By Jake Donovan
It was a hometown sweep as Philly fighters Rogers Mtagwa and Teon Kennedy were both successful in spirited distance wins Friday night on Telefutura.
Determined to send a message, fringe featherweight gatekeeper Rogers Mtagwa dismissed claims of being shot with a decisive points win in a spirited rematch against late-replacement Aldo Valtierra during their main event at the New Alhambra in Philadelphia, PA.
Mtagwa was the announced winner of their spirited first battle last July before testing positive for ephedrine. The result was changed to a no-contest, serving as more motivation for Mtagwa, already coming off of a loss entering Friday night’s rematch.
The Philly-based Tanzanian looked to take the fight to Valtierra from the opening bell, but the Mexican instead took a measured approach, trying to avoid a war against his familiar foe. The plan worked for about half of a round, as Mtagwa came on strong midway through. Mtagwa didn’t let up until AFTER the bell, when the referee warned him for a launched right hand well beyond rounds end.
It was clear that Valtierra, who took the fight on just five days notice, would have to eventually bite down and fight. He did just that in round two, allowing Mtagwa to press the action then catch him with counter left hooks and looping right hands. Round three saw Valtierra getting off first and winning most of the exchanges, with Mtagwa going to Plan B in the form of jabbing and moving.
The standard set by the action-packed first fight left the crowd on hand at the New Alhambra thirsting for more, as the boo birds came out for the first time in the fourth round. Both fighters immediately responded, though it was Valtierra who continued to have the upper hand. A straight right hand from the Mexican turned boos into ahhs the moment the shot landed. Mtagwa was momentarily shook, but came right back, with the two trading shots as the round came to a close.
Round five saw Mtagwa regain momentum, his jab now working and the squat Philly fighter able to work his way inside while effectively avoiding most the incoming in return. Mtagwa carried it over into the sixth round, bullrushing Valtierra into the ropes as his overhand right found its way back into the rotation. One of his more effective right hand shots of the fight landed square on Valtierra’s round to close out a dominant sixth round.
Action slowed for a moment – only a moment – in the seventh round, until Mtagwa cracked Valtierra with a right hand. The Mexican was on rubber legs as Mtagwa went in for the kill, but underestimated his opponent’s recuperative powers. Valtierra put enough behind a left hook to get off of the ropes and out of harm’s way. Mtagwa regained control as the action spilled over to center ring in the final minute of the round, but was unable to put together the sustained attack that led to so much mid-round success.
Fatigue appeared to set in on the 38-year old Valtierra in a sloppy eighth round. Mtagwa still appeared fresh in a round marred by clinching, and eventually a point deduction from Valtierra for improper use of his elbow. The referee was forced to work just as hard in the ninth, save for a brief two-way volley midway through the round.
Mtagwa was clearly ahead going into the final round, but that didn’t stop him from closing strong. Valtierra was running on empty, but danced as hard as he could in attempts to land something dramatic. A left hook midway through the round appeared to do the trick – it was enough to draw cheers from the crowd. All it did was wake up Mtagwa, who cracked Valtierra with a right hand in return as he went back on the attack. Not much to speak of down the stretch; Valtierra was unable to catch a second wind, or catch up to Mtagwa, who still appeared relatively fresh as the final bell sounded to end the rematch.
The three judges were dead on with their final scores of 96-93 (2x), 97-92 for Mtagwa. Valtierra enjoyed early round success, sweeping rounds 2-4, but only able to win one more round on two of the three scorecards over the final six.
Mtwaga returns back to the win column as he improves to 23-12-2 (17KO), and lives to serve as featherweight gatekeeper another day. Not so much for Valtierra, now winless in his last three fights as he falls to 22-9 (13KO) with the loss.
Former amateur standout Teon “The Technician” Kennedy excelled in his televised debut, serving up a boxing lesson in his eight-round unanimous decision win over Castulo Gonzalez in the televised co-feature.
Kennedy used every inch of the ring, though without stinking out the joint. Gonzalez, a Mohawk-sporting Venezuelan, plodded forward for most of the night, attempting to force the undefeated upstart out of his envelope, but Kennedy never bit. Jabs and lead right hands kept Gonzalez at desired distance throughout. On the rare occasions Gonzalez would work his way inside, Kennedy would rake his midsection with body shots.
There wasn’t much variance between the early rounds, though Gonzalez enjoyed his best moments of the fight late in the fourth. A right hand found its way to Kennedy’s chin. The slick Philly boxer took the punch well, but a left hook forced him to take a step back and reassess. Kennedy quickly recovered, and resumed control of the action by rounds end.
After a slow fifth, action heated up in the sixth round. Kennedy offered less lateral movement in the round, which resulted in far more two-way action than at any other point in the fight. Kennedy initiated every exchange, with Gonzalez going tit-for-tat but remaining a step behind. The last minute of the round was controlled by Kennedy, who was effective with his double left hook to the head and the body.
Back they went in the seventh, again with Kennedy dominating the action. Gonzalez was more than willing to engage; he just struggled to keep up with the superior handspeed (among other skill areas) of “The Technician.”
There wasn't quite as much action in the eighth and final round, as Kennedy went back to pure boxing while Gonzalez continued to follow him around the ring, to no avail. Kennedy repeatedly picked off the Guatemalan from the outside as time wound down, with Gonzalez never able to seize control.
The final scores were a lot closer than the in-the-ring suggested. A case could be made for Kennedy pitching a shutout, but the hometown judges didn’t quite agree. Scores of 78-74 (2x), 77-75 were announced, with Kennedy retaining his unbeaten record at the end of the night. He improves to 8-0 (4KO) with the win, his first against a fighter with a winning record. Gonzalez falls to 9-5 (3KO).
The show was presented by Peltz Boxing.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Please Jake can be reached for comments at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .