By Franciso Salazar
Welterweight Juan Jose Velasco faced an opponent willing to win and a hostile crowd Saturday night.
Velasco was able to get through both to earn a hard-fought victory and to maintain his unbeaten record.
Fighting for the first time outside his native Argentina, Velasco dropped Fernando Marin en route to a 10 round unanimous decision at the Arena Jalisco in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Velasco improves to 15-0, 8 KOs, while Marin drops to 13-2-3, 9 KOs.
Managed by Sampson Lewkowicz, Velasco built his unbeaten record facing modest opposition in and around his hometown of Buenos Aires. Prior to facing Velasco, Marin was stopped by unbeaten Mauricio Pintor, the nephew of former world champion Guadalupe 'Lupe' Pintor.
Velasco scored the only knockdown of the fight with about a minute left in the second round. A left hook to the body forced Marin to take a knee, but got up by the count of five. Velasco followed up, attempting to get a stoppage win but Marin was able to make it through the round.
Marin was able to get through Velasco's pinpoint accuracy over the next round or two. By the midway point of the fight, Marin began finding a rhythm, connecting more with lead or counter right hands to the head. Marin was able to do so as both fighters traded in the center of the ring.
Both fighters had their moments in the second half of the fight, trading hooks and crosses that brought cheers from the crowd.
The pace of the fight slowed considerably during the final two rounds, which seemed to favor Velasco, who was the busier fighter who countered effectively from the outside.
All three judges scored the bout in favor of Velasco, 95-94, 97-92, and 98-91.
In the co-feature, junior lightweight Jose Matias Romero stopped Bernardo Gomez Uribe int he second round. Romero (13-0, 6 KOs) boxed effectively from the outside as Uribe attempted to get on the inside. Early in the second round, a right hand to the head from Romero stunned Uribe. Romero followed up, landing a barrage of punches on a defenseless Uribe (18-7, 11 KOs). Another right hand to the head sent Uribe reeling against the ropes, prompting the fight to be stopped at 33 seconds
In a rare clash of Mexican heavyweights, Filiberto Tovar (6-0 1 NC, 3 KOs) stopped Lawrence Elizondo in the second round. A right-left combination near the end of the first round dropped Elizondo (8-2, 3 KOs) to the canvas. Elizondo complained of an injury to his left shoulder early in the second round and when it was difficult or him to throw a punch, the fight was stopped at 53 seconds.
Junior middleweight Oscar Larios, Jr. was successful in his pro debut, stopping Fernando Ruvalcaba (0-3) midway through the second round.
Junior featherweight Christopher Lopez (4-0, 3 KOs) dropped Hugo Barajas (0-3-1) with a right hand, prompting referee Rodrigo Lopez to immediately stop the bout at 15 seconds of the first round.
Junior lightweight Alexander Villa (4-0, 3 KOs) knocked out Leonardo Cervantes (1-9) with a left hook to the head. Referee Rodrigo Lopez immediately immediately stopped the bout moments into the opening round.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
