By Jake Donovan

Raul "La Cobrita" Martinez capped a fun night of action with a dominant unanimous decision win over Benjamin Garcia in their Telefutura-televised main event, aired live from he Municipal Auditorium in Harlingen, TX.

It was a feel-'em out opening round, with Garcia trying to press the action early and Martinez remaining poised while riding out the brief, ineffective storm and waited for openings. Body shots in the latter stages of the round paved the way for a Martinez left hook that had Garcia thinking twice about bull rushing his way inside.

Garcia looked to work his way back inside, and would pay a heavy price. There was plenty of action was offered in round two, most of it initiated by Garcia, but dominated by Martinez' precision punching. A counter right hand deposited Garcia on the canvas early in the third round, to which Martinez would follow up with a flurry of shots, capped by a crisp left hook to produce a second knockdown midway through. Garcia once again beat the count, and wisely got on his bike to avoid further punishment in surviving the round.

Martinez showed all the poise of a potential future champion, boxing smart while steadily committing to the body throughout the fourth round. The fifth round proved to be even more one-sided, with Martinez scoring the bout's third knockdown, courtesy of a straight right hand midway through the round. Garcia appeared to be ready to go toward rounds end, but managed to make it to the bell.

Action momentarily slowed down in the sixth before Martinez went on the attack in rounds seven and eight. Garcia bravely stood his ground, but found himself overwhelmed in each round. Martinez appeared to be well on his way to beating the fight out of his foe, but Garcia did everything in his power to make a fight of it in the ninth round. Martinez spent much of the frame boxing from the outside far more than was the case in rounds prior.

Martinez sought a knockout in the 10th and final round, but Garcia seemed more content to hear the final bell than put himself in harms way. A straight right hand midway through the round snapped back Garcia's head, to which Martinez followed up with a volley along the ropes. Garcia survived and remained out of harms way to remain upright by fights end.

That only one of the three judges saw the bout a shutout was perhaps the only surprise of the evening. Final scores of 100-87, 99-88 and 98-89 were announced for Martinez, who improves to 22-0 (13KO) with the unanimous decision win, his second in just six weeks.

Garcia falls to 12-10-3 (1KO) with the loss, his second straight.

Harlingen's own James de la Rosa gave his hometown crowd plenty to cheer about with a 4th round knockout over late sub James "Spider" Webb in their scheduled 10-round welterweight co-feature.

It was all de la Rosa in the opening round, as he couldn't miss with his left hook. Webb, who took the fight on short notice, caught one to the chin early in the round and spent the rest of the frame trying to play catch-up, taking a beating in the process. de la Rosa had Webb hurt on several occasions, including a knockdown at the bell, courtesy of a left hook to the chin.

Webb enjoyed more success in round two, while de la Rosa spent much of the frame experimenting from the southpaw stance. A straight left hand snaps back de la Rosa's head, drawing a reaction from the hometown crowd. Webb lands a left hook and right hand that gets de la Rosa's attention, driving him to the ropes before receiving a warning from referee Rafael Ramos for holding and hitting. The two trade at the bell, to the delight of the crowd.

Action slowed down in round three before coming to a sudden ending early in the fourth. de la Rosa began the round with a left hook to the body, and kept his attack focused on Webb's midsection. One last left hook downstairs sent Webb to the canvas for the second time in the bout. No count was offered this time, with Ramos immediately waving off the bout.

Official time 0:43 of round four. De la Rosa improves to 16-0 (12KO) with the win, as he continues to surge past his older (by 15 months) and better known brother Juan de la Rosa, who enjoyed a brief stint during the first season of The Contender. Webb falls to 22-3 (20KO) with the loss, snapping a three-fight win streak against pedestrian opposition.

The early exit in the co-feature allowed for a rematch between a pair of Texas welterweights named Gilbert to garner unexpected TV time. In the end, it was Gilbert Vera outlasting Gilbert Guevara in their action-packed six round affair.

Vera scored a 2nd round knockout in hometown of Austin when they fought last July. This time around, Guevara gained something of a hometown advantage, hailing from nearby Brownsville. Landing the rematch closer to home did little help Guevara, who danced as hard as could but was unable to avoid Vera's power.

Vera was able to control the tempo in the first round, landing a straight right midway through and ending the round with a nice right uppercut which split Guevara's guard. Another uppercut late in round two produced the bout's first knockdown, with Guevara momentarily separated from his senses as he was forced to a knee. The hometown kid beat the count, but an ensuing flurry had him out on his feet before being saved by the bell.

Smelling blood, Vera jumped on Guevara like a harbor shark at the start of the third round. It would prove to be a false alarm, as there was no quit in Guevara. Vera was forced to step back as the round wore on, and found himself on the receiving end in the majority of exchanges throughout a lively fourth round.

A back and forth fifth round paved the way for a thrilling sixth and final round. Guevara dominated early, landing a left uppercut that had Vera momentarily stunned, before Vera came roaring back over the final 90 seconds of the fight. Guevara stood his ground, but took several bombs down the stretch, including a right hand and left hook just before the final bell.

Final scores were 59-54 (2x) and 57-56, all for Vera who improves to 8-1-1 (4KO). Guevara falls to 7-4-1 (2KO), the loss ending a modest two-fight win streak.

The show was presented by Top Rank, Inc.

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 .