By Jake Donovan (photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank)

It was a night of spirited action from the beginning to end of “Latin Fury 8.” The night was topped by undefeated junior middleweight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr surviving a major gut check to earn a ten-round unanimous decision win over previously unbeaten Luciano Cuello.

The bout served as the main event of a four-fight pay-per-view show, aired live from Plazas de Toros in Tijuana, Baja Cruz, Mexico.

Chants of “Chavez, Chavez” filled the Tijuana bullring even before the opening bell rang. The visiting Cuello didn’t seem immediately intimidated, rushing Chavez the moment the fight began. Chants of “Chavez” once again picked up, and the Mexican responded in kind, repeatedly connecting with his left hook to the body even as he was forced to fight in reverse. Cuello remained undeterred, cornering Chavez after connecting with a jab and right hand in the final thirty seconds of the round.

Cuello imposed his will on Chavez in round two, almost to the point of bullying him as the crowd favorite seemed to have few answers. The same formula was applied in round three, but not quite generating the same returns. Chavez continued to eat punches, but remembered to target the body in slowing down the transplanted Argentinean. A left hook upstairs had Cuello shook, to which the crowd erupted in anticipation of a stoppage, though it would never come.

Action momentarily slowed in round four, with Chavez using most of the ring after having spent the previous three rounds stuck in a phone booth. Cuello did everything in his power to close the gap between the two, but his aggression came at a price. His nose was already busted and a cut developed on his scalp, making for a bloody scene for the remaining six-plus rounds of the fight.

Despite no title at stake and the fight only scheduled for ten rounds, the WBC somehow had a say in the fight, with open scoring offered after the fourth and eighth round. It was revealed that Chavez was up 39-37 on all three cards, which meant Cuello needed more of the same but a lot better if he was to pull off the upset.

Chavez wasn’t about to let that happen, though his decision to box rather than stand and trade drew a resounding round of boos from his countryman in attendance.

To his credit, Chavez showed enough wisdom to stick with what was working, fighting to win first rather than strictly entertain at the expense of a sound game plan. A healthy mix of body punches on the inside and boxing from the outside highlighted the sixth round, once again to the dismay of the 23,000 or so in attendance.

The same pattern played out in the seventh. Chavez worked behind the jab and offered lateral movement, but was reluctant to mix it up with Cuello, who did his best to force the action anytime he was able to close the gap. Cuello’s face was a mask of blood by round’s end, but kept charging forward, well aware that a hell of a rally was needed in order to turn things around on the scorecards.

Less movement was offered in the eighth, as Chavez elected to stand and trade more often than had been the case in the previous three rounds. An uppercut by Chavez opened up a rally midway through the round, regaining the support of the crowd. Cuello took his best and fired back in return in the final minute, during which Chavez employed a more economical approach as he showed signs of fatigue.

Scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 were announced at the end of the eighth, clearly indicating that Cuello needed to offer something major in the final two rounds if he wanted to remain undefeated. Chavez refused to allow that to happen, matching him punch for punch in a ninth round nearly fought entirely in a phone booth. 

Neither fighter gave an inch in the final round, most of which was spent at center ring and with both fighters in each other’s grill. Cuello had his moments early in the round, but Chavez responded big time in the final minute, landing repeatedly to the body. An uppercut by Cuello threatened to turn the tide, but was immediately countered with a right hand that slammed home against his grill. Both fighters traded down the stretch and to the final bell, before embracing at center ring.

Open scoring took away the drama of which way the fight would go. There was no mathematical way that Chavez could lose the fight, though Cuello considerably closed the gap in taking the final two rounds on two of the three scorecards. It was enough to make it close, but no cigar, as final scores of 98-92, 96-94 and 96-95 were announced for Chavez, who improves to 39-0-1 (29KO) in what he acknowledged was one of the more grueling fights of his still young career.

“This was a good fight for me; I learned a lot over these past ten rounds,” stated Chavez Jr., who is extended the ten-round distance for the third straight time. “It was the first time I was cut in a fight, and I learn from it.”

As is always the case before, during and after Chavez Jr. fights, the question first and foremost on everyone’s mind – when will he ever step up?

For the first time in a long time, some answers were offered.

“We’re gonna look for a major opponent,” insisted Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. “There are a number of people that come to mind.

“There’s John Duddy, maybe Oscar de la Hoya if he decides to continue fighting.”

Both fights would be intriguing at this stage of everyone’s career, but the last option Arum offered is the one that could possibly generate the most water cooler talk come Monday morning.

“There’s a third possibility. It’s a little difference in size, but would be the biggest fight of the year by far, and that’s Manny Pacquiao if he beats Ricky Hatton - Mexico against the Philippines!”

None of the names seemed to stand out more than the other as far as Chavez was concerned.

“Those fights can motivate me, and put me to the next level. I look forward to those challenges.”

So too, will boxing fans. Until then, entertaining fights such as Saturday’s offering will suffice, even if only enough to tread water.

SOTO RELENTLESS IN STOPPING DAVIS IN FOUR

Following the lead of his bantamweight countryman Fernando Montiel, reigning junior lightweight titlist Humberto “Zorrita” Soto delivered perhaps the most inspiring performance of his career in dominating Antonio “T-Rex Davis in less than four rounds in the evening’s co-feature bout.

Soto came out like a fighter possessed, attacking the normally durable Davis from the opening bell. The aggression served the Mexican well, scoring three knockdowns in all, including one late in the first round courtesy of a grazing left hook that caught Davis while off balance.

Davis, now based out of Atlanta, fought an inspired second round, but was also forced to contend with a cut over his left eye. It was the closest he’d enjoy to a solid round, with Soto returning to form in the third and closing the show in the fourth on the strength of two knockdowns.

The first came courtesy of a picture-perfect right hand that dropped Davis hard. He looked unsteady as he managed to beat the referee’s count, but managed to convince the third man to allow the action to continue. He didn’t stay upright for very long, with another right hand forcing him to once again touch down. Once again, he took the eight count and insisted he could go some more, but a subsequent volley of punches from Soto left him defenseless, forcing the referee to intervene.

The official time was 2:38 of round four.

Soto nabs his third straight win as he improves to 47-7-2 (30KO). The 36-year old Davis falls to 26-5 (13KO) in suffering the second stoppage defeat and most likely last ever title shot of his career.

With the win, Soto once again pleads his case as the best junior lightweight on the planet. What next awaits him is unclear, though he will be an interested observer of next weekend’s “Lightweight Lightning” telecast, particularly the evening’s main event between Edwin Valero and Antonio Pitalua.

MONTIEL ARRIVES AT BANTAMWEIGHT WITH A BANG

The scouting report going into the night read that junior bantamweight titlist Fernando Montiel needed to make a major statement Saturday night if he were to grab the attention of the very best 115 lb and 118 lb. fighters on the planet.

File this one under mission accomplished; the Mexican boxer-puncher looked outstanding in dismantling scrappy Argentinean bantamweight Diego Oscar Silva inside of three rounds.

Silva came to fight, taking the fight to Montiel in the opening round of his first fight outside of South America. His spoiler intentions didn’t last long; Montiel took over in round two and never looked back.

A right hand deposited Silva onto the canvas toward the end of round two. Two more knockdowns would follow, one at the start of the third courtesy of a compact left hook. The end would come with a right hand, followed by another short left hook, sending Silva to the canvas, this time for good as referee Raul Caiz Sr. waved it off without a count.

The official time was 2:44 of round three.

Montiel wins his seventh straight fight in improving to 39-2-1 (29KO). With the win comes a vacant alphabet bantamweight title. His previous challenge for the same belt resulted in a painfully dull points loss to Jhonny Gonzalez in 2006, the last time his arm was not raised in victory.

Silva falls to 24-2-3 (12KO), with the loss, ending a modest seven fight unbeaten streak.

Despite capturing alphabet hardware in his second weight class, Montiel has repeated mentioned a desire to face Vic Darchinyan. A fight between the two would’ve been the first time ever that all four major junior bantamweight titles were at stake, but Montiel was forced to give up his belt in order to take this fight.

The good news is that he might not have to drop down in weight; Darchinyan plans to challenge another bantamweight titlist in Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko sometime this summer. Should he emerge victorious, Montiel will undoubtedly volunteer his services for a possible fall showdown.

COMEBACK CONTINUES FOR DIAZ

Former world title challenger Antonio “Tono” Diaz scored perhaps the most impressive win of his recent comeback, braving an early and late stand to outlast countryman Javier Castro in the opening bout of the telecast.

Castro, moving up in weight after having spent his entire career primarily at lightweight and junior welterweight, imposed his will in the first couple of rounds. Diaz was able to find his groove by the third round, and caused Castro fits all the way through a fight that featured plenty of action and very few lulls.

Falling considerably behind, Castro offered a late surge in efforts to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. However, his fate was sealed after losing a point in round nine for excessive low blows.

The late rally by Castro managed to skew the crowd’s perspective once the scores were announced, booing the unanimous tallies of 95-94 and 96-93 (twice) in favor of Diaz.

Nevertheless, the Mexican improves to 46-5-2 (29KO). The win is his fourth straight since returning to the ring last summer, and his seventh consecutive victory overall dating back to 2004.

Castro falls to 19-2 (17KO). The loss snaps a 13-fight winning streak.

The show was presented by Top Rank, Inc. and Promociones Zanfer.

 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and a voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Please feel free to contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.