Paulie Ayala Productions gave Texas boxing fans another entertaining night of fights this past Saturday at the Fort Worth Convention Center with Gloves and Guitars. Six bouts were scheduled, with the main event featuring Angel Rodriguez (5-7-3) of Houston and Miguel Buendia (7-1-1, 4 KO’s) of Fort Worth. Eight rounds were scheduled for the main event, four for the undercard bouts, but many of the fights ended quickly, and some surprisingly.

Rodriguez’s mouth pice goes flying (photo by Tim Warner).

Buendia lands a right (photo by Tim Warner).

The main event featured super featherweights Angel Rodriguez (5-7-3) of Houston and local favorite Miguel Buendia (7-1-1) of Fort Worth.

Both fighters had an impressive first round, but it was already clear that Rodriguez might upset local fans by defeating Buendia. Sometimes a first round can be uneventful, as boxers get a feel for their opponent and strategize, especially in an eight-round fight, but in this first round, both came out punching.

Round two continued like round one, with both fighters very aggressive, and Rodriguez forcing the action. Rodriguez is quick and light on his feet, allowing him to dodge and duck better than many. He did suffer a punch to the chin in this round, but it didn’t seem to faze him.

Round three was hard to call. Both fighters landed some precise, rock-hard shots and Rodriguez took a few hooks from Buendia, who likes to throw the left hook, and does so well. Rodriguez was at the ropes and took a few more punches there at the end of the round, but still looked no worse for the wear. Soon, the same could not be said for Buendia.

In round four the intensity increased, especially when Rodriguez’ mouthpiece flew out of the ring and the crowd began screaming at Buendia to attack. He seemed bolstered by the fans’ screams but was already suffering some cuts on his face and a swollen left eye. There was some brief confusion as someone threw the mouthpiece back into the ring and the referee realized it had come out. The end of the round showed Rodriguez paying Buendia back for his attack, and the round ended with Buendia a bloody mess.

By round five, Buendia was looking beat up, with a cut on his right eye and the left eye continuing to swell, but despite his injuries, he held his own and defended well. Rodriguez still appeared completely unfazed and managed to land some effective blows, causing Buendia to bleed even more. The crowd was still behind Buendia, however.

In round six, Buendia was still managing to defend well, but his injuries looked distracting and he seemed tired. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Rodriguez to end the fight, but he missed a number of possibilities. He ducked and dodged Buendia’s attempts, but countered less often, though this was the perfect time to do so, with Buendia injured, tired, and bleeding. Rodriguez did manage some solid blows, but they were not enough to bring Buendia down.

Though the crowd was still screaming for Buendia, it seemed Rodriguez would have the fight by round seven, with Buendia by now an absolute mess. But Buendia, who must have been feeling the left eye if nothing else, not only defended well but continued to throw punches that hit their mark. The crowd continued to scream, hoping that somehow Buendia would win.

In the final round, Rodriguez was determined to finish off Buendia, and he should have, but his failure to do so speaks to Buendia’s stamina and fortitude. Blood was flying out of the ring with every punch, the crowd was screaming, and Buendia was pulling out everything he had to finish the fight, amazingly landing some body shots to the now tired Rodriguez. In the end, the fight was a majority decision draw, 78-74, 76-76, 76-76. The crowd booed as the results were announced, apparently many felt Rodriguez won the fight.

Clarkson (r) digs to the body (photo by Tim Warner).

Clarkson (l) finishing the job (photo by Tim Warner).

Light heavyweights Kyle Fancher (0-2) of Dallas and Samuel Clarkson (3-0, 2 KO’s) of Cedar Hill preceded the main event and it ended quickly and agonizingly, with Fancher writhing on the canvas after a punch to the liver. The first couple of minutes showed two well-matched fighters and even some humor as Fancher laughed off some blows from Clarkson, but unfortunately the bout was over 2:27 into the first round, with Fancher unable to get up for several minutes. He could be heard moaning as he held his right side, clearly in horrible pain. Clarkson won by TKO. When I spoke to Fancher after the fight, he said he was ok, just disappointed in the way the fight ended.

Rojas lands his wicked left hook (photo by Tim Warner).

The Punisher punishes (photo by Tim Warner).

The fourth bout between DeWayne Wisdom (1-2) of Indianapolis and another local favorite Manuel “The Punisher” Rojas (4-0) was for the most part uneventful and a close call. Rojas was uncharacteristically hesitant from the beginning and remained so. In the first round, he took a number of punches from Wisdom and failed to counter with his usual precision. Wisdom threw and landed more punches in the first round. In round two, Rojas was a bit unsteady on his feet at times, but a bit more forceful. He took some tough blows here from Wisdom, but brought home a few himself. Round three continued in the same fashion, with Wisdom moving around the ring and Rojas following. Toward the end Rojas landed a punch that appeared to be a low blow but was not. Wisdom, however, was allowed a moment to recover. By round four, the crowd was increasingly cheering for Rojas, perhaps hoping to jar him into action. He did land some impressive blows, but after much clinching and a few bursts at the ropes, the fight ended with Rojas the winner by majority decision, 38-38, 39-37,39-37. I spoke to Rojas’ trainer Ricky Sanchez after the fight, who agreed that Rojas was a little off his game, but Rojas maintained his undefeated record and is certainly deserving the title of “North Texas Boxing’s Newcomer of 2011”

Trevino (l) readys the bomb (photo by John Escobar III).

It landed (photo by John Escobar III).

Lightweights Derrick Jones (1-4) and Arthur Trevino (6-7-3, 3 KO’s), both of Fort Worth, were scheduled to go four rounds, but a right hand from Trevino brought Jones down 2:22 into the first round. Trevino declared the winner by KO.

Solarzano (l) and Hobbs (photo by John Escobar III).

Solarzano (l) and Hobbs action (photo by John Escobar III).

Middleweights Travonne Hobbs (1-1) of Austin and Angel Solarzano (2-0) of Denton also had a quick visit to the ring. The first round showed the two to be well matched, with both throwing and landing some solid punches. But 19 seconds into round two, Solarzano almost fell out of the ring, going between the ropes following a punch from Hobbs. There was some confusion for a few moments, as Solarzano regained his footing but was covering his face as though injured. The doctor came to the ring, and after talking to Solarzano and assessing the situation, the fight was called to a halt due to accidental injury. Solarzano later said that he was accidentally thumbed in the eye when referee Neal Young reached out after Solarzano stumbled through the ropes. The result was no decision.

Sheppard (l) jabs (photo by John Escobar III).

Vera (r) counters (photo by John Escobar III).

The first bout of the evening brought welterweights Cedric Sheppard (0-3) of Houston and John Vera (1-0) of Fort Worth to the ring, Vera making his professional debut. Both were somewhat reserved in the first round, but Vera threw more punches and strategically gauged those he did. His precision paid off in round two as he landed several blows that hit home, left Sheppard staggering, and dazed. A blow to the face finally brought Sheppard down 2:17 in the second round. Vera had a triumphant professional debut, winning by TKO.

Before the main event, Top Rank’s always welcome Roberto Marroquin (21-1-14 KO’s) made an appearance in the ring and spoke briefly of future plans. At the end of the evening’s fights, the guitars came out and thrilled the crowd still in attendance. All in all fans were treated to an engaging night from Paulie Ayala Productions. Rumor is the next PAP show is in May, we’re looking forward to it.