By Cliff Rold (photo by Tom Casino/Showtime)
In a serious step-up fight at Welterweight, 25-year old Carlos Abregu (25-0, 21 KO) of Argentina avoided defeat and picked up some violent lessons along the way, surviving a game late assault by 29-year old David Estrada (22-5, 13 KO) of Miami, Florida on Friday night at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California. Both men weighed in one pound over the division limit at 148. The referee was David Mendoza.
The opening round was a feeling out session for the first couple minutes, Abregu jabbing and occasionally flurrying while Estrada circled the ring. In the final minute, Abregu let loose a hard combination near the ropes and followed with stiff shots to the body. Near the bell, Estrada landed his own hard left downstairs.
A right to the temple landed for Estrada early in the second but Abregu took the shot and responded with a left to the body and head. Another right from Estrada brought a rise from the crowd but a clinch stymied the action. A pair of right hands crashed into the head of Estrada and Abregu stayed with the punch for much of the latter half of the round, opening and finishing assaults with the blow. In the final ten seconds, a lead left to the body brought a grimace from Estrada who covered up as Abregu opened up with both hands towards the bell.
Within seconds of the start of the third, Estrada was forced back into a defensive shell but didn’t stay there. Two long right leads caught Abregu flush but the Argentine remained undeterred, steadily coming forward. The younger man threw in high volume to force Estrada on the defensive again and for the rest of the frame. Many shots were blocked by the arms of gloves of Estrada but the American offered little in return.
The veteran moved his hands more early in the fourth but still struggled to offset the aggression of Abregu. A powerful right echoed off the head of Estrada to begin the fifth and Estrada responded with a hard left off the ropes. Abregu continued to fire in hopes of overwhelming Estrada but Estrada’s right hand began landing and blood could be seen over the left eye of Abregu. For the first time, the undefeated man showed hesitation only to reengage. Both men fired hard shots until the bell.
Estrada snapped a hard jab to start the sixth, a visible bounce in his step. Abregu settled into a counter punching rhythm as Estrada pressed the action and appeared stunned by a right hand and left hook. With a minute to go, Estrada dropped his hands and taunted the favorite, adding a slamming left to the ribs down the stretch.
Round seven began with an air if suspense. Was the younger man fading? He certainly didn’t lack for offense, still moving his hands but with visibly less snap than had been there in previous rounds. Boxing relaxed and circling, Abregu flurried when Estrada looked to shoot the right, minimizing the number of times he’d taste the blow in the round.
By the start of the eighth, Abregu looked to have found a second wind, his eyes alert and confident but it would be a mirage. Towards the end of the first minute, both men exchanged rights but Abregu continued to land his as Estrada returned to throwing one punch a time. At the minute mark, momentum shifted permanently in the bout as a wild exchange ended with a left from Estrada whipping Abregu’s head back. With now alarmed eyes, Abregu backpedaled as Estrada stalked him with rights and lefts, playing safe en route back to his corner.
Abregu’s backpedal became a near jog in the ninth as Estrada put him in full retreat. A right hand rocked Abregu and the chase was on. The left eye of Abregu swelling, he weathered a torrent of rights and lefts until his legs created enough distance to force an exasperated Estrada to drop his hands as if to say “Stand still.”
Estrada would repeat the expression as Abregu raced for the clock in the final round. The crowd booed as the Argentine employed the most sensible survival tactic available to him, moving steadily away. In the final minute, a right hand hurt Abregu but he didn’t fall, hugging the left leg of Estrada to stay up. Still tossing in token arm punches on occasion, Abregu ate another right in the closing seconds but a wise clinch again kept him on his feet and in the hands of the judges.
It turned out to be the best place for him to be. A split decision turned in his favor with one judge seeing the bout 96-94 for Estrada while the others saw what lustful boos from the fans declared was a too-wide win for Abregu 98-91 and 98-92.
The opening televised bout provided solid work for 23-year old Heavyweight prospect Travis Kauffman (15-0, 12 KO), 221, of Reading, Pennsylvania as he gave up some sixty pounds to 29-year old Malachy Farrell (16-2, 12 KO), 281 ½ of Chicago, Illinois. The bigger man would prove lesser in the ring and Kauffman his fourth straight knockout victory in the third.
The first round featured some thrills as Kauffman managed to score a knockdown of Farrell and what appeared to be a knockdown of himself. Inside the final minute, Kauffman ducked beneath a right hand and Farrell left his chin hanging in range of a perfect counter right hook, dropping the bigger man for the first time in his career. Farrell rose and rode out the referee’s mandatory eight count before Kauffman came in for a finish. A big right hand landed right away but another saw Kaufman spin towards and off of Farrell. In real time, it appeared a punch may have landed but replays showed otherwise with Kauffman losing balance. The referee scored an official knockdown and the fans roared.
Both men continued to throw hard, if telegraphed, blows in the second. In the final minute, a counter right from Farrell wobbled the knees of Kauffman but he fired right back with a right. At the bell a final lead left sent Farrell’s head snapping back.
A right and left in the first minute of the third stunned Farrell and he fell towards the ropes as Kauffman came forward in pursuit of a stoppage. Switching back and forth from southpaw to orthodox stances, Kauffman appeared more comfortable behind the right jab. Trapping Farrell in the corner with a minute to go, Kauffman fired lead right hooks, lefts to the body and lefts to the face until Farrell’s attempts to cover up weakened enough for referee Lou Moret to call a halt to the action at 2:29 round three.
The bouts were televised in the U.S. as part of Showtime’s ShoBox series, promoted by Gary Shaw Productions.
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