. Good right hook from Rodriguez as Wolak walked in. Wolak connects with a right hand. Rodriguez rattles off several hooks to the body and head which connect. Wolak lands a light glancing right uppercut, but then connects with a right uppercut. Rodriguez looks much fresher and Wolak is showing all the damage from the fight. Rodriguez with a left hook to the body. Wolak misses with a one-two. 10-9 round for Rodriguez.

Round 6:

Wolak is undeterred and keeps trying to get on the inside. Rodriguez pawing with the jab then finds his range with some hooks to the head. Rodriguez misses a right uppercut on the inside. Wolak has looked lost at times in this fight. Rodriguez with more hooks. Finally Wolak answers with some shots to the body. Rodriguez always looking to land the right uppercut as Wolak comes forward. Wolak with a nice right hook to the body and he has Rodriguez in the corner. Wolak is trying to muscle Rodriguez inside and work on his body. Wolak lands a right hand as does Rodriguez. Very close round. 10-9 round for Wolak.

Round 7:

The left side of Rodriguez’s body is bright pink from Wolak’s right hooks last round. Rodriguez with a good straight right. Wolak backs up Rodriguez with a jab. Wolak landing more meaningful shots as he backs Rodriguez up. Rodriguez backing up not throwing much and missing when he does throw. Wolak lands a couple jabs. Good right hand upstairs by Rodriguez. 10-9 round for Wolak.

Round 8:

Very even fight thus far as Rodriguez counters Wolak’s aggression with good hand speed. Wolak still moving forward and goes to the body with hooks. Rodriguez lands a one-two. Nice left hook from Wolak. Rodriguez throws a combo and lands a right hook at the end of it. Wolak lands a jab and goes upstairs with some light uppercuts that connect. Rodriguez didn’t connect as much with his countering this round. 10-9 round for Wolak.

Round 9:

Rodriguez backing up and hitting Wolak with a jab. Good left hook inside by Wolak. Solid right hand by Wolak connects to Rodriguez’s head. Wolak plodding forward but looks tired now. Rodriguez snaps off a six punch combo that lands and Wolak does nothing to defend against it. Wolak is bloody and swollen in the face. Rodriguez with some more snapping punches and a decent right hand. Back to the jab for Rodriguez. Wolak’s punching volume has completely dropped off. Left hook from Rodriguez. Good combination from Rodriguez as he darted in and went to the body then the head. 10-9 Round for Rodriguez.

Round 10:

The final round of the scheduled 10 round fight begins with some nice combinations from Rodriguez. Wolak ties him up and tries to work the body. Rodriguez with a nice right hand to the head. Rodriguez still impressing with good hand speed and head shots. Wolak throws to the body with a left hook. Rodriguez tags him with a huge right hand. Wolak is in big trouble in the corner. Wolak getting battered by wild shots that are connecting. What a chin on Wolak. Crowd is really reacting to this punishment. More ripping hooks from Rodríguez. Rodriguez now with his hands down talking to Wolak. Big uppercut from Rodriguez. Rodriguez hurts Wolak again with vicious hooks. Wolak ends the fight standing but it was a dominant closing round for Rodriguez. 10-8 round for Rodriguez.

The Judges score the fight 98-91, 98-92, 100-90.

Lightweight Championship Bout (135 lbs.)

Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank

Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios (28-0) vs. John Murray (31-1)

This bout is for the vacant WBA Lightweight Championship, however only John Murray can win the belt due to Rios failing to make weight. Rios will also step up to 140 lbs. after this fight.

Round 1:
The fighters trade jabs and feel each other out for the first half minute. Rios lands some hooks to the head. Murray lands a left to the body. Rios flurries to the head and Murray does the same. Rios with three straight left uppercuts. Rios with a nice right hand to the body and right uppercut to the head. Murray with a jab, but more good work from Rios on the inside. Rios with a nice left hook. Now Murray connects with a right hand but Rios lands some nice shots to close out the round. 10-9 round for Rios.

Round 2:

Rios throwing the left jab and left uppercut in sequence. Rios lands some uppercuts on the inside. Murray connects with some quick headshots. Rios ducks on the inside then backs away. Murray lands a few shots which have Rios smiling. Rios back to his go-to punch with the uppercut on the inside. Murray comes back with a couple hooks, but Rios is landing a good volume of uppercuts. 10-9 round for Rios.

Round 3:

Murray comes out digging to the body nicely. Rios pawing with the jab. Rios misses with an uppercut. Rios scores with three jabs. Rios has faster hands and is slicker on the inside. Good left hook backs Murray up. Rios utilizing his jab but Murray hits him with a straight right. Rios misses with a right but connects with the left. Good uppercuts from Rios have him backing up. Murray is bleeding from the nose and getting tagged with uppercuts. Murray with a nice combo. Good hooks from Rios in response. Murray with a flurry but Rios dodges it. 10-9 round for Rios.

Round 4:

Murray lands some good punches on the inside. Rios with some light hooks to the body. A straight right connects for Murray and Rios smiles. Rios not as aggressive this round and Murray landing a bit more. Rios plods forward and hooks to the body. Murray lands a good one two at the end of the round. 10-9 round for Murray.

Round 5:

Murray comes out aggressive and lands some nice blows to the body and head. Rios with a jab. Murray with a low blow, which the ref sees, but allows the fight to continue. Rios beginning to slow down. Murray hits Rios with a hook. Rios is losing power on his punches. The weight cut may be taking a toll on “Bam Bam.” The fighters trade jabs. Murray with a good right uppercut. Murray throws a combo and lands to the head. Rios misses with an uppercut. There is a mouse under Murray’s right eye. Good left hook by Rios at the end of the round but it is too little, too late. 10-9 round for Murray.

Round 6:

Rios with a big right uppercut and right hook at the start of round 6. Murray gets backed up and nailed by some short crisp uppercuts. Five straight jabs from Rios land and back Murray to the ropes. Rios trading with Murray on the inside and getting the better of it. More left uppercuts are bloodying Murray up. Rios really out with a vengeance this round and he is going to town on Murray’s chin with uppercuts on the inside. Murray is a bloody mess and got battered in the last minute of the round. 10-9 round for Rios.

Round 7:

Rios is coming forward and is backing up Murray, who has no answer when Rios is the aggressor. Murray’s face is a mess. Nice right hand followed by two left uppercuts from Rios. Murray with some hooks to the head and a good right uppercut. Rios comes back with his patented inside uppercuts. Murray gets a point deducted for a low blow, and the ref says he warned him a couple times. Rios connects with a left uppercut. 10-8 round for Rios with the point deduction.

Round 8:

Murray comes out aggressive this round and lands some punches. Rios gets back on the inside and pops Murray’s head back with hooks and uppercuts. Rios landing more power shots. Rios lands four short left uppercuts in a row. Rios continues to boss the action on the inside as he lands to the body and head. The crowds reacts as Rios snaps Murray’s head upwards with uppercut combos. 10-9 round for Rios.

Round 9:

Murray tries to come out and throw to the head, as he often has tried to do in the early portion of the rounds. Rios then comes forward and starts to bloody Murray’s face again. Rios showing almost no damage in the face whereas Murray’s looks very rough. Rios with a one-two. The fighters trade to close the round. 10-9 round for Rios.

Round 10:

Again Murray comes right out and goes to the body aggressively. Rios takes it and gets on the inside where he wants to be. Rios with hooks to the body. Murray lands to the head. Rios with a jab then a looping right that grazes Murray. Murray throws two left hooks that Rios blocks with his glove. Rios is the more complete and sound fighter. Rios throws approximately fifteen unanswered punches inside to the body and head. Murray looking tired and beaten. Rios closes with more pressure and uppercuts. 10-9 round for Rios.

Round 11:

As is the pattern, Murray comes out throwing and giving his best effort at the start of each round. Rios takes control again with inside power shots. Murray losing the fight on the inside. Rios circles away and lands with a right that reopens the wound on Murray’s face .Rios turns Murray’s head with a hook and starts connecting with uppercuts. More hooks and uppercuts and Murray is getting destroyed with power shots The referee jumps in to waive off the fight. Good stoppage as Murray was getting absolutely pounded on the ropes and was out on his feet.

Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios wins by TKO at 2:03 of Round 11.

Notre Dame boxing champion Light Heavyweight Mike Lee(ctr) knocks out Allen Medina(R) in the 4th round to remain undefeated, Saturday, December 3, at Madison Square Garden. — Photo Credit : Chris Farina – Top Rank

Glen Tapia knocks out Mike Ruiz in the second round.

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