By Joe Harrison
On Friday night, Chicago fan-favorite and lightweight prospect Jaime Sandoval (14-3, 12 KOs) was out-boxed for eight rounds before losing by a unanimous decision to Juan Carlos Martinez (15-5-1, 5 KOs) of Mexico on the “Bad Blood” card at Cicero Stadium located just outside Chicago, IL. It was a tough battle for Sandoval as he tried to use his height and reach to his advantage, but Martinez was still able to get inside and land his punches.
From the start of the opening bell, Martinez tagged Sandoval to the face with a left and then a right. Martinez proceeded to keep the pressure on Sandoval by getting inside to throw power punches. As the round progressed, Sandoval was able to distant himself from Martinez by using his jab. A straight right landed for Sandoval right before the end of the round.
Sandoval had a better second round as he gained confidence and control with his jab. His jab was beginning to land more frequently and he was also attacking the body of Martinez. Even as Sandoval landed his punches, Martinez was always quick to fire back.
In the third round, Martinez was more aggressive as he tried to get back inside to land meaningful punches. Although Sandoval went back to using his jab, he was very reluctant to throw the right as his corner pleaded to him throughout the round. Finally, Sandoval began to throw his right and seemed to connect with ease. Martinez fired right back and then they began to trade punches before the bell sounded ending the round.
Both men were landing effective punches as they traded more in the fourth round. Although Sandoval was landing left/right combinations, Martinez went right after Sandoval to answer with punches of his own. These punches normally landed for Martinez and Sandoval began to fall into trouble. Sandoval showed heart by fighting back as he attacked the face and body of Martinez.
The fifth round showed Martinez establishing a jab of his own. It wasn’t long before Martinez went back to bullying Sandoval by getting inside to rough him up. Sandoval continued to fight back, attempting to gain momentum, but the punches from Martinez were far more accurate.
The sixth round started with both men searching for openings. Eventually, it was Martinez who began to land and was constantly having his way with Sandoval. Then Sandoval landed to the face of Martinez and they exchanged until the sound of the bell.
In the final rounds, there was more action as Sandoval tried to turn things around. Unfortunately for Sandoval, whenever he was beginning to gain control, Martinez countered and forced the fight on Sandoval. Even in the final minute, it was Martinez who was persistent and made it difficult for Sandoval to make any comeback attempts. At the end, Judge Mario DiFiore and Judge John McCarthy scored 78-74 while Judge Ted Gimza scored 77-75, all in favor of Martinez.
Sandoval was coming off a loss from his last bout, a majority decision to Johnnie Edwards, and was really looking to bounce back. After the bout with Martinez, Sandoval was visibly disappointed.
“He got in, we traded inside,” said Sandoval. “I landed the key punches, I believe, from the outside. That’s pretty much it; I stuck to my game plan.”
“I want to fight him again, definitely, the sooner the better.”
Martinez was coming off impressive performances against Wilton Hilario and Juan Jaramillo. He was very satisfied with his victory over Sandoval and is very anxious to fight again.
“He was a tall guy so I had to find a way to get inside and get him in the body,” said Martinez through an interpreter. “He’s a good fighter and he’s also a good friend too.”
“Next, I want to fight someone in the top fifteen.”
Earlier in the evening, light heavyweight Gerald Taylor (2-0, 1 KO) easy defeated Tyrone Dowdy (2-12, 1 KO) by a 2nd-round TKO in a scheduled four-round bout. It was hardly a boxing match as Dowdy spent most of the time running and clinching. It was in the second round that Taylor finally caught Dowdy with a right cross, sending him down to the canvas. Taylor beat the count, but it wasn’t long before Taylor was in trouble in the corner. Suddenly, Taylor laid his right glove on the top rope to his right, looking to the ref in surrender. Taylor jacked his defenseless opponent in the face with an overhand left before Referee Gerald Scott stepped in-between them to bring the bout to an end. The official time was 2:39 of the second round.
“Could’ve done better, I felt I could’ve done better,” said Taylor. “I’ll probably fight again next month though.” Taylor also shared that he’s looking to increase his level of competition quickly.
In the opening bout, cruiserweight Cedric Agnew (5-0, 3 KOs) dominated Lucas St. Clair (1-1, 0 KOs) en route to a four-round unanimous decision. Both fighters came out swinging at the start of the bout. It appeared to be on the verge of ending early when a left hook to the body of St. Clair sent him down to one knee. Although St. Clair beat the count, another left hook to his body sent him down again. Once again, St. Clair rose to his feet, and shockingly survived the remainder of the round.
For the remainder of the bout, St. Clair came out swinging as if to knock Agnew’s head off, but could not land the money punch. Despite doing a better job of protecting his body, St. Clair took too many shots to the face throughout the fight. Fatigued and gasping for air, St. Clair looked like he was finished, but Agnew refused to go in for the kill and continued to out-box his opponent until the bout ended. On the scorecards, Judge Mario DiFiore and Judge John McCarthy scored 40-34 while Judge Jerry Jakubco scored 39-35, all in favor of Agnew.
“I felt good, but out of focus,” said Agnew. “By the third round I was kind of spent. If I would have kept doing what I was doing, I would have gotten him out sooner.”
Also on the card, super middleweight Victor Polyakov (6-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Corey Bell (8-17, 7 KOs) in the second round of their scheduled six-round contest. The match started with both fighters swinging bombs, but Polyakov was the one landing the more effective punches with superior accuracy. Even after taking many shots to the face, Bell continued to circle the ring against the ropes as blood dripped out of his left nostril.
In the second round, Bell was back to circling the ring against the ropes. Bell tried to land combinations and keep Polyakov off, but his strategy simply was not working. Out of no where, Polyakov landed an overhand right to the face of Bell, dropping him to the canvas. Bell was in a complete daze as he slowly rose to his feet, he could not beat the count. The official time was 1:52 of the second round.
