By Jake Donovan
Enrique Ornelas, fresh from his back-to-back wars against Bronco McKart on Telefutura, returns to the Solo Boxeo circuit tonight as he squares off against former Contender contestant, Norberto "Nito" Bravo.
The bout will air live from the Morongo Casino Resort in Cabazon, CA (Friday, 8PM ET).
Win, lose or draw, Ornelas (26-4, 16KO) almost always gives fans their money's worth. The Mexican middleweight appeared poised for a run toward contender status before running into Sam Soliman on ShoBox late in 2006. Their 10-rounder was a hard-fought affair, with Ornelas forced to contend a cut from a headbutt and Soliman's superior workrate before falling just short on the cards, dropping a majority decision.
Ornelas was eager to get his career back on track, but was forced to wait seven months before returning to the ring. Matched up against faded veteran Bronco McKart in an August 2007 Telefutura main event, the plan was for Ornelas to score a win over a familiar name – one who gave then-top contender Kelly Pavlik a tough go a year prior – before moving on to the division's elite.
The only problem was, somebody forgot to give a final copy of the script to McKart, who pulled off a major upset on the strength of an early knockdown and a late rally to earn a split decision in a mid-summer thriller. Ornelas outworked McKart for much of the fight, but eased off the gas in the final two rounds. But it was the third round knockdown that proved to be the difference between winning and losing. Ornelas was winning the round, but was decked late, prompting all three judges to score the round 10-8 for McKart.
Take away the knockdown, and it's Ornelas round, which made it a 3-point swing. Ornelas won on one card, 114-113, but lost by the same score on the other two.
Ornelas took it out of the judges' hands in the rematch, four months later in Las Vegas. The bout was much shorter, even more thrilling, and featured more knockdowns than its predecessor. McKart would eventually succumb after five rounds, but not before scoring official knockdowns in each of the first two rounds. Ornelas overcame the rough start to twice send McKart to the canvas, once in the fourth and once in the fifth before forcing the Michigan native to retire prior to the sixth round.
Once again on the doorstep of contender status, Ornelas receives his third straight Telefutura headliner. This time around, the slot figures to be more of a showcase than showdown when he meets Bravo, a battle-tested veteran in the twilight of his career.
Prior to The Contender, Bravo's biggest bouts came on the wrong side of televised showcases on ESPN2 and Telefutura, often used as the opponent for notable foes, though almost always giving his opponent a full night's work. Bravo was able to parlay that experience into a successful run on Season two of The Contender, where he assumed a similar underdog role that Alfonso Gomez enjoyed in Season one. With much of his career spent at junior welterweight, Bravo became the little engine that could, lasting all the way to the semi-finals before falling short against eventual Contender champion Grady Brewer.
The bout against Brewer appeared to be Bravo's last great moment in the sun. Cornelius Bundrage beat the breaks off of him in their consolation bout in September 2006, as Bravo suffered only the second stoppage loss of his career.
Five months later, two would become three, as rising welterweight Andre Berto sent him to the canvas three times en route to a 1st round stoppage on HBO last year. A follow-up decision loss to used-up Yori Boy Campas was considered the last straw, with many declaring the gutsy journeyman all used up at that point.
Bravo entered the Campas fight at a career-heavy 153 ½, and appeared way out of his element, in addition to being at the end of his career. Given those circumstances, tonight's main event has the potential to result in disaster. Bravo isn't the type to lie down (save for the Berto fight, where he simply never got going), nor is he any longer able to give quality work to notable contenders.
This raises great concerns for his health in this middleweight encounter against a respectable hitter like Ornelas. It's possible that Ornelas recognizes this going in, and winds up dismissing Bravo as an easy night's work, which could result in a more competitive bout than suggested on paper.
If not, then Bravo is in for a rough night, in which case those concerned for his health would have to be rooting for an early one. An ironic twist, considering where he stood in the public eye just 18 months ago.
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His feature column runs every Tuesday, and his Prospect of the Week series runs every Thursday. Jake is also BoxingScene's official Telefutura correspondent.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com