 When it comes to boxing, two names come to mind, Jesus Chavez and James “Mandingo” Kirkland, but on Saturday night at the Frank Erwin Center Austin was introduced to the Lightweight division in what was one of the most action packed fight cards of the year. Lightweight Lightning, as the card was billed, definitely lived up to its name and even if it did start out like frozen molasses, hopefully it will encourage more promoters to bring their fights to the city of Austin.
As my wife and I entered the Frank Erwin Center we found out that our tickets were in the nosebleed section, not that it mattered much since the first five fights were so boring the round card girls were getting more cheers than the boxers in the ring. Of course you can’t really blame the fans; boxing matches are only place other than a strip club where you can see a woman wearing a bikini and high heels. If you don't believe me just try asking your girlfriend to throw on a pair of heels the next time you go to the beach and see what happens.
After the fifth fight mercifully ended a no decision, visions of a
wasting a c-note on a series of boring ass hug fests were starting to
linger. Luckily for Golden Boy Promotions and the fans in the sixth
fight lightweight prospect Adrien Broner broke the monotony by knocking
out Angel Rodriguez in spectacular fashion. The best part was that
Broner’s knock out invigorated the restless crowd and also signaled the
end of the non-televised portion of the fight card. Why did that
matter? Well if you’re like me and have never been to a televised fight
the best way to describe the difference between the televised and
non-televised portions is to imagine if you went to a Spurs game and
were forced to watch local pick up players play for two straight hours
before the NBA player came on the court to play.
As an added bonus to finally witnessing the first knock out of
the evening, fans in the nosebleed seats were invited to come down and
fill up the stands behind the ring so that the arena looked full for
Pay Per View telecast. I can’t even begin to tell you how cool this was
because in a matter of minutes our view went from watching a couple of
ants battle in a matchbox, to basically being close enough to see the
blood and sweat flying off the fighter's faces.
This was a good thing because the seventh fight between Julio
Diaz and Rolando Reyes had everything that I look for in a fight. Two
legitimate contenders, two fighters who are more interested in kicking
ass than looking pretty and of course a knock out! It took a while for
the action to get started and the fans let the fighters know by booing
them like it was amateur night at the Apollo, but in the fifth round
Reyes caught Diaz with a vicious counter that crushed the former champ
like an empty beer can.
The eight fight between the 2004 Olympic Silver Medal winner
Vicente Escobedo and 38-year-old veteran Carlos Hernandez was just an
all out brawl. Ecobedo dropped Hernandez in each of the first two
rounds, but Hernandez battled back and even knocked Escobedo down in
the seventh round. Replays showed that Hernandez had stepped on
Escobedo’s foot but the crowd didn’t care because the fight was just
too exciting. In the end Escobedo won the fight, but in going the
distance Hernandez showed the kind of heart that legends are made of.
Up next was the Katsidis vs. Chavez fight and when Austin based
Jesus Chavez came out of his dressing room the Frank Erwin Center
absolutely exploded. It was like a rock star had taken the stage as the
fans stood and cheered for the local hero. Katsidis, for his part,
played the role of villain well coming out to boos in his trademark
(and dorky) Spartan Warrior helmet. Once the theatrics were finished
Chavez and Katsidis traded haymakers for four straight rounds before a
cut from an accidental head but opened up a gash in Chavez’s hairline.
From that point on Chavez fought desperately to take out Katsidis but
the Australian fighter was just too fast and too strong. Chavez battled
valiantly, but after the seventh round Katsidis's punches had take
their toll and his corner alerted the referee that he was unable to
continue. It was a fitting end for Chavez who announced his retirement
from boxing after the fight ending a career that featured world titles
in the junior lightweight and lightweight divisions.
After the Chavez fight it felt like all of the air had been
taken out of the arena and the disappointed Austin fans seemed ready to
call it a night. But then Edwin Valero and Antonio Pitalua entered the
ring to fight the world lightweight title and we all caught our 10th
wind. I mean anytime you get to witness a fight that features a fighter
(Valero) that looks like a former member of Menudo gone bad and another
fighter (Pitalua) that looks like one of the villains from Miami
Vice…the 80’s version you have to be excited right? Both fighters were
known as knockout artists, but it was Valero that proved to be the
bigger bad ass when he flattened Pitalua with a flush left hand that
left the fighter struggling to find his feet. Pitalua managed to beat
the count, but he would’ve been better advised to stay on the mat as
Valero dropped him twice more before the referee mercifully called an
end to the fight in the second round.
Valero’s devastating knock out was a fitting end to an amazing
boxing card that lived up to the billing of “Lightweight Lightning”.
And even though the sales for the fight may have been less than
impressive this fight fan hopes that Golden Boy Promotions will return
to Austin and give boxing fans a repeat performance.
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Sports Junkie 
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