By Cliff Rold
Former World Jr. Flyweight Hugo Cazares (26-5-1, 19 KO) of Mexico came in sharper, faster, better than was the case in his first fight with the current World champion, 33-year old Ivan Calderon (32-0, 6 KO) of Puerto Rico. Through the rounds completed before a clash of heads and horrific cut to Calderon sent the rematch to the cards, it didn’t matter. The 5’0 tall slickster many regard as the sports best pure Boxer was everything he’s billed as, landing crisp counters and forcing his aggressive foe to miss some eighty percent of his shots on the way to a seventh round technical decision victory on Saturday night at the packed Ruben Rodriguez Coliseum in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Could he have done it for the full twelve?
It’s a question neither man will ever have an answer to, but Calderon takes comfort in both retaining his Ring Magazine and WBO titles and in gaining a measure of revenge for his island province after fellow Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto’s defeat in July at the hands of Mexico’s Antonio Margarito. That this fight did not live up to the legacy of the legendary inter-ethnic rivalry, or even their first bout, won’t likely affect the elation of Calderon’s fans.
Both men came in slightly below the division limit of 108 lbs. at Friday’s weigh-in, Calderon at 107 ½ and Cazares at 107 ¾. The 30-year old Cazares appeared much heavier in the ring than his opponent regardless of official weights and rushed Calderon at the opening bell, landing a right uppercut that forced Calderon to reset. A sluggish start in the first fight had buried Cazares on the cards early; his strategy suggested he didn’t want the same dilemma to dog him a second time. Sharp and fresh, he pursued for the full three minutes, missing often against the defensive master but not allowing Calderon to get off with his trademark combinations.
Calderon improved on his offense in the second while remaining greasy slick as a target. Working the space of the ring, he popped his southpaw right jab to control distance and was able to land a hard straight left as well against the 5’5 Cazares. Cazares maintained pressure, forcing the older man to use his legs in hopes of a later payoff but not working the body enough in that regard.
The Mexican continued to miss his best efforts in the third but was rough in clinches and continued to force Calderon to expend energy. Calderon did so not only in retreat but in blazing past Cazares’ defenses with deft lead right hooks and long overhand rights.
Rather than missing clean early in the fourth, Cazares began getting closer with glancing rights and shots that banged off Calderon’s highly held gloves. The smaller man stayed accurate with the right and as the round wore on returned to making Cazares miss by inches and feet with single, lethally intended power shots.
Halfway through the fifth, an exchange of lefts brought the fight out of both men with Cazares getting the better of it with a follow up right hand. A sizzling lead right for Calderon was met with an almost flush lead left uppercut from Cazares before Calderon found the range to avoid such blows again. Cazares’ relentlessness paid off again in the sixth, catching Calderon with a hard right hook in the final minute even as he spent the bulk of the round chasing and being outboxed.
Round seven was playing out as the least interesting of the bout already when, with 1:10 to go in the round, an unintentional clash of heads sent blood shooting from a massive gash in the center of Calderon’s head. Examination from the doctor lasted only seconds before the fight was halted, sending the bout to the scorecards. Unified Boxing rules allow for fights ended on an accidental cut, and completed past the fourth round, to be scored officially.
Those official scores were bad news for a Hugo Cazares who will head home wondering if he should have thrown more than one at a time on the night, who will wonder what more body work might have meant for him. Scores of 67-66 and 68-65 twice kept the title rightly around the waist of Calderon.
Calderon was less than pleased with the anti-climactic end. “I wanted to keep on giving the show to the fans and wanted to show him that a boxer could beat a puncher. Those seven rounds…he never got me with a good punch. I knew I was winning the fight and that’s why I always try to win the first (rounds) in case of something like this,” Calderon said, pointing to a wad of Vaseline over the still dripping cut, “and get the decision.”
Already regarded by most knowledgeable observers as one of the sports pound for pound best, Calderon commented on future possibilities available to extend that claim. “I want to unify titles with the other champions,” he said, referring to thus far difficult to make fights with other beltholders at Jr. Flyweight while also remaining open the option of a third fight with Cazares. Calderon, formerly a WBO titlist at 105 lbs., also stated a willingness to move four pounds north in search of a third title at Flyweight.
Cazares was visibly disappointed and his bitter comments in the ring after the bout drew boos from the crowd. “I would have been ashamed to win the title in this way and form, by scorecards on a technical decision. The work was being done round for round; it was just a matter of rounds to close it up. That’s what I was prepared to do,” he stated, a reference to the late rounds surge he obviously intended and that had put Calderon on the canvas in round nine of the first bout. Cazares further stated he felt he’d done enough to win though the action in the ring didn’t bear out his claims. Already known to struggle in making the Jr. Flyweight limit, Cazares can be expected to move on and upwards going forward.
It was not as good as their first bout, but it delivered its share of thrills while it lasted and further cemented Calderon’s place as one of the game’s defensive gems. The televised undercard provided its share of thrills as well.
As had been the case on the undercard of the first Calderon-Cazares fight, 25-year old Jr. Lightweight Rocky Martinez (20-0-1, 12 KO) of Puerto Rico provided the fans a show stealing war, getting off the deck to win a six-round slugfest versus 26-year old Santos Benavides (14-2-1, 12 KO). One year ago, Martinez warred for twelve rounds before stopping Daniel Jimenez and could feel relieved his body was asked only half as much this time around.
Early exchanges brought a roar from the crowd before the round slowed down just a tad, each man having tasted some of the others power and battling with the earned measure of respect. Respect flew out the window in a sensational round two.
Just shy of the midway point, the southpaw Benavides found an opening with his left over a low Martinez right exploding with a perfect right hand that dropped the hometown favorite. Martinez rose, banging his fists together and walking to the neutral corner for the judge to administer the mandatory eight. Benavides leapt in to test the legs of Martinez and was quickly turned towards the corner with a counter left hook that staggered him, eating a left and right uppercut to turn the momentum of the bout. Martinez stayed on top of him but Benavides dug in, firing back, taking more than he dished out but never relenting.
The late battering in the second by Martinez became perpetual abuse in the third, his left taking over the fight, working to the head and body of Benavides. Martinez, possessing superior technique, repeatedly rocked the Nicaraguan and kept him folded him over with rippling body bombs.
Boxing more to start the fifth, Martinez worked the space of the ring and caught his breath after three fast paced rounds, using his jab and occasionally poking in with long rights. The maintenance of reserves served him well in the sixth. A partially blocked left hook attempt by Martinez set up a right hand burst through the Benavides guard, crashing into his chin and depositing Benavides on his back slightly more than a minute into the round. Benavides rose, shaky, and took the referee’s eight before stepping forward to seek his survival. It was not to be. Martinez pounced, throwing with abandon and keeping Benavides on defense. Against the ropes, a flurry of shots all missed but as Benavides spun out he ate a final straight left to provoke a stoppage. The official time of the stoppage clocked at 2:03 of the sixth.
32-year old Eric Morel (39-2, 20 KO), a 1996 U.S. Olympian born in Puerto Rico but residing in Madison, Wisconsin, made it four in a row after sitting out all of 2006 and 2007 in prison on rape charges, easily decisioning 30-year old Heriberto Ruiz (39-7-2, 23 KO) of Mexico over twelve. Morel held the WBA 112 lb. (Flyweight) crown from 2000-2003 before losing the crown to Lorenzo Parra. Morel’s only other defeat came at the hands of Martin Castillo in a 115 lb. title shot in 2005.
Morel and Ruiz weighed in just shy of the 118 lb. Bantamweight limit at 117 ½ and entered the first round appearing cut and ready for combat. Both also looked tense, arms held high, probing with the jab. As the round wore on, Morel loosened up, circling with purpose and timing the jab to keep Ruiz off balance.
Ruiz landed a long left early and stayed with the punch throughout the second, creating his own room with the jab and working the hook to the body. Morel’s success came in keeping Ruiz on his front foot, pressing without cutting off the ring and allowing Morel to pop with the right hand.
Twin skimming left hooks opened round three for each man before the fight settled into what was developing into a pattern of Mexican aggression and Puerto Rican guile. The patter was broken with a minute to go. Morel, stepping around a Ruiz shot countered with a flush right hook, planting Ruiz on the seat of his trunks. Ruiz stood quickly and Morel seized the advantage, firing straight, hard shots and mixing in a snapping left uppercut only to find Ruiz inviting the opportunity to land his own fire, surviving to the final bell. No further trips to the floor awaited Ruiz in the fourth but a lost point on low blows, a penalty he’d been warned for previously, further injured his chances on the cards.
Ruiz was reduced to single, lunging punches for much of the fifth and sixth as Morel calmly picked away from the outside. Round seven was slightly more competitive with Ruiz increasing his intensity behind some hard right hands, but Morel remained in control.
A clash of heads inside the second minute of round eight left each man shaking away the cobwebs only for Morel returning to sharp counter punching. A brief outbreak of violence in the final thirty seconds provided hope for the Ruiz corner; he ate some hard right hooks but was able to land a series of his own hard shots. Round nine offered little in the way of drama but Ruiz did find a way to pose problems in the tenth, a right forcing Morel to take a step back and a series of shots just before the bell pushing the former titlist to the ropes. Morel picked away in the eleventh to further erode Ruiz’s chances heading into the final three minutes.
With a knockout seemingly the only chance Ruiz had, the Mexican came out swinging to the body and swinging for the fences upstairs. Morel wisely circled away, legging out a certain victory confirmed by unanimous scores of 117-109.
The bout was televised in the U.S. on pay-per-view, co-promoted by PR Best Boxing and Top Rank.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com