Diaz Regains His Contender Status at Hef’s House

By Mario Ortega & Gary Herman (Ringside)

On Wednesday night, Hugh Hefner invited an intimate group of friends over to his house for an entertaining night at the fights. In what has become a summer tradition, ESPN2 Wednesday Night Fights emanated from the world famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, California.

Julio Diaz (35-4, 26 KOs) of Coachella, California proved he does in fact have something left in the tank by scoring a decisive fifth-round knockout of previously unbeaten David Torres (20-1, 13 KOs) of Othello, Washington. From the outset, Diaz, 139.2, displayed the boxing acumen that made him a two-time IBF Lightweight Champion. Torres, 136, failed to follow the blueprint that Juan Diaz, a fighter of a similar style, had laid out for him last October. In the third, Diaz sent Torres down against the ropes for the first knockdown of the fight. Torres bravely rose to his feet before finding himself trapped in the corner on the receiving end of a brutal flurry to close the round. Going into the fifth Torres had absorbed a brutal beating, his swollen face telling the tale. In the fifth, after Diaz scored another knockdown, the referee consulted the ringside physician and called the fight at 1:25 of the round.

While it proved not to hurt him in the fight, Diaz admitted after that he was not worried about his opponent going into the bout. “To be honest with you, if I have never heard of them, then I am not going to be worried,” said Diaz after the fight. Diaz, who came in over the contracted weight, said that it was due to a misunderstanding. Diaz game Torres credit for his heart, “ He was a tough kid, he took a lot of punches.”

Henry Buchanan (17-1, 11 KOs) of Capital Heights, Maryland, recently signed Sycuan Ringside Promotions, scored a dominating ninth round TKO of game Brian Norman (16-8, 4 KOs) of Decatur, Georgia. Buchanan, 168, got off to a slow start, but took complete control of the fight from round four on. Norman, 168, stood tough, but finally went down after a brutal series in the ninth. Referee Lou Moret called a halt to the bout without a count at 1:02 of the round.

After the bout, Buchanan discussed his pre-fight expectations of the bout. “I knew it was a matter of time before I got him, but he did come to fight,” said Buchanan. “Sugar Poo,” as he is nicknamed, also mentioned his desire to get back down to the 160-pound ranks. “I want to get to regular middleweight, at 160, because I am taking hard punches from these guys. But, like I said, I have a cast-iron jaw. I’m not going anywhere.”

Hells Angel Jason Peterson (2-0, 1 KO) of San Francisco, California scored an entertaining four-round decision over Andrew Zerger (0-4) of the Bronx, New York. Peterson, 163, kept a busy pace throughout the entire bout, outworking his winless foe. Zerger, 164 ½, had his moments early in the second, but the rest of the fight was controlled by his heavily tattooed opponent. They stood toe-to-toe to end the bout, with Peterson holding an edge in power and precision. All three judges scored the shutout in favor of Peterson, 40-36. 15rounds.com agreed with the judges.

Former amateur standout Melissa McMorrow (1-0) of San Carlos, California scored a hard-fought unanimous decision over always tough Mayela Perez in an evenly contested four-round super flyweight bout. McMorrow and Perez traded punch for punch for four hard to score rounds. In the end McMorrow was awarded the decision, as two judges scored the bout 39-37, with the other scoring it 40-36. 15rounds.com scored the bout a draw, 39-39.

Taking the fight on a day’s notice, Alejandro Bogarin (8-5-3, 2 KOs) of Ontario, California scored a minor upset, with a four-round split decision victory over Joel Mills (4-3-1, 1 KO) of Los Angeles, California in a four-round middleweight bout. It appeared that Mills, 158 ½, had out hustled Bogarin, 154 ½, enough to deserve the victory, but the judges ruled against him to the dismay of many of the onlookers. Scores read 40-36, 39-37 for Bogarin, with one judge scoring the bout 39-37 for Mills. 15rounds.com scored the bout 39-37 for Mills.

Another former amateur star from the Bay Area made a solid showing in his professional debut, as Santos Soto III (1-0) of San Francisco, California scored a four-round unanimous decision over rugged Raymundo Ortega (1-3, 1 KO) of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico in a light middleweight contest. Soto, one of the top amateurs in Northern California for the last several years, out landed his durable foe for the four rounds on his way to a shutout, 40-36 on all three judges’ cards. Soto, 154 ½, and Ortega, 154 ½, took turns winging shots in the center of the ring for the duration of the fight. 15rounds.com was in agreement with the judges on the scoring, as Soto did just enough to win every round.

Among the many luminaries on hand, WBC Light Middleweight Champion Sergio Mora, WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Chad Dawson, Fernando Angulo, UFC superstar Chuck Liddell and, of course, Hugh’s girlfriends: Holly, Kendra and Bridget. Holly and Bridget, in full bunny attire, acted as ring card girls for several of the rounds. Talented and stunning recording artist Morgan Ashley performed the National Anthem. The card, promoted by Sycuan Ringside Promotions, was a private event televised as part of ESPN2 Wednesday Night Fights.

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com