Dia de los Diaz Undercard Report
By Jake Donovan
Mike Mollo and Art Binkowski promised a war befitting of the hype surrounding their Windy City heavyweight rivalry. Mollo more than made good on that guarantee, easily taking the first round before tearing through Binkowski in the second. A left hook put Binkowski on the deck early in the second, and he never recovered. Apparently, referee Gerald Scott needed a bigger hint, or perhaps a swift kick in the ass for allowing Mollo to unload on Binkowski along the ropes for what seemed like an eternity. Binkowski eventually slumped to the canvas, prompting Scott to finally intervene. Official time was 1:25 of the 2nd round. Mollo rolls to 19-1 (11KO) with the win, his fourth straight since suffering the lone defeat of his career a year ago. Binkowski falls to 16-2-3 (11KO), snapping a 3-fight unbeaten streak.
Matt Zegan is a crowd favorite in the Chicago area, but no longer even the lightweight gatekeeper he once was. If the lesson wasn’t learned in his painfully one-sided drubbing at the hands of Nate Campbell last year in Rosemont, it was painfully beaten into him tonight in Hoffman Estates by Damian Fuller, who never looked better in scoring a 2nd round stoppage. Fuller put Zegan down in the 1st, and unloaded in the 2nd, pummeling Zegan along the ropes before the referee finally intervened. Official time was 0:52 of the 2nd round. Fuller rolls to 30-4-1 (14KO), now unbeaten in his last ten (9-0-1, since his 2003 knockout loss to the late Diego “Chico” Corrales). Zegan drops his third straight, falling to 37-4-1 (21KO). Having suffered the first stoppage loss of his career after showing serious signs of decline in the past few years, Zegan should strongly consider calling it a career.
Vasyli “Danger” Tarabarov improved (and I use the term very loosely) to 17-0-1 (7KO) with an eight-round split decision over Priest “Tiger” Smalls (18-15-1, 6KO) in a bout that drew boos early, often and throughout. Scores were 77-75 and 78-74 for Tarabarov, and 77-75 for Smalls. Nothing more needs to be said of this abomination of a fight.
Angel “Toro” Hernandez backed up his pre-fight promise of taking Louis Turner to hell and back in their crossroads – and crosstown – middleweight bout. Hernandez, fighting for the first time in 19 months and only his second bout in three years, forced a blistering pace from the opening bell. Turner danced as hard as he could, but eventually found himself in way over his head, dropping a decisive unanimous decision in a bout that had the crowd cheering throughout. Hernandez had Turner in big trouble in the 6th round, with the referee one step away from stopping the bout before Turner threw just enough punches to give the impression he was fit to continue. To his credit, Turner came back to win the 7th round, but Hernandez closed the fight strong to preserve the victory. Scores were 78-74 (2x) and 79-73, all for Hernandez, who improves to 28-6 (16KO) with the win, his second straight. Turner, a former Chicago Golden Gloves champion, falls to 11-1 (7KO), but gained a valuable learning experience and respect for his brave showing in defeat.
John Ruiz meant it when he said he didn’t care who he was fighting this weekend, so long as he fought. Sergei Lyakhovich failed to step up when called upon, so in came last minute replacement Otis Tisdale, normally a reliable 8-10 round fighter. Tonight, barely made it out of the first, getting dropped twice in the opening frame before being put down and out for the night 0:45 into the second round. The win was Ruiz’ first in nearly three years, though sadly enough to keep him in the mix in today’s abysmal heavyweight division.
Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield (5-0-1, 5KO) lived up to his nickname, violently snatching the “0” from Rahman Yasubov (6-1, 3KO) via second round knockout in a battle of unbeaten welterweights. Yasubov had minor success with boxing in the first, before Mayfield turned up the heat in the second. After two warnings for roughhouse tactics, Mayfield turned up the heat, flooring Yasubov with a right hand. Two more knockdowns followed, the third prompting the referee to halt the action. Official time was 2:47 of the 2nd round for Mayfield, whose career is handled by the “first lady of boxing”, Jackie Kallen.
Miguel Acosta overcame two knockdowns to pull out a minor upset with a split decision win over previously unbeaten Anges Adjaho in their 12-round junior lightweight bout. Acosta forced a fast, aggressive pace throughout most of the bout, much to the chagrin of Adjaho, who seemed more interested in making it a tactical battle. Adjaho woke up in the 9th round, flooring Acosta with a left hook. Acosta clinched for dear life to avoid an early exit, but survived the round and regained control of the bout in the final three rounds. Adjaho added drama with a flash knockdown midway through the final round, a round Acosta otherwise dominated before and after hitting the deck.
Adjaho was announced the winner on the first card by an absurd score of 115-111. Luckily, common sense found its way to the other two cards, 115-112 and 114-112 for Acosta, who improves to 20-4-2 (16KO). Adjaho loses for the first time as a pro, falling to 22-1 (12KO). With the win, Acosta becomes the mandatory challenger for fellow Venezuela, junior lightweight knockout artist and 130 lb. alphabet titlist Edwin Valero.
Rising junior welterweight prospect Devon Alexander (13-0, 8KO) helped raise the curtain at the Sears Centre, making quick work of Cory Peterson (7-1, 2KO) in a battle of unbeatens. Alexander, who can box like a dream, has been working more on the power aspect of his game over the past year. It showed tonight, as the normally durable Peterson hit the deck twice in the first round, the second resulting in a nine count and a thorough examine from the referee before being deemed unfit to continue. Time was 2:59 of the 1st round.
Dia de los Diaz is presented by Don King Productions in association with Sycuan Ringside Promotions and the Sears Centre.
