Year in Review: Trout tops 2011
2011 in Review: Trout NewMexicoBoxing.com’s “Fighter of the Year”; Southern New Mexico and El Paso comes alive; Holm dethroned by Mathis and Trout.
Review by Chris Cozzone
Photo by Jose Leon Castillo
More than ever before, the rest of the world is paying attention to New Mexico. Less than ever before, the rest of the world is paying attention to New Mexico.
It was a crap year, it was a great year. Take your pick.
Holly Holm and Austin Trout. Archie Ray Marquez and Fidel Maldonado. El Paso and Albuquerque. Bad and good, half-empty or half-full. End of an era, beginning of another one.
After leading the state in attendance, attention and pound-for-pound greatness, Holly Holm finished the year in defeat. Usurped by Anne Sophie Mathis as the queen of women’s boxing, Holm suffered the worst defeat of her career on December when she was KO’d in seven before a packed house at Route 66.
Holm’s one other boxing bout in 2011 was a somewhat “so-what?” rematch against always-game Victoria Cisneros halfway through the year. The time before Cisneros, and after, was spent launching a 2-0 career in MMA. Seeking to end the year with what would’ve been her biggest boxing win since upsetting Christy Martin, half a decade ago, Holm stepped up to Mathis, who shocked the city and world with her dismantling and decrowning.
After six years as NewMexicoBoxing’s “Fighter of the Year,” Holm was similarly defeated by Austin Trout, who began his reign earlier in the year by capturing the WBC’s “regular” light middleweight title, then secured it with two dynamite defenses.
No doubt about it, it was “No Doubt’s” year. After beating Rigoberto Alvarez in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico, Trout became the fourth (male) New Mexican to be called world champion. For those who doubted Trout, the Las Crucen made believers out of haters in June when he fought his toughest opponent to date, David Lopez, outclassing the Mexican contender in San Luis Potosi. In November, Trout defended a second time, against game-but-overmatched Aussie Frank Loporto.
Alas, in an era of way-too-many-champs, the belts and their various grades (“super” or “regular” just one variety under one ABC), Trout has been named as a “paper champion” or a champ with an asterisk, until he can fight another champ, a “super champ” (Miguel Cotto being the “uber” version of Trout’s strap) or a big name – but those days are coming.
Look for Trout to swim with the big boys in ’12.
As for Holm, we are told not to expect much until the summer. Though a rematch clause was included in the contract, Holm’s fate and comeback, at the present, remains a big question mark.
Co-main “Fighter of the Year”
If Holm and Trout were the headliners of 2011, Archie Ray Marquez and Fidel Maldonado, both lightweights from Albuquerque, and El Paso jr. middleweight Abie Han, were the co-main eventers on the rise.
Marquez began the year undefeated, a Gary Shaw-signed fighter making waves on Showtime. Then came his at-home tune-up at Santa Ana in April. Having lost more fights than I care to confirm on Boxrec, Johnny Frazier was the fodder – but as soon as he figured Archie out, he nearly knocked out the hometowner, who somehow squeaked by with a win, thanks to some crafty refereeing. Marquez sought to bounce back with a Showtime date in June, only undefeated Art Hovhannisyan did Frazier one better by knocking Marquez out in six, on a card televised on ShoBox. Seeking a comeback, Marquez got matched up tough in El Paso several months later, and lost again, this time by decision, to Bahodir Mamajanov. Though many of us argue he should be 0-3, Marquez finishes ’11 at 1-2 and a prospect in serious doubt.
Serious doubt was how you could also describe the zombies Fidel Maldonado had been fed by Golden Boy . . . that is, until October, when he stepped up to tough Eric Cruz in his first eight-rounder. Past foes quickly forgotten, Maldonado’s amateur pedigree, his skill and pop and attitude in the ring should mark him as a heavy favorite for prospect of the year.
It may do so in New Mexico, but not in El Paso, for Abie Han finished the year under the watchful eye of Top Rank with a 15-0 record against tougher guys, though not by much. Since signing with TR, Abie’s foes have all been batting .500, but nursing sore knuckles all year, should be ready for the next level in ’12.
Fight frequency
New Mexico may have Trout and Holm and Maldonado, but what they no longer can claim are consistent venues and promoters.
2011 was a year that saw the lowest number of fight cards since the ‘90s. Local boxing in the state is apparently on a wicked decline. A mere five cards were staged – unless you want to count three unsanctioned shows in Shiprock with Thaddine Swifteagle Johnson fighting no-namers plucked from the crowd to further pad her record.
Fresquez Productions, still the leading promoter in the state, staged just two shows during the year, though you can double that if you’re counting MMA. On the other hand, or in the other half of the state, Zeferino Entertainment promoted five shows, between El Paso and Las Cruces.
El Paso saw more action in 2011 than it has in half a decade, with six shows, four of ‘em by Zeferino, easily marking him as “Promoter of the Year.”
Venue of the year? These days, Route 66 is the only casino open to the fight scene. Easy choice.
Santa Ana staged a return to boxing in April and the fights were pretty good – what wasn’t was the commission and their officials. The robberies and injustices are too lengthy for this review – consult the original fight report. Other venues that have carried the sport in their respective areas have also slowed down considerably. Ignacio’s Sky Ute Casino does one or two shows a year, but even that is better than Hard Rock/Isleta. Once the leading venue, Hard Rock struck boxing off the scheduled entertainment list after June.
Year’s notables
Johnny Tapia fought his farewell fight in June, before a packed house at Hard Rock, beating Mauricio Pastrana. Since then, Tapia has stepped up by training fighters and by opening up the Team Tapia Gym in Albuquerque.
“Fight of the Year?” If you weren’t there to see it, and if you missed it on TV, Elco Garcia’s eight-round war with Joaquin Zamora was well worth the years it took to pair these two up again. New Mexicans and Coloradoans are pretty sure they’ve never seen a dull fight with either fighter.
2011 saw unbeaten heavyweight David Rodriguez pair up with Zeferino Entertainment in what was supposed to be (once again) his “breakout” year. Though they started and ended the year in disappointing fashion, fighting the usual journeymen, they generated a bit of interest in the summer when former title challenger Owen Beck was brought in as a step-up. Rodriguez remains, of course, undefeated, something like 320-0, 318 knockouts, or something close. Meanwhile, we await . . . .
El Paso was where all the action was in 2011. Jennifer Han fought a handful of tune-ups, but got her stride back, finishing the year with a well-earned win over Nohime Dennison while looking like a coming champ.
Former No. 1 Contender Antonio Escalante, once on the verge of a title fight, started the year with a knockout loss but has since bounced back off the canvas with two tune-up bouts. A handful of Zeferino-groomed El Pasoans are also on the rise: Carlos Villa, Oscar and Cesar Valenzuela, and, looking like the most talented, Joel Garcia.
Jhonny Gonzales defended his strap at the Don Haskins in September with a two-round stoppage of Rogers Mtagwa on a Goossen-Tutor/Promociones del Pueblo show. Escalante and former foe Miguel Roman were on the undercard as a possible teaser for a 2012 rematch. Their war in ’10 was NMB’s “Fight of the Year.”
Debuters
It was more quantity over quality, as far as the pro debuters were concerned, in 2011. Seems to be a trend in New Mexico that as soon as you’re 18, you’re ready for the pros. By some of the fights, we’re pretty sure it’s not the case. Now, more than ever, fight opportunities are pretty rare and most of these new pros can expect to gather some dust or get used on the road, while they sharpen their skills.
A few fighters stand out, however, chiefly Matthew Baca and Leonardo Sanchez. Sanchez gets NMB’s vote for “Debuter of the Year,” with two solid, aggressive wins.
Though Baca stopped his man early with one of the best knockouts of the year, the best performance in a pro debuter has to go to MMA fighter-turn-boxer Donald Sanchez, who beat the tar out of experienced boxer Michael Coca-Gallegos at Santa Ana. Sanchez looked like an experienced boxer – not a cagefighter.
New Mexican Road Kill
The disappointments of 2011 are many, but beyond the handful of athletic commissions and bad judging and bad call reffing – guess I should throw in the terrible matchmaking that continues to occur on the smaller shows – the worst of the year falls into the fighters’ new role as road kill.
There weren’t too many New Mexicans winning on the road in 2011. ‘Nuff said.
Cozzone’s picks of the year
Fight of the 2011: Easy: Elco Garcia’s war with Joaquin Zamora, June 10, 2011 at Route 66.
Worst fight of 2011: Jorge Reyes vs. Hector Munoz. Someone out there is trying to get Reyes killed. Thanks Isleta commish, for sleeping on the job.
Worst robbery: There were a handful, and all of ‘em happened on one card, thanks to Santa Ana’s “commission”: Johnny Frazier should’ve won by KO over Archie Marquez, but had to settle for a loss by UD8 thanks to the ref; Brandi Montoya should’ve won by UD over Natalie Roy instead of losing by majority decision; Adrian Lopez should’ve own by UD over Tim Means instead of losing by majority decision; and Amanda Crespin should’ve won by majority or split decision over Carla Torres, instead of losing by split. Add one on-the-road robbery: Elco Garcia’s loss to Joey Hernandez. C’mon, Florida – you guys using one of our tribal officials or something?
Upset: No-brainer – Anne Sophie Mathis KO7 Holly Holm, Dec. 2 at Route 66.
Fighter of the Year: Austin Trout
Top prospects: Abie Han, Fidel Maldonado
Best pro debuter: Leonardo Sanchez
Most exciting: Elco Garcia, Joaquin Zamora and Joel Garcia
Most underrated: Austin Trout
Most overrated: Looks like Archie Ray Marquez fit the role for ’11.
Venue of the year: Route 66
Best card of the year: Dec. 2 Route 66 card by Fresquez
Best amateurs of the year: Siju Shabazz.
Most improved amateur: Ayanna Vasquez
Most improved pro: At first, I was going to say Austin Trout, but he’s merely showing what he’s always had, so Josh Torres is my pick for ’11, followed by Brandi Montoya and Jen Han.
Biggest disappointment? Could write a book on this one. Holm’s loss to Mathis. For the 10th straight year, David Rodriguez not fighting where he should be fighting. The (New) Mexican meat wagon of fighters who hit the road for a purse, these days – we all know who they are. Bad match-ups – some of the El Paso fights stank as much as the ones in New Mexico, which primarily include Munoz vs. Reyes, Marquez vs. Frazier (on paper), Mirabal vs. Titsworth. C’mon guys, step up the matchmaking and fighters, step up your opposition. It was also a bad year for officiating – from Santa Ana’s pretend commish, to several bad calls by referees, those in New Mexico and those from New Mexico but officiating elsewhere.
Best trainer? Louie Burke.
Promoter of the Year: Zeferino Entertainment
What fights does the scene need? Trout vs. Cotto. Trout vs. K-9 Bundrage. Trout vs. Matirosyan. Trout vs. Alvarez. Rodriguez vs. top 10 heavyweight. On the local level: Torres vs. Mirabal. Torres vs. Munoz.
Best official: Levi Martinez. If I say Russ Mora or Rocky Burke, I’ll get hate mail, so for refs, I’ll go with Richard Espinoza, because he managed to stay out of the way of controversy.
MMA fighter of the year: Carlos Condit
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