2005: Year in Review By Chris Cozzone
2005 was a wake-up call.
The disappointments outweighed the good—unless you are talking about women’s boxing. In men’s boxing, many of our hopefuls lost. Some of our lost, resurfaced. And some of our resurfaced disappeared again, by the time the year was out. Start with the good: You could say that 2005 was the breakout year for Holly Holm (12-1-2, 4 KOs). She fought five times (once, an exhibition), winning against name fighters and beating a legend in Christy Martin(46-4-2, 31 KOs)—a fight that most of us outside her trainer, promoter and teammates thought she’d lose. No one else came close to her achievements in 2005. The year was not so good for our former champions and former title holders. Five-time world champion Johnny Tapia (55-5-2, 28 KOs) came back strong in the early part of the year, showing rust and age in Hidalgo, Texas against Nicky Bentz, but bouncing back in April in front of the biggest crowd in New Mexico since 2000 when Tapia beat Jorge Eliecer Julio for World Title No. 4. On April 15, Tapia got his chance to pay back Frankie Archuleta (24-5-1, 13 KOs) for the loss in ’04, in one of the year’s top thrillers. It was vintage Tapia through ten rounds, outhustling the younger Archuleta despite a closed eye. Johnny was back. Well, for a time, anyway. In June, Tapia announced that he was taking on world champ Israel Vazquez, under one promoter, then another, but that fight fell apart a few weeks out, to everyone’s disappointment. Tapia resurfaced in Chicago, headlining a Telefutura card against Sandro Marcos (25-14-2, 21 KOs), who became the first fighter to defeat the living legend by stoppage—it was the same night Holm defeated Martin—a night of new highs and new lows. Always the warrior, Tapia, refusing to go out with a KO loss, announced another fight, this time at Tingley in Albuquerque, but that fight fell apart just days before the show. As the year ends, Tapia’s popularity may be at an all-time low, but there remains few who dispute the fact that he will remain the most popular fighter in the history of boxing in New Mexico. Which brings us to Danny Romero (44-5-2, 37 KOs) . . . the fighter who could have been New Mexico’s No. 1—and may still be able to launch a campaign that’ll turn around his popularity. Romero did return to the ring in ’05, fighting an eight-round undercard bout, but could do little better that a draw with Alex “Ali” Baba (21-9-1, 16 KOs), although most ringside felt Romero deserved the ‘W.’ Since then, he’s been M.I.A. again, although there is talk of an Albuquerque fight in February. Archuleta? After losing to Tapia, he disappeared, resurfaced in the summer when he and Johnny, now the best of pals, teamed up for a bar brawl, then came back with Tapia in December. Now part of the Tapia camp, he was added to the December Tapia show, until he disappeared a week out. The win over Tapia in ’04 was Archuleta’s ticket to the top ten, but it’s doubtful he’ll keep that last No. 10 rating for long; in addition to the regional belt he picked up a year ago. But Archuleta wasn’t the only New Mexican to come up short in ’05, either losing, or relinquishing, belts or standings. Ray Sanchez III (14-1, 11 KOs) gave up his minor belts early in the year, then sat on the bench due to a shoulder injury and surgery. In December, though, he resurfaced on the Top Rank show with a KO win over Art Medina (12-17, 5 KOs). David Martinez (14-1-1, 3 KOs) gave up his World Youth belt at superflyweight to campaign at 122, and showed surprising strength in June by knocking out Marco Sandoval with a body shot. But a month later, matched up against the bigger, stronger Tomas Villa (13-5-3, 7 KOs) of Odessa, Martinez fell, losing out at a shot for the NABA title when the bout was stopped in the tenth round. (Villa went on to upset Cuauhtemoc Vargas (14-1-1, 9 KOs) on a Vegas card in October, as well.) Martinez chalked off the loss as a learning experience, returning in December with a six-round decision win. On that same miserable night Martinez lost, so followed Lee Montoya (8-1, 6 KOs), who lost for the first time, too, in his only bout of the year. Matched up tough, he was still the hometown favorite—but, unfortunately, he entered the ring with a rib injury—and Freddy Hernandez (18-1, 15 KOs) battered away at his side until Montoya called ‘no mas’ between rounds four and five. Hernandez picked up Montoya’s WBA Fed Latin regional belt. Shawn Gallegos (15-2, 5 KOs), of Las Vegas, took a big risk, too, fighting out of state for the first time against undefeated Dmitriy Salita (24-0, 14 KOs) in New York for an NABA belt. He was stopped in the ninth. Elco Garcia (18-4, 8 KOs), of Durango, was stopped, too, by former pound-for-pound champ Vernon Forrest (36-2, 28 KOs), although the TKO win awarded the former champ was about as controversial as you could get—the referee allowed Forrest, who was ahead on points, to get up during a count, without wiping off his gloves, and attack an unsuspecting Garcia, putting him down with two left hooks. Garcia was immediately declared the loser. Other disappointments included Vicente Garcia’s (9-3, 5 KOs) three losses, one to Hilario Lopez (8-4, 6 KOs), one to Joe Gomez, and a third, (the worst), to Alex Velardez (16-1, 7 KOs). Former high hope Joseph Brady (13-5-1, 6 KOs) was 0-3 in ’05, losing all three bouts by first- or second-round knockout. If he hasn’t already done son, Brady has nearly sealed his fate as a guy to beat up for an easy win. The biggest letdowns, however, were the passing-away, and the near-passing-away of the following:
2005’s pleasant surprises were few, but they do not occur without notice: Bloomfield’s Joe Gomez (6-1, 2 KOs), who started off with a loss out of town, showed the local scene what he was made of, by beating Vicente Garcia for a minor belt in Ignacio, Colo.—weathering two knockdowns and broken jaw but coming back to edge Garcia for the win. Perennial on-the-road opponent Rudy “Bad Boy” Lovato (21-34-4, 7 KOs) picked up a minor WBC belt with an upset win out of town. “Mad” Max Heyman (21-7-4, 13 KOs) was written off as ‘maxed out’ in ’05 until a strong return in December. Seemingly, Heyman has bought himself some time for his verdict is out until ’06, now. “Hurricane” Hector Munoz (13-1, 8 KOs) is not without merit, having fought a successful TV fight in March, over experienced veteran Jose Noyola. His two slated step-up fights, however, one against Miguel Torrecillas (fight was nixed when Torrecillas passed out making weight), the other with Carlos Madrid (Munoz pulled out), did not occur so the usual questions on Munoz’s improvement remain. Last, but not least, Socorro’s Joaquin Zamora (8-2-1, 7 KOs) showed us the goods by taking on tough foes on the road—and beating them. Zamora is 3-0 in ’05. M.I.A.s and opponent-status pugs M.I.A.: Jason Cordova (4-0-1, 4 KOs) disappeared from action in January; the two Barelas, Victor (7-0-1, 2 KOs) and Joseph (3-1, 1 KO), were absent in ’05; Jeremy De Los Santos (4-2, 2 KOs) lost his second in a row, then disappeared in March; and Jose Ramirez (10-9, 6 KOs) fell out after an exhibition in January. Losses on the road: While Brady takes the cake, Bryan Garcia (7-14, 2 KOs) was 0-3 in ’05, and has lost six in a row now. El Paso scene The El Paso scene got a much-needed boost in ’05, mostly due to Golden Boy Promotions and Lester Bedford. Two major cards were held, one headlining Marco Antonio Barrera (vs. Mzonke Fana); the other Juan Lazcano, who made his return to the ring after a 2004 title challenge loss to Jose Luis Castillo. Former No. 1 Juan Lazcano (35-3-1, 27 KOs), now a jr. welter, remains El Paso’s premier hopeful. He was 2-0 in ’05, scoring KO wins over Marco Angel Perez (21-8) and Courtney Burton (21-5). Top ten-ranked Cesar Lopez (18-2, 4 KOs) had his chance to back up his high ratings and make the big-time in ’05, but lost a decision to Gabriel Elizondo (20-1, 8 KOs) in December. Despite the loss—his first in 18 bouts—Lopez had a strong showing and can return in ’06. Stablemate Alex Becerra (17-3, 7 KOs) sat out most of ’05, returning with a win in September. El Paso’s unbeaten heavyweight, David Rodriguez (20-0, 19 KOs), still unproven, also was out most of the year, with an injury, but re-entered the ring with a first round KO over an 0-1 unknown in Iowa. The most promising fighter in El Paso has proven to be Antonio Escalante (9-1, 6 KOs), who, now signed with Golden Boy Productions, was 4-0 in ’05, against good opposition. Others did not pan out quite so well this year: Adan Hernandez (14-4, 5 KOs), in his only fight of the year, lost to Carlos Contreras (20-11-3, 13 KOs) in February—he is now 1-3 in his last four; Bernardo Guereca (13-6-1, 3 KOs), who showed N.M. what he was made of in ’04, was 2-1, ending the year on a sour note when he was schooled by 11-0 Juan Manuel Buendia in Las Vegas; Miguel “Conan” Torrecillas (16-5-1, 7 KOs) was 1-1, losing to Lamont Peterson (12-0) on ESPN2, then pulled out of his fight with Hector Munoz due to dehydration; Bobby Joe Valdez (9-3-1, 4 KOs), in his sole fight of ’05, was KO’d in the first round by Abdias Castillo (9-13-1, 7 KOs); Carlos Tapia (4-0, 3 KOs) fought but once; and Rene Armijo (5-2, 1 KO) struggled to finish the year 3-1 but not shown the improvement that fighters like Carlos Madrid have shown. Carlos Madrid (6-0, 2 KOs) leads the pack of new blood from El Paso, finishing the year 4-0, against local fighters, but getting better with each bout as he slims down to lightweight. Madrid is followed by this year’s Chuco debuters Ignacio Olvera (2-0) and Jo Jo Galarza (1-1). Women’s Boxing Women’s boxing in New Mexico has become Holly Holm, but there are others who’ve helped put us on the map. While Holm is, pound-for-pound, No. 1, she still fights without a recognized world title, bearing only the IBA Women’s belt. But, with wins over opposition like Christy Martin, she, like others in the sport, proves that it’s who you beat, not the belt you wear. Jackie Chavez (9-1, 3 KOs) remains the only female in NM with a recognized belt—the IFBA Superbantamweight belt, although Denver’s Terri Cruz (12-4-2, 7 KOs), who recently won the Super Flyweight IFBA belt, should also be honored, as she was born in Raton, N.M. Chavez was 1-1 in ’05—but barely. In June, she defended her belt against Audrey Vela (6-1, 1 KO) by a very controversial split decision; then hit the road in September, leaving her belt at home, but fighting Lisa Brown (12-2-2, 4 KOs) in Trinidad (the country, not city in Colo.) for the WIBA version, a ten-rounder in which she lost. Other fighters in New Mexico have entered the ratings game: Victoria Cisneros (3-2-2) was 0-1-2 in ’05; Crystal Hickerson (2-0-1) was 0-0-1, which included the draw rematch with Cisneros; newcomer Jodi Esquibel (2-0) was 0-2; debuter Tonia Craven, 1-1; and Monica Lovato (4-1, 2 KOs), 2-0, against easy opposition. Long-time contender from Santa Fe, Jayla Ortiz (11-8-4, 3 KOs) also remained in the game, although was 0-2 in ’05, in minor title fights. The ebb and flow of local action There were 11 shows in New Mexico, three in Ignacio, Colo., and six in El Paso, the highest in years. El Paso might become a new mecca for boxing in ’06, depending on the success of the Jose Luis Castillo – Diego Corrales III fight in February. A sold-out show at the Don Haskins Center could land more big-name shows there. In New Mexico, less than half the 2005 cards were sanctioned by the New Mexico Athletic Commission. With Isleta forming their own commission, Santa Ana with their own, too, the NMAC would be looking at filing a Chapter 11—if it wasn’t a state agency, that is. The action started out slow, with Hobbs getting the first show (its first in 58 years) until the Tapia-Archuleta rematch in April. Shows were sparse until the end of the year when Isleta & Fresquez gave the fight scene a much-needed boost; and Top Rank returned to the Duke City for the first time since the Tapia-Romero heyday. With Top Rank promising 10-12 shows in ’06, the increase in Holly Holm’s popularity, and the several Isleta-Fresquez sold-out shows at the end of ’05, boxing in New Mexico looks like it could experience somewhat of a revival in the coming year. © 2000-2006 by New Mexico Boxing.com |
