GALVANIZING the METROPLEX

Promoter/trainer George Galvan is on a mission; to stimulate the boxing starved DFW area with a consistent array of shows.  Living in Ft. Worth, it’d be very easy for Galvan to focus on his own city, but fortunately he’s looking at the bigger picture.  On Saturday, May 3rd, 2008, Galvan Promotions presented “Boxeo Mano a Mano”; it’s second night of prizefighting this year.  This time, Dallas was the host city and Eddie Dean’s Ranch was the venue.

In the main event Jose “El Loco” Hernandez (9-1, 3 KO’s) faced off against the tough Aduato Gonzalez (8-4, 3 KO’s) in an 8 round super featherweight bout.  In the opening frame, Hernandez, from Ft. Worth, Texas, established what would become a pattern of dominance, flooring Gonzalez with a right uppercut and delivering thudding body shots.  Hernandez (ranked number one pound for pound by North Texas Boxing) wobbled his foe with a well- timed left hook in round 2 and persisted with the body battering.  To his credit, Aduato was very game as he ignored a nick under his left eye and kept Jose on the ropes for most of round 3.   But by the 4th, Gonzalez was noticeably wincing in pain from the repeated punishment to his torso.  He tasted the canvas for the second time courtesy of a left hook to the ribs.  Desperation began to set in for Gonzalez as he rose.  He immediately waded into Hernandez and uncorked two of the most blatant low blows you’ll ever see.  But instead of appealing to the ref, “El Loco” took matters into his own hands, unleashing a violent two-fisted response.

Gonzalez appeared to be on his way to winning round 5 as he landed a nice right hand, applied constant pressure and replied with some body shots of his own.  But his moment would be brief as a double left deposited him on the ring apron yet again.  Gonzalez was hurt again by a left hooker cut, towards the end of the round.  By round 7, I found myself trying to recall a better display of sustained, pinpoint body punching, but I couldn’t.  Hernandez was putting on a clinic in this regard and simply outclassed his gritty, ballsy opponent.  Gonzalez did manage to leave his mark on Hernandez; unfortunately it was in the form of his own blood, which soiled Jose’s otherwise immaculate Mexican flag trunks.  The decision was academic as all three judges scored for Hernandez 69-80, 69-80 and 71-79.

In the lead-in to the main event, Esteban (Steve) Almaraz (7-0, 4 KO’s) registered an ultra impressive 4th round KO over Leo Herrera (6-3, 3 KO’s), of Dallas.  Almaraz was reminiscent of a welterweight Alexis Arguello at times, with his form of in-the-pocket counterpunching.  This is probably attributed to Almaraz’s trainer, Jesse Ravelo.  Ravelo was an assistant coach on the 1996 U.S. Olympic boxing team consisting of Floyd Mayweather, Jr., Antonio Tarver, “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas, David Reid, David Diaz and others.  The aggressive Herrera never had to look for Almaraz, cause Steve certainly wasn’t running from him.  Instead, Almaraz pivoted and countered exquisitely, whenever Herrera brought the fight to him.  Herrera was painfully picked apart with jabs and left hooks, in particular, which had him buckling and bleeding by round 2.  In the 3rd, Almaraz skillfully punished his opponent with right hands, left hooks and an occasional body shot.  Herrera met his end in round 4, when a left uppercut to the body dropped him for a full 10-count.

Allen’s Antonio “The Juggernaut” Reyes improved his record to 3-1 with a 4 round decision over Gerardo Alarcon (0-1) in a super featherweight bout.  With his crowd-pleasing style, chiseled physique and sense of showmanship (this man wears shades at his weigh-ins!), Reyes’ fan base grows with each fight.  He was certainly a favorite with the round card girls, who usually don’t have an opinion one way or the other.  Antonio consistently beat Alarcon to the punch, unleashed several nice flurries and dropped him with a straight right in round 2.  Alarcon applied more pressure as the fight progressed, but Reyes used angles and peppered him with counters.  In the final round, a frustrated Alarcon started spewing verbal excrement, but it was to no avail.  He knew he had lost and the verdict was unanimous 40-35, 40-35, 39-36.  Afterwards, Reyes, ever the showman, mingled with the fight crowd wearing a suit and matching brim.

The fight of the night, and potentially North Texas Boxing’s “Fight of the Year” was waged between Joel Hernandez and Rafael Casias.  The scheduled distance was 4 rounds, but it was apparent very early that this bout wasn’t going to last the duration. These two bantamweights collided like mack trucks, producing an epic slugfest to the appreciative delight of the Eddie Dean’s Ranch crowd.  Seconds into the fray, Hernandez (1-0, 1 KO) hurt Casias and battered him against the ropes.  Casias (0-2) definitely made Hernadez “feel” him, but he got the worst of the furious exchanges.  By the beginning of round 2, Casias’ left eye was already swelling, and the two warriors literally took turns pounding each other.  One would trap the other in a corner, unleash a flurry until he got arm weary, then the other would spin and return the favor.  All the while, the fans were in awe as the fighters tore into one another back and forth.  Just prior to the bell, a huge left hook dropped Casias hard.  He beat the count but was on extremely unsteady legs.  This was how Dallas vs. Ft. Worth turf wars are supposed to be and you’ll never see two better rounds of action in your entire life.

Argenis Santos, brother of Garland’s Americo Santos, Jr., made a comeback after more than four years out of the ring, beating Dennis Gregory in a 4 rounder.  From the outset, Santos was on Gregory like flies to feces and dug wicked body shots into his sides and midsection.  But having served in Iraq, Gregory (0-2) is undeniably tough and unflinchingly answered with jabs and counters, bloodying Santos’ nose.  Santos (2-0-1, 1 KO) scored a knockdown in round 3, but it appeared that he pulled Gregory down by his head instead.  Fatigue cost Santos the last round, but it wasn’t enough for him to lose the fight.  There was a rumor floating around that Santos failed to make weight and wasn’t paid at all.  If there’s any truth to that, it’s admirable that a man would fight for free, let alone win.  The judges had it 40-35, 39-36 and 38-37, all for Santos.

 The first bout of the evening pitted two jr. middleweights against each other as Juan Alejo Lira met Andrew Acosta.  From the outset, Lira (1-0) was the busier, more aggressive fighter compared to Acosta’s tentative, defensive approach.  A left hook in round 2 hurt Acosta (0-2) and seemed to wake him up, simultaneously.  From there he fought with a bit more passion but still wound up eating jabs and hooks.  The 4th and final round was Acosta’s best, but his efforts were too late.  The judges unanimously ruled in Lira’s favor, 40-36, 39-37 and 39-37.