Mercito Gesta defeated Carlos Madrid by Majority Decision after 6 rounds. While Madrid again showed
that he is a durable and strong opponent for anyone, it was Gesta who proved that he could weather the
storm and get past this test towards becoming 11-0. He opened a cut over Madrid’s left eye in the third
round, and continued working on it as he outworked the game Madrid in a close, high-spirited opening
bout. Scores: John McCarthy (57-57), Scott Dexter and Celestino Ruiz (56-58).
Viktor Polyakov defeated Jesse Orta by Unanimous Decision after 6 rounds. Polyakov might look like a
smaller version of his fellow countryman, Andrew Golota, but it seems that he has a few more skills than
the heavyweight Pole. Polyakov moves at the waist so well, and possesses such a strong chin, that he will
be a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division for years to come. This is a lesson that Jesse
Orta found out tonight in grand fashion, as Polyakov used his left jab as a power punch over six rounds to
pound out a unanimous decision in front of a highly Polish-friendly Chicago audience. Scores: Steve Corbo
(55-59), Nathan Palmer (54-60), Bernard Hightower (56-58).
Michael Walker stopped Dante Craig at 2:23 of round 2. Chicago’s own Michael “the Midnight Stalker”
Walker demonstrated why he is undefeated and possibly the most popular of the nearby One in a Million
Inc.’s stable of talent with this win over former Olympian Dante Craig. The term “hooking machine” was in
full force tonight as Walker tested the body of Craig, which withered under the heavy attack. The veteran
referee, Gerald Scott, was forced to halt the action towards the end of the second round once it became
apparent that Craig had no answer for the more mobile, stronger Walker.
Donovan George stopped Shay Mobley at 2:33 of round 3. In this battle of Chicagoans, the fighter who
more often FIGHTS in Chicago proved to have the more dominant punch, but not before a couple of
interesting rounds, first. Donovan George seemed timid and tentative in the first two rounds, allowing
Mobley to establish his jab and lateral movement and, in my opinion, take the first two rounds, although the
judges were impressed with something George was doing, which was not completely apparent to me.
Nonetheless, the real story to this fight is the punch that George possesses, which Mobley is now rather
aware of, too. During a big exchange of traded shots, George landed a pile of shots with Mobley against
the ropes, wobbling the shorter fighter. But then, inexplicably, George turned around and walked away,
without the referee calling for it. Coming back, George hit Mobley again with a series of punches, sending
him down to the canvas, and prompting the referee to begin a count. George started celebrating a bit early,
displaying a premature victory backflip, but the damage had been done. Mobley was in no state to
continue, so referee Gerald Scott stopped the fight soon after at 2:33 of the third round. Donovan “da
Bomb” George has quite a following, and it will be interesting to see where his management team, Cestus,
takes him next.
Bernabe Concepcion knocked out Gabriel Elizondo at 2:11 of round 4. This NABF super bantamweight
fight had it’s share of fireworks, and it produced a new champion, as well. After three rounds of high-
powered trading of shots, Concepcion scored a knockdown late in the third, which Elizondo survived. But
that was nothing compared to the fateful fourth round, where Concepcion fired a barrage of multi-angled
shots, punctuated by a strong right hook to Elizondo’s head, which, as if in slow-motion, caused a five
second delay in Elizondo’s reaction. He was frozen with his arms at his side, his feet shuffling a bit, and
then all at once, he hit the deck face first. It’s one of those knockouts that are strived for, but at the same
time, scary to watch.
Mike Allan Sheppard knocked out Joseph Abell at 2:10 of round 1. The night’s only heavyweight fight
proved to be a quick affair, as Sheppard made short work of the taller Abell in the very first round. Abell
had only lost a single time before, but didn’t offer the correct answers to referee Pete Podgorski’s
questions after a seemingly “flash” knockdown, causing an eruption of booing from the nearly 10,000
screaming fans. Neither fighter is going to save the heavyweight from it’s current state, but this one may
have been stopped just a bit early. However, when dealing with the safety of athletes, how careful is too
careful?
Ulises Solis stopped Rodel Mayol at 1:54 of round 8. The live television cameras first captured this fight
tonight, which proved to be an outstanding chess match of a TV opener. Solis went back and forth as the
upper hand switched hands several times over the life of this fight. Solis’s jab set the pace for the early
rounds, but Mayol’s speed and aggression took rounds four and five. Solis tasted canvas in the sixth
round, compliments of a Mayol right hook, but the referee called it a slip, evoking a negative response from
pretty much everyone in the stadium. Round 7 was all Mayol again, rocking the IBF mini-flyweight
champion, who somehow survived the onslaught. Round 8, however, saw the greatest single punch in the
entire evening’s festivities. In a spirited exchange between the combatants, Solis landed a clean right hook
to the head of Mayol that sent him to the canvas hard. Mayol, to his credit, was up at the count of 7, but the
referee had seen enough. Ulises Solis retained his prized belt, and the audience cheered deafeningly
loudly for being given the treat of a true knockout punch, even if it was from the smaller fighters with the
huge hearts.
Juan Manuel Lopez stopped Hugo Dianzo at 1:12 of round 10. This fight was all Lopez, although Dianzo
had enough in him to cause a bit of a “cat and mouse” fight. The entire fight swayed between slow and
calculated moves to wild exchanges that got the crowd involved in raucous cheering. A cut opened up on
the back of Dianzo’s head from an apparent clash of heads during an exchange, which got the doctor’s
attention, but didn’t yet warrant any action. After several rounds of action, Lopez was docked a point by
referee Geno Rodriguez for hitting low. The 10th round saw a stoppage due to the blood soaking Dianzo’s
hair, which really just cut short an obvious decision win for Lopez, although judge Emily Cain had Lopez
only two points up, and that’s WITH the point deduction. Jerry Jakubco and Gary Kruse both had it 82-88
at the time of the stoppage, which seemed like much more fitting scorecards.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. stopped Louis Brown at 2:42 of round 5. Poor Louis Brown. He was never even
really IN this fight. From the opening bell, he tried to engage with the taller, lankier Mexican fighter, but ate
too many jabs to stay in close. When he tried to jab with the jabber, he was outworked and, again, ate too
many jabs. Nothing he tried produced a bit of success, and for a fighter with only two losses out of 15
fights, that’s saying something. I found myself asking just what was keeping the shorter Indianapolis fighter
on his feet. He took so many different types of punches from so many angles. . . . crosses, hooks,
uppercuts, and of course that killer jab. In round 4, Brown took a knee, but was then in the middle of a
hailstorm of punches from Chavez. The fight would have been called in the fourth, but Brown kept trying to
mount a comeback, and Gerald Scott, the referee, is known for allowing fighters attempting to fight to do
just that. Scott couldn’t allow much more, though, as he was forced to stop the fight at 2:42 of the fifth
round. Notably absent from his son’s side, I’m sure that Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr. was somewhere watching
this second installment of Chavez ferocity. And I’ll bet he was smiling.
David Diaz defeated Erik Morales by Unanimous Decision after 12 rounds. What a great, great fight! This
one had it all. . . .a legend, an Olympian, a belt, and the chance for the legend to extend his legend even
further by possibly winning his fourth belt in as many weight divisions. All of this, too, in front of 10,000
screaming, mostly Latino fight fans in a town that is starting a boxing rebirth as a site for championship
fights.
David Diaz held the WBC lightweight championship, and for his first defense, decides to fight a man who
has been a champion in THREE weight classes, as well as being responsible for some of the most action-
packed, highly-charged fights in the last twenty years. Erik Morales was not going to be intimidated by a
hometown crowd. He was here to fight, and he was here to win.
The first round showed the immediate strength differences in these two fighters at this stage of their
respected careers. Diaz won the entire round with his body attack and strong left hooks to the head, but
walked into a Morales right hand, getting knocked down in the process! Try to score that one (for those
playing at home). Two judges gave Morales a 10-8, the third gave him a 10-9. And that’s just the beginning
of the controversy.
Round two produced an apparent knockdown of Morales from a left hook from Diaz, but was ruled a slip
due to their feet getting a bit entangled. Since the force of the blow caused Morales to step back before
their feet wrapped together, some would say that it should have been a knockdown. Judge Herminio
Cuevas thought it was, too, and scored the round 10-8 for Diaz anyway.
Rounds three and four again displayed the strength and bullying that David Diaz has become famous for
using as he controlled the pace of the fight. Then, in the fifth, Morales finally gets his jab working, and
starts sending it home on Diaz’s right eye, causing it to discolor and swell.
In round six, Diaz continued stalking and Morales kept on countering, causing some exciting exchanges,
but Diaz was comfortably winning rounds until the ninth, when Morales turns on the accuracy with that jab,
riveting his left glove to Diaz’s right eye.
The home stretch produced some images that can only really be fully described with photos. Diaz simply
pounded on the tired, weary Morales whose punches have no steam left whatsoever. The uppercuts to the
body from Diaz are making the breathing of Morales labored. Diaz was in total control, and fought like a
champion trying to WIN the title, not retain the title he already had. The twelfth round was more of the
same, with all 10,000 fans on their feet, cheering either for Diaz to close out the show or for Morales to pull
out one last trick from his years of experience.
The scores were as follows. Herminio Cuevas (113-114), Robert Hecko (113-115), and Nobuaki Uratani
(112-115).
Following David Diaz’s retaining of his WBC lightweight title, Erik Morales took the microphone and
announced his retirement from the sport. This fact was also repeated at the post-fight press conference,
which can be viewed on this site or our posting of it on www.youtube.com.
Special thanks go out to TOP RANK for bringing this fight to Chicago, to Dominic Pesoli and Bernie
Bahrmasel of EightCount Promotions for securing press credentialing, to Emil Kegebein for taking such
compelling photography of the event, to our Bolo Punch crew (Tim Paterson, Nestor Romero, and Chuck
Gabriel), to Erik Morales for giving us so many wars and memories, and to David Diaz for displaying why
you are the WBC lightweight champion of the world.
***Chris Guzman has hosted the Bolo Punch Boxing Hour since 2002.
that he is a durable and strong opponent for anyone, it was Gesta who proved that he could weather the
storm and get past this test towards becoming 11-0. He opened a cut over Madrid’s left eye in the third
round, and continued working on it as he outworked the game Madrid in a close, high-spirited opening
bout. Scores: John McCarthy (57-57), Scott Dexter and Celestino Ruiz (56-58).
Viktor Polyakov defeated Jesse Orta by Unanimous Decision after 6 rounds. Polyakov might look like a
smaller version of his fellow countryman, Andrew Golota, but it seems that he has a few more skills than
the heavyweight Pole. Polyakov moves at the waist so well, and possesses such a strong chin, that he will
be a force to be reckoned with in the middleweight division for years to come. This is a lesson that Jesse
Orta found out tonight in grand fashion, as Polyakov used his left jab as a power punch over six rounds to
pound out a unanimous decision in front of a highly Polish-friendly Chicago audience. Scores: Steve Corbo
(55-59), Nathan Palmer (54-60), Bernard Hightower (56-58).
Michael Walker stopped Dante Craig at 2:23 of round 2. Chicago’s own Michael “the Midnight Stalker”
Walker demonstrated why he is undefeated and possibly the most popular of the nearby One in a Million
Inc.’s stable of talent with this win over former Olympian Dante Craig. The term “hooking machine” was in
full force tonight as Walker tested the body of Craig, which withered under the heavy attack. The veteran
referee, Gerald Scott, was forced to halt the action towards the end of the second round once it became
apparent that Craig had no answer for the more mobile, stronger Walker.
Donovan George stopped Shay Mobley at 2:33 of round 3. In this battle of Chicagoans, the fighter who
more often FIGHTS in Chicago proved to have the more dominant punch, but not before a couple of
interesting rounds, first. Donovan George seemed timid and tentative in the first two rounds, allowing
Mobley to establish his jab and lateral movement and, in my opinion, take the first two rounds, although the
judges were impressed with something George was doing, which was not completely apparent to me.
Nonetheless, the real story to this fight is the punch that George possesses, which Mobley is now rather
aware of, too. During a big exchange of traded shots, George landed a pile of shots with Mobley against
the ropes, wobbling the shorter fighter. But then, inexplicably, George turned around and walked away,
without the referee calling for it. Coming back, George hit Mobley again with a series of punches, sending
him down to the canvas, and prompting the referee to begin a count. George started celebrating a bit early,
displaying a premature victory backflip, but the damage had been done. Mobley was in no state to
continue, so referee Gerald Scott stopped the fight soon after at 2:33 of the third round. Donovan “da
Bomb” George has quite a following, and it will be interesting to see where his management team, Cestus,
takes him next.
Bernabe Concepcion knocked out Gabriel Elizondo at 2:11 of round 4. This NABF super bantamweight
fight had it’s share of fireworks, and it produced a new champion, as well. After three rounds of high-
powered trading of shots, Concepcion scored a knockdown late in the third, which Elizondo survived. But
that was nothing compared to the fateful fourth round, where Concepcion fired a barrage of multi-angled
shots, punctuated by a strong right hook to Elizondo’s head, which, as if in slow-motion, caused a five
second delay in Elizondo’s reaction. He was frozen with his arms at his side, his feet shuffling a bit, and
then all at once, he hit the deck face first. It’s one of those knockouts that are strived for, but at the same
time, scary to watch.
Mike Allan Sheppard knocked out Joseph Abell at 2:10 of round 1. The night’s only heavyweight fight
proved to be a quick affair, as Sheppard made short work of the taller Abell in the very first round. Abell
had only lost a single time before, but didn’t offer the correct answers to referee Pete Podgorski’s
questions after a seemingly “flash” knockdown, causing an eruption of booing from the nearly 10,000
screaming fans. Neither fighter is going to save the heavyweight from it’s current state, but this one may
have been stopped just a bit early. However, when dealing with the safety of athletes, how careful is too
careful?
Ulises Solis stopped Rodel Mayol at 1:54 of round 8. The live television cameras first captured this fight
tonight, which proved to be an outstanding chess match of a TV opener. Solis went back and forth as the
upper hand switched hands several times over the life of this fight. Solis’s jab set the pace for the early
rounds, but Mayol’s speed and aggression took rounds four and five. Solis tasted canvas in the sixth
round, compliments of a Mayol right hook, but the referee called it a slip, evoking a negative response from
pretty much everyone in the stadium. Round 7 was all Mayol again, rocking the IBF mini-flyweight
champion, who somehow survived the onslaught. Round 8, however, saw the greatest single punch in the
entire evening’s festivities. In a spirited exchange between the combatants, Solis landed a clean right hook
to the head of Mayol that sent him to the canvas hard. Mayol, to his credit, was up at the count of 7, but the
referee had seen enough. Ulises Solis retained his prized belt, and the audience cheered deafeningly
loudly for being given the treat of a true knockout punch, even if it was from the smaller fighters with the
huge hearts.
Juan Manuel Lopez stopped Hugo Dianzo at 1:12 of round 10. This fight was all Lopez, although Dianzo
had enough in him to cause a bit of a “cat and mouse” fight. The entire fight swayed between slow and
calculated moves to wild exchanges that got the crowd involved in raucous cheering. A cut opened up on
the back of Dianzo’s head from an apparent clash of heads during an exchange, which got the doctor’s
attention, but didn’t yet warrant any action. After several rounds of action, Lopez was docked a point by
referee Geno Rodriguez for hitting low. The 10th round saw a stoppage due to the blood soaking Dianzo’s
hair, which really just cut short an obvious decision win for Lopez, although judge Emily Cain had Lopez
only two points up, and that’s WITH the point deduction. Jerry Jakubco and Gary Kruse both had it 82-88
at the time of the stoppage, which seemed like much more fitting scorecards.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. stopped Louis Brown at 2:42 of round 5. Poor Louis Brown. He was never even
really IN this fight. From the opening bell, he tried to engage with the taller, lankier Mexican fighter, but ate
too many jabs to stay in close. When he tried to jab with the jabber, he was outworked and, again, ate too
many jabs. Nothing he tried produced a bit of success, and for a fighter with only two losses out of 15
fights, that’s saying something. I found myself asking just what was keeping the shorter Indianapolis fighter
on his feet. He took so many different types of punches from so many angles. . . . crosses, hooks,
uppercuts, and of course that killer jab. In round 4, Brown took a knee, but was then in the middle of a
hailstorm of punches from Chavez. The fight would have been called in the fourth, but Brown kept trying to
mount a comeback, and Gerald Scott, the referee, is known for allowing fighters attempting to fight to do
just that. Scott couldn’t allow much more, though, as he was forced to stop the fight at 2:42 of the fifth
round. Notably absent from his son’s side, I’m sure that Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr. was somewhere watching
this second installment of Chavez ferocity. And I’ll bet he was smiling.
David Diaz defeated Erik Morales by Unanimous Decision after 12 rounds. What a great, great fight! This
one had it all. . . .a legend, an Olympian, a belt, and the chance for the legend to extend his legend even
further by possibly winning his fourth belt in as many weight divisions. All of this, too, in front of 10,000
screaming, mostly Latino fight fans in a town that is starting a boxing rebirth as a site for championship
fights.
David Diaz held the WBC lightweight championship, and for his first defense, decides to fight a man who
has been a champion in THREE weight classes, as well as being responsible for some of the most action-
packed, highly-charged fights in the last twenty years. Erik Morales was not going to be intimidated by a
hometown crowd. He was here to fight, and he was here to win.
The first round showed the immediate strength differences in these two fighters at this stage of their
respected careers. Diaz won the entire round with his body attack and strong left hooks to the head, but
walked into a Morales right hand, getting knocked down in the process! Try to score that one (for those
playing at home). Two judges gave Morales a 10-8, the third gave him a 10-9. And that’s just the beginning
of the controversy.
Round two produced an apparent knockdown of Morales from a left hook from Diaz, but was ruled a slip
due to their feet getting a bit entangled. Since the force of the blow caused Morales to step back before
their feet wrapped together, some would say that it should have been a knockdown. Judge Herminio
Cuevas thought it was, too, and scored the round 10-8 for Diaz anyway.
Rounds three and four again displayed the strength and bullying that David Diaz has become famous for
using as he controlled the pace of the fight. Then, in the fifth, Morales finally gets his jab working, and
starts sending it home on Diaz’s right eye, causing it to discolor and swell.
In round six, Diaz continued stalking and Morales kept on countering, causing some exciting exchanges,
but Diaz was comfortably winning rounds until the ninth, when Morales turns on the accuracy with that jab,
riveting his left glove to Diaz’s right eye.
The home stretch produced some images that can only really be fully described with photos. Diaz simply
pounded on the tired, weary Morales whose punches have no steam left whatsoever. The uppercuts to the
body from Diaz are making the breathing of Morales labored. Diaz was in total control, and fought like a
champion trying to WIN the title, not retain the title he already had. The twelfth round was more of the
same, with all 10,000 fans on their feet, cheering either for Diaz to close out the show or for Morales to pull
out one last trick from his years of experience.
The scores were as follows. Herminio Cuevas (113-114), Robert Hecko (113-115), and Nobuaki Uratani
(112-115).
Following David Diaz’s retaining of his WBC lightweight title, Erik Morales took the microphone and
announced his retirement from the sport. This fact was also repeated at the post-fight press conference,
which can be viewed on this site or our posting of it on www.youtube.com.
Special thanks go out to TOP RANK for bringing this fight to Chicago, to Dominic Pesoli and Bernie
Bahrmasel of EightCount Promotions for securing press credentialing, to Emil Kegebein for taking such
compelling photography of the event, to our Bolo Punch crew (Tim Paterson, Nestor Romero, and Chuck
Gabriel), to Erik Morales for giving us so many wars and memories, and to David Diaz for displaying why
you are the WBC lightweight champion of the world.
***Chris Guzman has hosted the Bolo Punch Boxing Hour since 2002.
 |
| |
 |
