By Cliff Rold
The 2010 slate for the “Fight Night Club” series kicked off Thursday night at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California, headlined by talented 23-year old Jr. Welterweight Victor Ortiz (26-2-1, 21 KO) of Oxnard, California. In that main event, Ortiz dominated 28-year old Hector Alatorre (16-9, 5 KO) of Tulare, California for nine rounds before lowering the boom and picking up a technical knockout win in the tenth and final round.
Both men weighed in beneath the 147 lb. Welterweight limit, Ortiz at 143 ¾ and Alatorre at 143.
Ortiz fought a contained first round, boxing and circling behind a southpaw right jab, mixing in stiff left hands, Alatorre coming forward and doing little more than lobbing the occasional token punch. Round two was playing much the same until Ortiz landed a sharp shot high on the head to stagger Alatorre. The older man absorbed the blow and Ortiz didn’t press too hard, comfortable to keep boxing and scoring points.
Rounds continued to accumulate with little to distinguish them, the bout taking on the look of a stiff workout, Ortiz landing hard and effective blows. Round seven brought a brief cheer from the crowd when Ortiz went down after Alatorre threw a punch but the referee quickly ruled a slip. Ortiz quickly established control as Alatorre made a ‘just in case’ rush at his favored foe. Sustained exchanging in the final thirty seconds provided the bouts its best action to then.
Rounds eight and nine stayed to form, Ortiz building methodically on the punishment he’d already delivered. It would be in the final stanza that Ortiz provided the bout a true highlight. Using a looping overhand left to set Alatorre up, Ortiz fired a crushing uppercut with his right to send Alatorre to the deck. Alatorre, who had never been stopped, gamely rose but his legs were unsteady and he stumbled along the ropes. Referee David Mendoza halted the action at 51 seconds of round ten.
Ortiz was making his second start since quitting in a thrilling six round battle against contender Marcos Maidana in June 2009. The victory over Alatorre clears the way for a proposed showdown with 37-year old former unified Lightweight titlist Nate Campbell (33-5-1, 25 KO) in May in what should be an interesting test of what growth Ortiz has made since Maidana.
Alatorre loses his ninth in his last eleven fights dating to September 2006.
Ortiz, who has headlined on HBO, provided the extra star power necessary to shine a better light on some quality prospects beneath him on the card Thursday.
21-year old Lightweight Luis Ramos (14-0, 7 KO), 135, of Santa Ana, California had to work hard for it, but had to be satisfied with his highest quality win to date, outworking 35-year old former WBO Featherweight title challenger Walter Estrada (35-11, 24 KO), 135 ¼, of Colombia over four rounds for a unanimous decision.
The loss was Estrada’s fourth in a row and seventh in his last eight.
A quick handed southpaw, Ramos wasted little time coming after Estrada with lead right hooks and long lefts to the body. Estrada slowly warmed to the action, clinching and surveying his younger foe before landing some hard shots in the final minute, a thudding left to the head garnering Ramos’s attention. Estrada would provide only short bursts of offense again in round two as Estrada applied a steady work rate.
The veteran patience of Estrada, like Ramos also a southpaw, almost paid off in round three when a big left caught Ramos’s attention but it was a lone highlight. The short scheduled duration of the fight made victory without a knockout seem unlikely for Estrada heading into the final round. The unlikely became even more distant in an awkward fourth where, while neither man did a lot, Ramos did more than enough to seal a 40-36 shutout on all three judge’s cards.
In the televised opener, 23-year old Featherweight Charles Huerta (13-1, 7 KO) of Paramount, California, garnered a measure of redemption in a six-round majority decision win over 31-year old Guadalupe De Leon (8-10, 4 KO) of Mission, Texas. Huerta’s sole defeat had come two contests prior to Thursday’s, a first round knockout at the hands of fellow prospect Derrick Wilson. Wilson was immediately upended by De Leon in a four round decision last December, the Texan’s lone win in eight previous fights dating to the summer of 2006.
The referee was David Mendoza.
Huerta, 125 ¾, began the fight with his hands high and tight, popping his left jab and blocking hooks to the head and body. De Leon, 126 ¼, his hands also high, pressed the action, allowing Huerta’s jab through while firing looping rights and lefts to the head as the round progressed. The right hand version of those attempts came close to landing flush twice but Huerta’s shoulders blunted the effects.
Early in the second, a short left hook from Huerta stunned De Leon, knocking the older man off balance but De Leon plugged right back. Digging to the body, De Leon struggled still to find the head of Huerta until past the mid way point when a sweeping right connected. A violent exchange in round three saw both men land impressive leather, Huerta in greater volume with sharp straight rights and left hooks. A brief pause ensued before a sustained back and forth at close quarters consumed the remainder of the frame, Huerta landing the cleaner blows upstairs but De Leon making opportunities along Huerta’s ribcage.
Bleeding from the nose and beginning to swell around the right eye, De Leon stayed in pressure mode, Huerta countering between his shots to stay a step ahead. The punishment was mounting as the seconds ticked by, Huerta closing in the final thirty seconds with a steady stream of shots to the face of De Leon. Emboldened, Huerta stayed confidently on the inside in round five, perhaps unwisely as it gave De Leon chances to land. Huerta seemed okay with the trade-off as he continued to land his own shots as well. The action stayed much the same in an energetic round six, Huerta ultimately overcoming an even score of 57-57 to win with tallies of 59-55 and 58-56. The referee was James Jen-Kin.
In action broadcast online before the beginning of the televised show, a pair of undefeated stayed that way. 22-year old Jr. Featherweight Ricky Lopez (7-0, 2 KO) of Oxnard, California, one pound over the divisions limit at 123, ground out a unanimous decision in four over 19-year old Hugo Ramos (2-5-2, 1 KO), 122 ¾, of Palm Springs, California. Lopez won three of the four rounds, at scores of 39-37, on all three judge’s cards. 24-year old Jr. Welterweight Karl Dargan (7-0, 3 KO), 135, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, didn’t need the judges, retiring 22-year old Jose Lugo (9-13-1, 5 KO), 135 ½, of Richmond, California prior to the start of round four.
The card was broadcast on U.S. basic cable via Fox Sports Net distributors, simulcast on the internet at RingTV.com, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
