After Eduardo Arcos (left) dominated the first two rounds, Chris Martin (right) with the help of his corner figured out a strategy to counteract Arcos's agressive style. All photos taken by San Diego Boxing Examiner Jim Wyatt
Speaking about the fight later, my colleague from the San Diego Union Tribune, Ivan Orozco, said, "Chris Martin's body language depicts focus and patience" and that’s just what he needed to demonstrate Thursday evening, when he defended his California State Super bantamweight title at the Four Points Sheraton in nearby Kearny Mesa.
In the main event Christopher Martin (16-0-2, 4 KOs) of Chula Vista, Ca. was able to survive what I would call a hellish first two rounds against Eduardo Arcos (15-1-0, 12 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico. Arcos came out firing with everything in his arsenal. Having a longer reach and a height advantage he swung for the fences and had every Martin booster nervous. It was as if his corner had told him pre-fight: if you don’t get this guy in the early rounds, you’re going to lose.
In the first round, Arcos took the initiative and swarmed all over Martin with power punches upstairs and downstairs. Martin had no recourse but to cover up and if possible wait him out. Arcos’ offense turned out to be his defense as his high pressure style kept Martin from throwing any meaningful punches and as a result, Martin threw fewer and landed fewer punches in the first two rounds.
A good sports analogy to draw upon: After two rounds, Martin (symbolized by the Los Angeles Lakers) was down at least twenty points to Arcos (of say the Celtics). Then from the third round on, patrons witnessed a comeback with the Lakers hitting one three pointer after another to not only erase the deficit, but forge ahead with a commanding lead.
As mentioned, instead of caving-in to the frenetic pace set by Arcos, the boxer known as “the San Diego Kid” survived the early stages of the fight. He didn’t win round one or two, but he did survive them. By managing to stay on his feet during such an onslaught, Martin amazed the spectators and must have befuddled his opponent. He never gave even the slightest indication of being intimidated. After Arcos showcased his entire arsenal, Martin appeared as spry as ever.
By the third round Martin figured out his opponent's strategy and began to land the cleaner and harder shots. Soon he was controlling every facet of the fight using a series of combinations to the head and body, including fierce upper cuts. Each time Arcos miss-fired, Martin made him pay.
“I could tell right away, the way he was throwing everything into it that he would tire in the later rounds,” Martin said later. “He was throwing all his power punches in the first round.”
There was not one round that either fighter put it in cruise control. Each round had the intensity of the final round of a world title fight. Soon Arcos, who himself promised a knockout, was covered in his own blood from the cut above the left eye, mouth and nose. His boxing trunks, no longer white, were now splotched with pink and red stains.
It was after the seventh round that referee Patrick Russell came over to Arcos's corner and with an assist from the fight doctor called a halt to the bout. Arcos’s bloody face told the tale.
Lightwelterweight Antonio Orozco (5-0-0, 4 KOs) made quick work of Mario Angeles in the very first round.
Antonio Orozco (5-0-0, 4 KOs) also remained unbeaten after pounding Mario Angeles (1-3-1) into submission. Of the barrage of punches thrown by Orozco, there were only a few that didn’t hit their target. Within the first minute, Angeles was being overwhelmed by body shots, combinations and Orozco's powerful over-hand right.
Angeles, a fighter who never gives up, tried to retaliate with his powerful left hook and snapping jab, but nothing would slow Orozco down who kept pounding away as if he were hitting a heavy bag. Orozco’s TKO punch came in that first round by way of a full leverage uppercut, a blow that forced Angeles to take a knee. Kneeling to look Angeles in the eyes, referee Jose Cobian could see the fight had been taken out of Angeles and decided to end it.
The 22-year-old light welterweight sensation who lives in Tecate, Mexico, trains with Carlos Barragan, Jr. at the National City Community Youth Athletic Center. Nicknamed “The Simple Man”, Orozco is one of those rare athletes who can not be distracted from the goal of becoming a world champion.
Alan Sanchez (4-0-0) of Fairfield, Ca. continues his unbeaten streak by gaining a unanimous decision victory over Raymundo Ortega.
Alan Sanchez, usually a light welterweight, meaning 140-147 pounds, weighed in at 148 pounds for his four round bout at super welterweight against Raymundo Ortega, a club fighter whose weight has been known to fluctuate from 148 pounds to 162 pounds. Even though Ortega hardly ever wins, he's known to give his opponents a battle. As you might imagine Sanchez won a unanimous decision by taking every round. Sanchez improved to 4-0, while Ortega, of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, dropped to 1-8.
Heavyweight Lionel Davis (4-0-0, 3 KOs) a serious 6’7” boxer from Pomona, Ca. kept his unbeaten record alive by defeating a club fighter by the name of Lujan Henderson (2-3, 1 KO) from Portsmouth, Virginia. Turning a deaf ear to his corner’s urging to “jab and circle”, Henderson had no answer for the more skillful boxer. Instead of making it a fight, he appeared more interested in finding a soft landing. Henderson went down the first time after an overhand right. A short time later with Davis landing at will through a porous defense, Henderson took a knee. Referee Jose Cobian took pity on the “Big Stud”, and stopped the bout.
Denis Grachev (8-0, 5 KOs) from Izhevsk, Russia, fighting out of San Diego’s City Boxing 14th street gym had no problem whatsoever with Roberto “Bisonte Castro” Baro (12-8, 9 KOs) on his way to a third round TKO victory. Everyone, including Grachev’s corner, was expecting a lot more out of the eleven year veteran. After all Baro had been in the ring with many of the top contenders. He fought Kelly Pavlik (35-1), Henry Porras (35-8-1), Otis Griffin (20-6-2), Marcus Pernell (12-4), Francisco Sierra (20-3) and Enrique Ornelas (29-5). Ornelas is now signed to fight Bernard Hopkins on December 2nd.
Like he always does, Grachev methodically moved forward to press the action while his opponent sort of hung back waiting to counterpunch. In the third round of the scheduled six round bout, Grachev trapped Baro in a neutral corner and landed a hard right to the temple of his opponent. Baro took a knee and beat the count but only to visit the canvas once again after Grachev landed a left hook to Baro's soft midsection. Moments later Baro was down again after a body shot which prompted referee Pat Russell to call an end to the contest.
Denis Grachev (8-0-0, 5 KOs) had no problem defeating the veteran Roberto Baro (12-8-0, 9 KOs)
After Baro’s embarrassing performance, I went to his dressing room to discuss the causes of his faltering career. In Spanish he complained about everything, from getting the fight on just four days notice to the referee’s allowing Grachev to hit him behind the neck. Before leaving he said: “Give me three months and I’ll be back better than ever.”
The truth is Baro is finished and might not know it. In his last eight outings he has won just once. After fighting Marcus Pernell on April 29, 2006, Baro went on a three year hiatus. The excuse he gave for his absence? He was rehabbing for a bum knee. If we count Thursday’s loss to Grachev, Baro now has three losses this year, two by knockout and one by TKO. It’s time to hang up the gloves.
Comments