Cintrón and Oquendo score stoppage wins in Puerto Rico

San Juan, P.R.- Former welterweight belt holder Kermit “The Killer” Cintrón (32-2-1 28KO’s) of Reading, Pennsylvania forced Brazilian Juliano Ramos (15-3 12KO’s) fighting out of Vero Beach, Florida to remain on his stool after the fourth round. The bout was set at a catch weight of 150lbs. and scheduled for ten rounds.

In the first two rounds, Cintrón kept the distance with solid jabs and straight rights while Ramos tried to counter mostly with hooks to the body. Cintrón let his hands go a little more in the third and caught Ramos with several right hands one of which appeared to hurt Ramos near the end of the round. Ramos went down again in the fourth from a right hook/straight and made it to his feet and the end of the round but his corner gave the signal that they would not come out for more.

Cintrón looked sharp and fast against a limited opponent who seemed too tentative. The stoppage was at 0:01 of the fifth round giving the knockout artist another win before the final bell. With the victory Cintrón takes his winning streak to two in a row after having beat Alfredo Angulo by decision in his previous outing.

The co-stellar feature pitted featherweights Jonathan “Polvo” Oquendo (17-2 11KO’s) of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico against Juan José Beltrán (19-15-3 11KO’s) of Los Mochis Mexico. Beltrán took a knee in the first round after several body shots pushed him back against the ropes and was looking sluggish compared to Oquendo. A powerful left to the body put Beltrán down again in the second and after getting up and receiving several more shots, the fight was stopped at 1:34. Oquendo got a quick victory against a veteran fighter and keeps open several opportunities in a division with fleeting talent.

Oquendo’s losses have come against Puerto Rican WBO champion Juan Manuel López and a questionable DQ against Oscar “Pajarito” Andrade. He now trains with López’ camp and said he plans to remain at 122lbs. for the time being.

The night started with a four round bout between Carlos Delgado (0-1) of Carolina against Daniel Rosario (1-0 1KO), each fighting for the first time in their careers. The first round was fairly even with both fighters landing mostly single shots at a time. After that, Rosario used his jab to effectively land right hands and eventually several combinations. The fight was stopped at 2:26 of the last round when Rosario overwhelmed his opponent with powerful combinations to the head and body. The bout was fought at the junior welterweight limit.

Next up were Gabriel Arbelo (0-2) of Toa Baja and Anthony Salgado (1-0 1KO) of Vega Baja set for four in the bantamweight division. Salgado dropped Arbelo with a short left hook in the first round but lowered his punch output in the second. In the third round, Salgado once again dropped Arbelo with another left hook and although Arbelo managed to get to his feet he was in no condition to continue and told the referee so. The result was a technical knockout at 1:54 of the third.

Daniel Rodríguez (0-1) of Río Grande and Giovanni Rodríguez (1-0) of Trujillo Alto made their respective professional debuts next fighting at the junior middleweight limit. The first two rounds were even with Giovanni trying to use his southpaw stance and reach to keep Daniel off. In the third, Giovanni seemed to gain an edge with some decent footwork but still couldn’t keep the fight from turning into a brawl on several occasions. After an exciting fourth round it went to the judges who handed scores of 39-37 and twice 40-36 for Giovanni Rodríguez.

A welterweight match set for four rounds was next pitting Carlos García of San Juan, Puerto Rico (3-6-1 3KO’s) against Jermall “Hitman” Charlo (6-0 2KO’s) of Houston, Texas. Charlo used his speedy jab from the get go and managed to land some hard rights on García in the first. Both fighters managed to land some good shots in the second but García got tagged and staggered by a powerful counter before the end of the round. A powerful right hand dropped García halfway through the third yet he managed to get up and see the end of the round. Charlo dropped García twice in the last round to get a victory by scores of 40-33 on all three cards. Charlo is trained by Ronny Shields and has speed to carry his nickname.

Another welterweight bout set for four followed. Jonanthony Vázquez (3-4-2 1KO) of Morovis faced Eliecer González (5-0 2KO’s) of Cupey Alto, home of Felix “Tito” Trinidad who was in attendance. González showed superior skills and poise but Vázquez had enough chin and heart to keep the bout interesting. While González managed to land cleaner and at a higher volume, Vázquez never stopped trying which made for an interesting bout. Scores were 40-36 on all three cards.

Heavyweights were up next with former Puerto Rican Olympian Victor Bisbal (15-1 11KO’s) facing Rubén Rivera (2-2 1KO). Bisbal used some fancy footwork to keep the ever charging Rivera off his game. Still, Rivera was taking everything that came his way with a smile as he seemed unfazed and managed to land several good shots of his own. Scores were 39-37 and 40-36 twice for Bisbal, but the crowd cheered for Rivera.

Opening the televised portion of the event were featherweights Christopher “Perrito” Rivera (3-3 3KO’s) of San Juan and Luis “Orlandito” del Valle (7-0 5KO’s) of Bayamón set for a maximum of six rounds. Del Valle appeared stronger and more willing to trade from the first round and put Rivera down with a left hook to the body in the second. Referee Roberto Ramírez Jr. stopped it at 2:01 of that same round giving del Valle a TKO victory.

Dominican Erickson “Kiki” Martell (2-1-1 2KO’s) fighting out of San Juan, Puerto Rico and Christian López ( 3-0-2 3KO’s) also of San Juan met at the flyweight limit and scheduled for six. The hard hitting pair traded from the get go. López landed mean left hooks to the head while Martell worked the body with some bombs. In the second Martell knocked López down but López came back strong again in the third. Both fighters went at it in the fourth landing both upstairs and downstairs.

Martell’s bodywork appeared to take effect in the fifth when López lowered his punch output a little only to pick the pace up in the last minute. The sixth round was just as explosive and had it lasted a little more, Martell might have gotten a stoppage. He stunned his opponent but didn’t have the time to finish it and López stood his ground and fought back harder than his short career would suggest him capable of. Martell again gave the fans an impressive fight against an opponent he had a previous draw against. Martell came out with the victory with scores of 57-56, 58-55 and 58-56.

Lightweights Javier García (6-3-1 2KO’s) and José “Chelo” González (8-0 5KO’s) scheduled for eight rounds was next and they kept the excitement going. Both fighters were willing to trade and showed decent boxing skills in the first. In the second however, González was looking stronger and got the stoppage at 2:49 into the round when a barrage of punches forced the referee to halt to hostilities.