By Jake Donovan
Photo © Chris Cozzone/Fightwireimages.com
While far too many Telefutura Solo Boxeo Tecate telecasts in recent months have featured mismatched showcase bouts at the top of the bill, several main events among the past few shows have raised the stakes considerably.
Vicente Escobedo's knockout over Dominic Salcido a month or so ago was about as good as it gets in terms of matchmaking beyond the HBO/Showtime level. Ditto for Almazbek Raiymkulov's narrow win over Javier Jauregui a week prior.
Somewhere down the line, both fighters will be in bouts more prominent than the aforementioned entries. Whether they win or lose such fights, they will at least go in knowing that they're capable of overcoming adversity, something that had been an issue in the careers of both fighters.
This weekend's offering comes with similar stakes, as two former standout prospects are now forced to answer tough questions before moving on to the next level. Series regular Antonio Escalante fights for the third time in 2008, as he faces former perennial super bantamweight contender Mike Oliver in a 12-round battle.
The bout airs live from the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, CA (Friday, 8PM ET/PT).
With each win, the ugly knockout loss to badly faded Mauricio Pastrana appears further away in the rearview mirror for 23-year old Antonio Escalante (18-2, 11KO), whose responded with four straight. Skeptics will point out that each of the four wins came against the usual suspects; that two losses in the developmental stage of his career are still cause enough for concern.
Of course, such losses make it easy to forget the upside that comes with investing into Escalante's future. Almost one year to the day prior to the Pastrana debacle came his memorable war with Jose Hernandez, which also appeared on Telefutura.
Much as his loss to Pastrana provided 2007's first notable upset, the Hernandez scrap instantly became 2006's the first Fight of the Year candidate. Both fighters were floored, though it was Escalante who proved his mettle during gut check time, outlasting the scrappy spoiler to eke out a tight unanimous decision.
The win emphasized Escalante's ability to switch back and forth between puncher and boxer, even if generally regarded as an aggressor at heart. Three more wins in 2006 had many believing the hype and Escalante's handlers looking toward a possible title shot in '07.
Stumbling out of the gate dashed such hopes, forcing the Texas-based Mexican to rebuild. Wins over Paulino Villalobos, Feider Viloria and Jose Angel Beranza did little to enhance his profile, both on paper and in reality.
It was a different story, though, after his three-round thrashing of made-to-order David Martinez earlier this year.
The plan going in was not just for Escalante to win, but to look spectacular in doing so. It was mission accomplished, as Martinez was bombarded first by body shots, then a crescendo of left hooks to set up the big finish in the third round.
The only down side was that the win was ultimately overshadowed by the evening's main event, when fellow super bantamweight and Golden Boy fighter Jhonny Gonzalez took care of business against Escalante's old conqueror, knocking out Mauricio Pastrana in four rounds.
Still, Escalante was winning and rebuilding, even if without the same level of notoriety that previously followed his career.
It was most certainly better than what Mike Oliver had going on around that time.
A silky smooth southpaw whose deceptive power isn't reflected in his record, Oliver (21-1, 7KO) was rapidly on the rise and well within reach of an alphabet title when 2008 began. It was a slow road toward contention, considering his deep amateur background, boasting upward of 300 fights before turning pro in 2001, as well as his overall ring smarts, which has been well displayed in nearly all of his 21 wins to date.
The closest he came to a career setback was his tightly contested February ’07 clash with Gary Stark Jr. Both fighters were unbeaten when they met on Showtime’s Shobox series. Most objective viewers concede that the decision could’ve went either way, taking greater issue with the wider-than-expected scorecards in his favor. Team Stark took it a step further, protesting the decision but to no avail.
However close the fight was, it was still an impressive performance by Oliver in his first major step up in competition. Two fights later came another upgrade. Oliver passed this test with flying colors, easily outpointing former bantamweight titlist Cruz Carbajal on ESPN2.
The win over Carbajal put Oliver in line for a title shot against fellow unbeaten super bantamweight Steve Molitor. That is, when Oliver was still undefeated, which came to a crashing halt in what was his lone fight of 2008 prior to tonight’s bout.
Determined to not have their kid grow stale while awaiting his first title shot, Team Oliver accepted what they thought was a relatively safe stay busy fight against Reynaldo Lopez this past May. The Colombian southpaw was long on experience, but had dropped his last two bouts coming in and lacked a win over anyone of note.
A single left hand would change that statement, as well as Oliver’s status as undefeated mandatory title challenger. A looping left hand made its way over Oliver’s right hand and to his chin, sending him down hard to the canvas. After boxing like a dream for 2 ½ rounds, he now found himself struggling to rise to his feet and convince the referee he was fit to continue, prompting a stoppage with less than a minute to go in the third round.
The fight was his last, which makes his decision to enter this fight all the more admirable. A lesser fighter would’ve opted for a confidence builder or two (or more) before testing their mettle against another fighter on the verge of title contention.
The same holds true for Escalante, who could just easily line up another TV-friendly opponent while awaiting a better opportunity in the future.
The winner isn’t guaranteed a title shot, but sometimes, a good fight makes enough sense just because it’s a good fight.
Sometimes, respect is the only reward a fighter needs. In that regard, both Escalante and Oliver won the moment they put pen to paper and made this fight official.
