by Michael Baca
Alex “El Cholo” Saucedo got the unanimous decision (79-73 twice, 78-74) over Clarence Booth in an action-packed eight-rounder on Saturday night. The junior welterweight contest was the main event of a Top Rank Promotions card held at the Sportsmens Lodge in Studio City, California and televised live on UniMas’ “Solo Boxeo.”
The fight was closer than the cards may have indicated but the lack of production from Booth in the early rounds proved to be his downfall. Saucedo, 21-0 (14), pressed the action right out of the gate as the two stepped into a phone booth. It was there in the center of the ring in which the two traded blows, Saucedo connecting with his left hook and Booth, his right hand. The ropes almost weren’t even necessary as both men kept the fight around and on the big Tecate logo in the middle of the squared circle.
Booth, 13-2 (7), started to get into a groove in the middle rounds and he showed he was the man with the faster hands. The Auburndale, Florida native had his best success when he elected to throw first and the perspiration flew off Saucedo’s head often, via the overhand right. Booth didn’t manage to visibly buzz Saucedo but the latter did. In the final round, Saucedo hurt Booth with an accumulation of hooks with both hands. Booth was staggered in his shell and thankfully the ropes were there as they supported them while Saucedo let his hands go. Referee Raul Caiz Sr. was close to waving off the fight as Booth was wasn’t throwing back but the final bell sounded before that was the case.
Saucedo, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, wasn’t afraid to exchange with his foe in a tit-for-tat type of fight that had plenty of action. By initiating the brawl and leaving the fight on a higher note, Saucedo earned the right to stay undefeated after a fun, competitive bout.
Junior lightweight prospect Andy Vences pitched a shutout in his eight-round match with Yardley Suarez, winning every round on all three ringside judges’ scorecards.
Vences established a comfortable distance early, thanks to his right jab. He got so comfortable in the first round, he would switch to southpaw on occasion against a taller lefty. Right hooks to the body and counters to the head started to thwart Suarez’s offense in the early rounds and it didn’t help his cause that Vences’ shoulder roll was effective. In the third, Vences buzzed Suarez, 14-4 (8), with a counter right hand that was timed perfectly, and shots like those kept Suarez wary. Nicknamed “El Tiburon,” which translates to “The Shark” from Spanish, Vences stalked his prey all night and there was never a moment in which the predator wasn’t out of control.
Vences, 15-0 (10), San Jose, California, fought perfectly and, even though he had an obvious lead in the final round, he was willing to trade with Suarez toe-to-toe in the final 30 seconds of the fight.
Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavialuaskas stopped Prenice Brewer in the second round after referee Jack Reiss waved off the bout. Kavaliauskas, 12-0 (11), waited for his chance to strike as Brewer tried to outbox him and use his length as a barrier from the Lithuanian’s power. In the fateful round, Kavaliauskas dropped Brewer with a couple of left hooks. Brewer, 17-4-1 (6), was hurt but got up slowly and continued after stretching his arms out on the ropes. Kavaliauskas proceeded to let his hands go and it was clear Brewer was still out of it as he tumbled to the ground in front of his foe. It was ruled a slip by Reiss but quickly Kavaliauskas went back to work and, with Brewer, stuck in a corner, Reiss rightfully put a stop to the beating.
Vatch Martirosyan received a unanimous decision over Antonio Wattell in a junior welterweight match, with all three judges ringside scoring it 39-36. Martirosyan, 5-0 (2), was aggressive out of the gate and his early assault earned him a knockdown via a left hook. It dropped Wattell hard on the canvas and almost sent him through the bottom ropes. Martirosyan, little brother of junior middleweight Vanes, didn’t relinquish the momentum either and maintained his pace by throwing a slew of uppercuts and right hooks. Wattell, 1-2 (1), had a moment in the third round but not without illegally pushing Vatch around the ring. He was reeling but Martirosyan ended the four-rounder on a higher note with his volume of punches.
Toka Kahn Clary put on a clinic against Gabino Cota and his fluid combinations had his opponent in a standstill that eventually forced referee Raul Caiz Sr. to wave off the junior lightweight contest in the sixth. Kahn Clary, 18-0-1 (12), fought beautifully out of the southpaw stance, poking out his jab and firing the straight left with blinding quickness and accuracy. Cota, 18-6-1 (16), had his moments in the first round but his opponent’s footwork had him missing a majority of his shots. Fighting out of Providence, Rhode Island, Kahn Clary bamboozled Cota with combinations to the body and head. All the Mexican could do was put his guard up while stuck in a corner. He eventually escaped but Kahn Clary was in the zone, following him to the other side of the ring and trapping him against the ropes to eventually force the stoppage.
Oleksandr Gvozdyk knocked Michael Snider down three times in the first round to force referee Raul Caiz Sr. to wave off the light heavyweight contest. Gvozdyk, 9-0 (7), landed a straight right hand in the opening minute that sent Snider to a knee. An uppercut moments later had Snider bent at the knees again. Snider, 9-3-3 (5), went for broke, swinging and missing around the ring and, just as the 10-second clap sounded in the first, a left hook to the body forced Snider to a knee for a third time, evoking the three knockdown rule. Gvozdyk, Kharkov, Ukraine, is now set to face former light heavyweight title challenger Nadjib Mohammedi on April 9.
In the opening bout of the Top Rank Promotions card, Madiyar Ashkeyev got the unanimous decision victory over Obafemi Bakare (59-55 twice, 58-56) in a battle of unbeaten junior middleweights. Fighting out of Kazakhstan, Askeyev, 2-0 (1), was clearly the man with more power in his shots and he loaded up on his right hand often from the orthodox stance. Bakare, 3-1, unleashed his left hook to the body early, and eventually found his target upstairs later in the fight, but he was found trying to clinch often after one of Ashkeyev’s rights landed and that was the difference in the fight.
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