Cruz Upsets Mashaba!!!!
Captures IBO Title
March 7, 2008
Ringside Report: Scott Ploof and Bill Luppert
Photos: Marty Rosengarten/ringsidephotos.com
History was made on Friday night as the last ever boxing event was held at the Fox Theatre located inside of Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Mashantucket, CT as a sellout crowd witnessed the main event of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights that featured a surprise upset, while the co-feature bout of the evening ended in controversy.
Tijuana, Mexico's Cristobal Cruz (36-11-1, 23 KOs) scored quite possibly the biggest victory of his sixteen year pro career since he knocked out former world champion Luisito Espinosa (47-13, 26 KOs) back in 2005. Cruz earned a hard fought twelve round majority decision over Thomas Mashaba (20-2-4, 12 KOs) of South Africa and captured the IBO featherweight belt in the process.
This contest was supposed to be Mashaba's highly touted debut as it was his first fight in the United States but unfortunately he was unsuccessful in his sixth defense of the IBO title. Going into the match-up, Mashaba was coming off the best victory of his career in November 2007 as he got off of the canvas in the sixth round to come back and knock out former IBF title holder Eric Aiken (16-7-1, 12 KOs). Although Mashaba was able to land the cleaner and more effective shots in the contest, he was simply out worked and out landed by Cruz
At only 30 years of age, Cruz has been in the ring with the likes of former world champion Zahir Raheem (29-2, 17 KOs) and Jorge Solis (34-1, 25 KO's) whose only loss came at the hands of current WBC super featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao (45-3-2, 35 KOs).
Both fighters came out swinging in round one. Mashaba was successful in landing a jab from the outside early, but Cruz kept coming forward. Cruz landed low with a hook and was warned by veteran referee Steve Smoger.
Cruz remained on the offensive in the second round by trying to press the action in close while Mashaba utilized his speed to keep a distance from his often charging adversary. Mashaba continued to jab and move however Cruz was able to counter effectively to the body and then head with hooks that slowed the movement of his opponent. He seemed to be more patient and selective with his punching, while Cruz threw punches wildly hoping to connect anywhere on MashabaÕs body or head that he could.
"Merciless" Thomas Mashaba came out of his corner firing punches in the third and was able to avoid the sometimes wild attack from Cruz. Mashaba landed to the body of the new IBO title-holder causing him to limp around as if he was hit with a low blow. Referee Steve Smoger did not see the punch land low or felt that it was a legal blow and ordered them to continue fighting.
Cruz continued to punish the body and follow it up with a hook to the head of Mashaba landing several of these combinations in round four. Mashaba countered with a nice left hook but was unable to follow it up as Cruz continued to out-land Mashaba at times at a rate of three punches to one.
Over the next few rounds, Cruz consistently kept the pressure on Mashaba by throwing an almost insane amount of hook combinations, so many that it was too hard to keep track of their frequency and accuracy. Due to the fact that Cruz was constantly punching without any regard to the consequences of his actions, there were opportunities where he left himself open to allow Mashaba to counter effectively with the uppercut when in close and with the straight right hand to keep his opponent back at a safe distance.
During the course of rounds seven and eight, Mashaba controlled the tempo as he was successful in using his jab to setup the overhand right hook. He kept Cruz at a safe distance where he was able to fire, land, and then back away. Mashaba got caught with a right hook late in the eighth round from Cruz that had him stunned and reeling backwards. Cruz went to follow up on his previous attack just as the bell rang and the two fighters exchanged a few late punches before referee Steve Smoger stepped in to separate the two combatants.
Both fighters seemed exhausted at this point in the fight going into the ninth round as Mashaba seemed tired and hurt from taking the worst of most of the exchanges, while Cruz seemed fatigued mostly because of his extremely high punch output. It appeared Mashaba was actually starting to get the better of this situation as he continued to settle down by connecting with a jab and hook combination, keeping a safe distance away from Cruz.
As soon as the bell rang to begin round ten, the same fighter that fought and won the first four rounds returned as Cruz immediately smothered Mashaba and peppered him with hooks to his body and head. Mashaba countered with a straight right and also landed a punishing right hook to the chin of Cruz that garnered a substantial reaction from the crowd. The punch did not seem to effect or prevent Cruz as he still pressed forward, coming in to fight inside and land more punishment to the midsection of Mashaba which backed him into the ropes as the round came to a close.
Cruz did not let up in the eleventh as he landed twice to the body along with a left uppercut that had the crowd on its feet. Sensing that the end of the bout could occur at any second, Mashaba stayed clear of Cruz, who was looking for that one punch to connect that could have ended the fight. He had landed a decent flurry that had referee Smoger keeping a close eye on the action in the event that he might have to step in and stop the fight. Mashaba showed the heart and determination that originally won him the IBO title as he was able to battle back and fight his way out of trouble as the bell rang to signify that the final round drew near. As he walked back toward his corner, Cruz raised both of his arms sensing that just maybe he had the fight in hand as the crowd cheered in approval of his performance thus far in the bout.
It was only appropriate that the twelfth and final round would be as competitive as the entire fight was as neither backed down as they exchanged hooks. At this point it was very obvious that both fighters had exhausted themselves and were simply out of gas. As the seconds ticked down to the final bell and Cruz getting the better of the exchanges late in the round, the crowd could sense the energy that a possible upset was in the making.
Judge Glenn Feldman scored the bout a draw at 114-114. Judges Tom muhammad and Mike Pernick both scored it 115-113 giving Cruz the majority decision. His key to his victory was his ability to throw a ton of punches at Mashaba. He threw a total of 1,580 punches at Mashaba during the contest, as this kept Mashaba on the defensive instead of letting him settle down, move, and land the jab.
The final fight card at the Fox Theater was promoted by Art Pelullo's Banner Promotions and Rodney Berman's Golden Gloves Promotions. ESPN2's Friday Night Fights has held over 50 professional fight cards at the almost 1,400 seat Fox Theatre and taking its place as the future home for boxing at Foxwoods will be at the new 4,000 seat MGM Grand Theater opening this coming May. -- Scott Ploof
Cruz vs Mashaba Photos
Gonzalez - LeHoullier Fight to Draw!
Junior middleweight Jose Gonzalez (11-2-1, 9 KOs) stood up to the challenge on two weeks notice to battle in the co-feature attraction of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights against an undefeated pugilist that was fighting in his hometown of New England. "I had two weeks notice on this fight but I was already training for a fight during the Super Bowl weekend in Arizona and two days before that scheduled fight, they cancelled it. So I stayed in the gym and me along with my team, we were ready. We were ready to go," said Gonzalez after his effective performance.
Luckily for the still unbeaten Jason LeHoullier (21-0-1, 8 KOs) that he was the hometown fighter as he was able to keep his record unblemished by receiving a very controversial draw in their scheduled ten round bout that left the NABA junior middleweight title still without an owner. Judge George Smith scored the bout 97-93 in favor of Gonzalez. Judge Clark Sammartino scored the bout a draw at 95-95 even. Judge Don Trella scored the bout 96-94 in favor of LeHoullier.
FightNews scored the bout 97-93 in favor of Gonzalez, agreeing with Judge Smith. To have even given a couple of the close rounds to LeHoullier would have at most placed the bout at a draw as Judge Sammartino saw the contest. After the conclusion of the bout, ESPN2's Teddy Atlas had scored the fight on television 99-91 in favor of Gonzalez.
The New Hampshire native LeHoullier came out of his corner firing his jab and moving around the ring well in the first round. He had Gonzalez puzzled early with his attack as he countered effectively and had frustrated his adversary. Gonzalez took out that frustration when he made LeHoullier miss at the end of the round. He then made LeHoullier pay as Gonzalez woke him up with a short right hook that surprised his favored opponent. It was at that time that LeHoullier realized that he was going to be in for a battle. "This fight was one of the tougher ones," said LeHoullier afterwards to the media when asked if this was his toughest test to date.
LeHoullier exploded again out of the gate in round two by landing a big right hook flush to the jaw of Gonzalez. He went to follow it up with a left to the body and got caught with a barrage of hooks from Gonzalez. It was then that Gonzalez discovered the way to take his opponent off of his game plan and that was to throw several sweeping combinations to LeHoullier's midsection. Once LeHoullier would put his gloves down to block the body attack, he would instantly get clocked with a left and right hook combination from Gonzalez.
A pattern started to slowly develop as the third round progressed. It seemed every time LeHoullier would connect with a punch, Gonzalez would immediately fire barrages of hooks in retaliation to the body as he remained active and scored points with the judges as well as the pro LeHoullier crowd. Another positive for Gonzalez in round three was that unlike the previous two rounds, he was landing punches on LeHoullier first. This slowed down LeHoullier from coming inside on Gonzalez, however he was still able to land a solid hook to the body of the Kansas native as the round came to a close.
Gonzalez simply took the fight away from LeHoullier from the fourth round on as he simply landed more and worked harder than his adversary. He consistently worked the body and then landed with an uppercut on LeHoullier that had him hurt as swelling began to appear as the round came to a close.
By the fifth round both fighters began to show signs of fatigue as LeHoullier began to throw wild punches as Gonzalez seemed to lose some of the snap when he connected with his offensive attack. Both fighters seemed to punch themselves out towards the end of the round as they almost both fell over from exhaustion from the often fast paced action. A late uppercut from Gonzalez quite probably gave the round to him as two of the three judges thought we won the round on the cards.
Gonzalez continued to land the more effective punches to the midsection of LeHoullier in the sixth. Although LeHoullier should have at this point probably jabbed and moved around the ring, he continued to stand still while Gonzalez connected at will. The only thing that probably kept LeHoullier on his feet in this round is his superior conditioning as he was able to endure three consecutive uppercuts from Gonzalez that normally would have put any other fighter on their back staring at the lights.
The onslaught of hooks to the body of LeHoullier continued to take their toll as it opened him up to allow Gonzalez to land effectively with a hard left hook. LeHoullier continued to fight hard despite some bruising and swelling over his right eye all caused by the powerful hooks from Gonzalez. The normally pro LeHoullier crowd started cheering for Gonzalez as it was clear he was the busier and more effective of the two.
It became obvious that LeHoullier knew he was behind on the scorecards as he was very much fighting like a desperate fighter in the ninth round as he was content to try and land one large bomb in the hopes that he would hurt Gonzalez and try to knock him out. FightNews asked LeHoullier afterwards if there was any point during the fight that you felt like he might have been behind on the cards and needed to step up in order secure what you thought was a victory? As a man of few words, LeHoullier replied by saying, "maybe in the last couple of rounds."
Gonzalez appeared to now have a second wind as he probably sensed that the fight was going his way. When asked afterwards about his strategy, Gonzalez said that it was to "try to take him apart and box him to death. I know his style is to come in and be aggressive."
As the final round began, Gonzalez was eager to trade with LeHoullier as he had been getting the better of the exchanges throughout the majority of the fight. LeHoullier got caught late with a flurry from Gonzalez that had him with his back against the ropes. Gonzalez was close to almost stopping LeHoullier as the final bell sounded to end the contest.
The ring announcer then announced the judges' decision of a draw and that was greeted by the usually pro LeHoullier crowd with a well deserved round of boos from the audience. It seemed to be a decision that was very favorable to the hometown fighter, LeHoullier. After the fight, FightNews asked LeHoullier if he thought he won the bout. LeHoullier responded by saying, "I thought the fight was awful close. I thought I might have won the fight by one or two rounds, and I knew it was close. I feel like I might have let it slip away, so I am disappointed."
When asked how he thought he could have done better in the fight, LeHoullier said, "If I was able to land a shorter right hand as I kept over extending my punches and I wanted to land the left hook the body. I kept letting the punch just sort of hang out there. He is an aggressive and a tough fighter. He kept coming right at me. I was trying to setup the left hook to the body and I was landing with it but I forgot about his hook."
Jason LeHoullier was originally slated to take on undefeated Harry Joe Yorgey (20-0-1, 9 KOs). Yorgey was forced to pull out of the fight a couple of weeks ago after an ongoing legal dispute ensued between the fighter and his former manager that forced him to ultimately back out of the fight thus giving Gonzalez a shot at the NABA junior middleweight title. The decision could now perhaps setup a rematch between these two fighters to finally settle who the better fighter is, however in any other city, Gonzalez would have ended up with the decision.
When asked about the decision as you could imagine Gonzalez was disappointed when he said, "I was very surprised by the decision and I know that he is signed by the promoter and thought I would come here to lose, but I am from a small town (Garden City) in Kansas, and I came here to fight. My style is very perfect against his style so I thought that I won the fight clearly. I guess Teddy Atlas had me winning nine rounds. You cannot say anything about Teddy, and when he gives you the fight that clearly, you know you won the fight." -- Scott Ploof
LeHoullier vs Gonzalez Photos
Vlasov Stops Aquiar!
Super Middleweight Max Vlasov improved to (11-0-1, 3 KOs) with a fifth round TKO over Rodrigo Aguiar. The bout was halted after Aguiar's corner threw in the towel at 2:27 of the round.
Both men came out in the first round trying to feel each other out, but Vlasov soon found out Aguiar had no defense for his right hand. He used that right hand to drop Aguiar at the end of the round.
Both fighters came out in the second round and immediately began to fight at close quarters, with Vlasov getting the better of the exchanges. Aguiar didn't back down and was firing back shots of his own. Vlasov was able to trap Aguiar on the ropes and landed numerous right hands which caused blood to flow from the nose of Aguiar.
As the scheduled eight round bout continued, Vlasov began to take control of the fight by consistently drilling Aguiar with his right hand. Even though the punch was effective, Aguiar still didn't back down. It was obvious though that the punches began to take their toll.
After watching their fighter take enough punishment, Aguiar's corner finally threw in the towel causing an end to the contest. Aguiar drops to (4-5, 3 KOs). -- Bill Luppert
Vlasov vs Aquiar Photos
Provodnikov Stops Roman in One!
Ruslan Provodnikov (7-0, 6 KOs) made quick work of veteran Jose Angel Roman (10-22-5, 4 KOs) in their scheduled six round junior welterweight bout by dropping him twice en route to a first round stoppage at 2:28 of the round.
Provodnikov dropped Roman the first time with two vicious rights to the body followed by a right to the head. Roman was able to beat the count but was soon dropped again from another right hand. He again beat the count but after taking more punishment from Provodnikov, referee Eddie Claudio waived off the fight. -- Bill Luppert
Provodnikov vs Roman Photos
Muhammad KOs Gaxiola!
Super Flyweight Qa'id Muhammad (1-0, 1 KO) made his pro debut a successful one with a devastating and downright scary fourth round knockout over the winless Mario Gaxiola (0-3).
Muhammad dominated Gaxiola from start to finish dropping him in each of the first two rounds.
In the final round, Muhammad landed a flush left uppercut/hook that knocked Gaxiola out cold with one second remaining in the fight. Gaxiola's head violently hit the canvas with such force that the sound could be heard throughout the Fox Theater.
Doctors immediately rushed to Gaxiola's side and moments later could be seen talking to doctors. An oxygen airbag was given to Gaxiola, who was removed from the ring on a backboard and transported to nearby Backus Hospital in Norwich as a precaution. -- Bill Luppert
Muhammad vs Gaxiola Photos
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