By Jake Donovan
It was a clean sweep for the hometown favorites tonight in Juncos, P.R., with Henry Bruseles, Mario Santiago and Luis Cruz all impressively winning in separate bouts on Telefutura.
A year between prize fights normally results in ring rust upon return, but the rest period appeared to have rejuvenated Bruseles, who forced a fast pace and an eventual stoppage of American journeyman Robert Frankel in their welterweight main event. Bruseles kept the fight at close quarters, effectively mixing up his attack to the body and head of Frankel while rarely taking any clean shots in return.
Bruseles got the better of Frankel whenever he targeted his lean frame, but it was straight right hands that produced the most damage, with a huge cut developing inside Frankel's left eyelid.
Time was called prior to the start of the fourth round, with the ringside physician surveying the damage. With the blood flow held to a minimum, Frankel was not in immediate danger of a cuts stoppage. That was, until, Bruseles treated the laceration as a bulls-eye, targeting it repeatedly throughout the round. Frankel's face soon became a mask of blood, forcing referee Roberto Ramirez to intervene, immediately waving off the action.
The official time was 2:18 of round four.
Bruseles improves to 26-3-1 (15KO) with the win, his fifth straight since suffering a one-sided shellacking at the hands of Floyd Mayweather three years ago. The stoppage win was Bruseles' first since September 2005, having been extended the distance in his past three fights. Though not specifically naming any names, Bruseles indicated afterward that he would prefer a busier campaign in 2008 than has been the case in recent years.
On the flip side, Frankel will be forced to slow things down in his career. Having grown accustomed to fighting at least six times a year, the cuts stoppage earns Frankel a trip to the medical suspension list, as he will need at least a couple of months for the cut to fully heal before returning to the gym. The Denver-based falls to 21-8-1 (7KO), snapping a three-fight win streak, most notably against Michael "No Joke" Stewart in his last fight, four months ago.
It took seven months for Mario Santiago to get the chance to return to his winning ways. Once there, he made the most of the opportunity, dusting off battle-tested Edel Ruiz with a single upper body shot in the opening round of their televised co-feature.
The brief encounter was all Santiago (19-1, 14KO), boxing smartly out of a southpaw stance while keeping Ruiz (29-19-4, 20KO) at bay. Santiago landed several 1-2's throughout the round, but it was a straight left to Ruiz' chest that produced the bout's lone knockdown – and ten seconds later, a knockout. Ruiz immediately fell to the canvas, taking the full ten count while struggling to breathe.
The official time was 2:12 of the opening round.
The win was Santiago's first in eleven months, when he stopped Daniel Attah in nine rounds last March in his hometown of Ponce, Puerto Rico. That win left Santiago one fight away from challenging for an alphabet title, only to suffer the lone defeat of his career in dropping a 10th round cut-induced technical decision to Hector Velasquez.
The loss to Velasquez was Santiago's last fight with Gary Shaw Productions. The quick knockout gave Santiago additional time to discuss his free agent status.
"I know there are some promoters that are interested in me," Santiago told Telefutura. "Right now, I'm listening to all offers. Whoever puts up the best offer can proudly claim a future champion in their stable."
In the ring, Santiago claimed a worthy scalp in knocking out Ruiz. The normally durable Mexican had only previously been stopped twice in a 51-fight career spanning 14 years. However, it may be time to call it a career, with the well-traveled featherweight now 2-7-1 in his last ten bouts.
Just getting started, local unbeaten featherweight Luis Cruz was impressive in his six-round swing bout against Javier Ortiz. Cruz, who hails from nearby Las Piedras, PR dominated the action throughout, landing a wide array of power shots against Ortiz, representing Salinas. A right hand in round two sent Ortiz to the canvas for the bouts lone knockdown, with Cruz' jab and left hook causing Ortiz' right eye to swell up as early as round three.
Ortiz was given a brief examination by the ringside physician before being given the green light to continue. To his credit, he stood toe-to-toe with Cruz, forcing his countryman to go the distance for the first time in his career, but took a massive punishment for his efforts. Cruz nearly had Ortiz out in the sixth and final round, appearing on several occasions to be one punch away from maintaining his perfect knockout to win ratio, but in the end had to settle for a lopsided decision.
The reading of the scorecards was a mere formality. All three judges saw the bout 60-53 for Cruz, who improves to 4-0 (3KO). Ortiz falls to 11-7 (5KO), though having now lost six straight, dating back to mid-2000.
The show was presented by Top Rank, Promociones Miguel Cotto and H2 Entertainment.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.