By Cliff Rold
In front of a rabid hometown crowd at the Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso, Texas on Friday night, 24-year old Mexican Jr. Featherweight Antonio Escalante (21-2, 13 KO) took a big step towards title contention with a crowd pleasing decision win over 31-year old Cornelius Lock (18-4-1, 11 KO) of Detroit, Michigan. Both men came in above the division limit of 122 lbs, Escalante at 124 and Lock at 122 ¼.
The faster Lock looked to establish his southpaw right jab at the opening bell, following with flurries as Escalante patiently sought openings for his left hook. Lock did some good body work in close but kept his distance when Escalante answered with a hard left. Escalante closed strong with a pair of body shots forcing Lock to the ropes and then a pair of lefts to the head as he chased his fleet footed foe across the ring.
The rapid pace of the first picked up even more in the second, Escalante continuing to press while Lock aimed precision shots when his foe got close. Both men committed with heavy body blows when unable to get home flush to the face. A cut opened over the left eye of Escalante sent the local favorite to his corner bloodied at the bell. Replays couldn’t conclusively show what caused the cut but referee Rocky Burke ruled it was a punch.
Through two minutes of the third, it was again the body work of both men which framed the action. A right hand from Lock to the head set up the biggest body shot so far. Absorbing a left to the chin, Escalante nodded an acknowledgement at Lock and then stepped in to take a left to the body before landing a right of his own to the gut, dropping Lock to his knees.
Lock rose right away as the referee counted off the mandatory eight and, with the crowd roaring, Escalante stepped in with authority. A right hand just missed and Lock covered to offset a flurry of power shots. Lock stepped to his right and pawed to keep Escalante off but a left to the temple, followed by a right to the body, had him hurt again. Another left followed by a right uppercut began a second trip to the floor, Escalante walking away with arms raised to the masses. Lock beat the count as the clang of the bell allowed him survival and needed respite.
Lock began the fourth cautious and at a distance but it didn’t last long and there were few displayed effects from the two knockdowns in the third. Lock stayed up through that round, and the fifth, as both men continued to do their best work downstairs. In the sixth, Lock wisely turned to his legs, constantly moving, jabbing, and countering Escalante’s rushes to create the least thrilling round of the bout until the final twenty seconds. Working his way in, Escalante landed a heavy left and let loose with both hands, making a case to steal the round. A thrashing hook wobbled Lock’s knees but the Detroit product stayed afoot.
Lock attempted to box again in the seventh but his body showed signs of weariness, his punches less snap, and the punishment mounted when Escalante forced the issue. A big left connected for Escalante along the ropes in the final ten seconds but Lock shook it off and prepared for the eighth. Things slowed down in that frame, both men taking what amounted to a measured breather which played to Lock’s favor, allowing him to connect with clean if not entirely hurtful blows.
Escalante returned fully to engagement halfway through the ninth. A big left sent Lock skittering away but Lock firmed up and in the last minute both men let loose with a bombs. A right from Lock brought a hard nod from Escalante who responded with a left and moments later an echoing right against the ropes. Both men were tired but willing with three minutes to go.
Touching gloves at center ring, a few seconds of feeling out ended with a right hand that sent tremors through the body of Lock and Escalante pounced in search of a knockout. Lock bravely weathered, staying up and cycling away until Escalante slowed down to reload. He did so at the minute mark and the race was on to see if Lock could last the distance, eating power shots but refusing to fold, even firing back at the end in search of a miracle. It didn’t come but he, and Escalante, had provided a quality show.
Escalante had provided a winning one, carrying victory at 98-90 and 100-88 twice on the three judge’s scorecards. Escalante can hope to improve on his current #3 ratings from both the WBA and WBO.
The undercard put the spotlight on a pair of Puerto Rican brothers, both fighting out of Miami, Florida and considered hot prospects coming into the night. One of them returns home with another victory, the other with what could be a valuable lesson in building towards his future.
The lesson learner was 24-year old Jr. Featherweight Juan Velasquez (9-1, 5 KO). He stepped in with 33-year old Mexican Jose Beranza (32-15-2, 25) and never saw it coming. Through the first six minutes of live fire, the hot prospect boxed well and all seemed to be going according to plan. The fight turned sharply in the third as the veteran showed off the education earned in his own long tenure.
Thirty seconds into round three, Velasquez, 122 ¾, stepped straight back as a long Beranza, 121 ¼, right connected to the belly. He dropped to his haunches, his glove touching the floor and Robert Velez ruled a knockdown. Velasquez protested vehemently and appeared unfazed. Moments later, there would be no protest to air. Stepping back into the action, Beranza countered with a perfect left uppercut and Velasquez fell hard onto the seat of his trunks. Velasquez was on his bike after rising from the floor again, in full retreat from a Beranza who grew frustrated and motioned for Velasquez to fight. When the youngster did not, a clinch along the ropes in the closing seconds ended with Beranza tossing Velasquez to the floor, drawing a warning from Velez.
Velasquez showed gameness in the fourth, pulling his elbows high and tight and firing hard rights after he’d settled back into the action. Beranza matched him every step of the way and appeared to again hurt Velasquez just prior to the bell with a hard right.
Trading jabs in the fifth, Berenza kept his gloves in place to casually defend against the wildly sweeping left hook of Velasquez. Each man had their moments with single hard shots but the biggest was from Beranza in the final twenty seconds, a long right hand which sent Velasquez reeling towards the ropes, his mouth guard flying to the floor. Beranza stepped forward and looked to do more damage, but was shut down right away not by Velasquez but by the referee who immediately halted the action to replace the mouth guard. Beranza lost precious seconds and Velasquez walked on sturdy legs to his corner.
Again they traded jabs to start the sixth but before long Beranza was again doing damage with more serious rights and lefts. A short right inside caught Velasquez flush and a left stunned him. The youngster attempted power shots as well but found them blocked and flailed for clinches frequently. After attempting two illegal shots behind the head of Beranza in close, Velasquez was swung to the floor and took a right as the referee attempted to break the fighters. Velasquez collapsed the floor for a moment, appearing to try and draw a foul, but the referee’s back was to him as Velez admonished Beranza. Velasquez elected to rise and the bout closed with some more rough stuff inside.
It stayed rough for Velasquez who saw his undefeated mark fall with scores of 57-55 and 58-54 twice.
In the televised opener, 24-year old Jr. Lightweight Carlos Velasquez (11-0, 9 KO) did his best to stop 29-year old fellow Puerto Rican Juan Nazario (6-2-1, 4 KO) of Middletown, Connecticut. Velasquez fell short of an early ending but still managed a lopsided decision win to keep his unbeaten mark intact.
Nazario, 128 ¼, came out circling away from a rushing Velasquez, 128 ¼, and each man landed body shots as they attempted to settle. Velasquez added a sharp right to the temple shortly after, another near the minute mark, while Velasquez loaded up with counters in an attempt to catch his man coming in. An awkward clinch, and the round featured its share, saw both men tumble to the floor drawing an admonishment from referee Rocky Burke.
The sharp right to the temple was a factor again for Velasquez early in the second, nearly dropping Nazario before a wise clinch stemmed the tide. Still chasing, Velasquez landed a couple of rights to the stomach but, as has been the case in the first round, found it difficult to put a string of shots together. Nazario briefly lost his mouthpiece in the final minute and landed a quick left as action resumed. Velasquez replied with another body shot before the bell.
Nazario struck first in round three, shooting in lefts to the ribs and head before the bout went back to form, Velasquez in pursuit and Nazario circling between attempted counters. It stayed to form through round five. Nazario was battling to survive and Velasquez would occasionally land a right hand bomb which threatened to end things early. At the end of the fifth, Nazario’s clinching tactics drew a point deduction, leaving him deep in the hole heading into the final frame.
Nazario found no shovel and Velasquez could not find the closing shot, settling instead for an easy unanimous decision scored 60-53 across the board.
The card was televised in the U.S. on ESPN2, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
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
