By Jake Donovan
It was different means of travel on the road to victory between the two televised bouts, with Vicente Escobedo cruising to a shutout, while Sergio Mora was forced to overcome a rough start and a deficit on the cards en route a rare stoppage win Friday night on Telefutura.
The main event was designed as a welcome back party for Season One Contender winner Sergio Mora, who three years later is still looking to prove that he's more than just the Season One Contender winner. However, unretired former fringe contender Rito Ruvalcaba forgot to read the script, who stayed in Mora's face all night before being forced to submit in a 6 th round stoppage many, including Ruvalcaba, was a tad premature.
"The Latin Snake" appeared to be anything but elusive in the main event of a card televised live from the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon, California. Forced to fight throughout, Mora had a welt under his left eye at the end of the first round, and another cut developing above the same eye during the course of the bout.
The bout itself was uneasy to watch at times, primarily due to Ruvalcaba refusing to lie down. Mora was unable to develop any type of rhythm, with Ruvalcaba in his face for much of the fight, often responding to anything Mora had to offer.
It changed for a brief moment in the 6th, when Mora momentarily had Ruvalcaba in trouble with a series of left hooks along the ropes. Mora went in for the kill, but was met with a left hook in return, not enough to change the momentum of the bout, but just enough to buy Ruvalcaba some more time. It didn't turn out to be much of a purchase; Mora regained control, landing a left hand that shook the Tijuana native, and two more shots that snapped back Ruvalcaba's head.
The Pez dispenser imitation was enough to convince Ray Corona to call it a night. However, the fighters disagreed, with Mora continuing with his assault as Corona slipped and fell to the canvas. The referee arose to both fighters trading along the ropes, but still felt compelled to stop the fight, much to the dismay of Ruvalcaba and the intimate yet vocal crowd, who responded to Mora's post-fight celebration with a chorus of boos.
The official time was 1:22 of round six.
Mora's record advances to 20-0-1 (5KO), but to say the East LA product has improved would be a stretch. Fighting for the second time in three months, ring rust cannot be offered as an excuse, as was the case in his surprising draw against Elvin Ayala last October on ESPN. Even more surprising – more so than the stoppage win itself – was the fact that Mora was forced to overcome a deficit on the scorecards, with two of the three judges having him behind at the time of the stoppage.
The TKO was Mora's first win inside the distance since May 2006, when he overcame a flash knockdown to otherwise dominate Archak Termeliksetian en route to a 7 th round stoppage. That win came at a time when Mora was still improving and finding himself as a boxer. Where he goes in 2008 remains to be seen; for the moment, back to the drawing board seems to be the most logical destination.
Retirement is most likely where Ruvalcaba is heading, even if the Mexican showed there was still a little fight left in him. The 33-year old falls to 32-9 (28KO) with the loss, the third in his last four bouts dating back to 2004, when Ruvalcaba initially decided to call it a career before being brought back for this one fight, his first since getting stopped in one round against Jose Luis Zertuche in June 2004. One could argue that his stock went up in defeat, given the competitive nature of the bout and the controversial ending. But Ruvalcaba should accept the fight as a moral victory and once again call it a career.
On the other side of the fence, the party is just getting started in what has become something of a second career for 2004 Olympian Vicente "Chente" Escobedo. BoxingScene's New School Pick of the Week looks more and more like a Nacho Beristain protégé with each passing fight. The two worked together for the third time last night, with the end result being Escobedo putting on a boxing clinic in scoring a shutout over Pascali Adorno (10-7-2, 4KO) in their ten round lightweight co-feature.
Not much variance between any of the ten frames. Escobedo boxed smart, keeping Adorno at the end of his jab for most of the night, mixing in effective left hooks to the body and head for good measure.
Adorno proved to be tougher than expected, but his only form of competition came in taking everything Escobedo had to offer. He could do little in return, save for some late round theatrics when Adorno would take a shot, pound his chest and dare Escobedo to fight him in the center of the ring. Escobedo obliged, coming on strong in the final round, looking to close the show to the delight of the crowd, chanting "Chente" throughout, in support of the rising – and improving - Mexican-American lightweight prospect.
The reading of the scorecards was a mere formality. All three judges were in unison in their scores, 100-90, as there was really no other way to score it.
Escobedo improves to 16-1 (11KO) with the win, his 7th straight since suffering the lone loss of his career two years ago. After sprinting out to 9 knockouts in as many fights to start his career, the 25-year old has now went the distance in six of his past eight fights, including his past three. Under the tutelage of Nacho Beristain, Escobedo develops more into a complete fighter, though for the moment with more emphasis on boxing as the knockouts come less frequently. Considering the final product, it's surely a trade-off Escobedo will gladly accept.
An already growing trend in the 2008 Solo Boxeo Tecate season is the swing bout stealing the show. Such was once again the case as junior welterweight newcomer Danny Garcia (3-0, 3KO), who scored a brutal 2nd round knockout over upside down journeyman Marlo Cortez.
It began with a left hand that had Cortez buzzed early in the second. The follow up right had Cortez out on his feet, with another looping left sealing the deal as Cortez collapsed along the ropes. Referee Tony Krebs began to administer the mandatory eight count, but only got as far as two before waving off the bout.
The official time was 1:07 of round two.
Garcia continues to impress, even just two months into his pro career. Each of his three pro fights have ended in two rounds or less. Based out of Philadelphia, the promising junior welterweight prospect is one to watch in 2008 and beyond.
The show was presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Tournament of Contenders.
