San Juan, P.R.-It was a packed house at the Pedrín Zorrila Coliseum where Daniel Jiménez scored a spectacular twelfth round knockout of Marcos Jiménez. The crowd was treated to twelve rounds of great back and forth action and got their money’s worth through out the night.
The main event of the evening pitted fellow Dominicans Daniel “Azuquita” Jiménez (19-3-1 11KO’s) against Marcos “El Tigre” Jiménez (16-2 10KO’s) for the vacant WBA Fedecentro Junior Lightweight Title. Both fighters were strongly cheered coming in but chants of “Azuquita, Azuquita!” overwhelmed Jimenez’s followers. The referee in charge of the action, of which there was plenty of, was Jose H. Rivera.
The first round saw both fighters land clean punches with “El Tigre” (TheTiger) finishing stronger. Azuquita looked sharper in the second where even though he suffered a small cut over his right eye managed to noticeably swell his opponents’ left eye with stiff jabs and straights. In the third round, Marcos seemed more focused and landed with more efficiency while using good movement to evade the oncoming assault.
The Tiger used his jab well and landed some powerful uppers in the fourth to open a cut under Azuquita’s (Little Sugat) left eye who managed to land but seemed to mostly get the worst of the exchanges. Both fighters ended the fifth round bleeding and after a closely fought round, Azuquita managed to force El Tigre against the ropes and the crowd to their feet. Daniel kept up the pressure in the sixth and forced his opponent to fight going backwards the entire round.
Halfway into the seventh round both fighters decided to trade in the center of the ring but El Tigre’s defense and movement gave him an edge as Azuquita would miss most of his punches. Both fighters were warned for low blows in the eighth and both landed good shots. The ninth saw a slightly smaller volume of punches thrown but the intention with which they were thrown was only getting more intense and Daniel upped the pressure to finish the round stronger and hurt his opponent seconds before the round ended.
Round ten had Azuquita taking advantage of Marco’s lower punch output and slower movement to win the round clearly. Marcos used his jab and landed powerful uppers inside before the round turned into an all out slugfest that got the whole crowd to its feet. Fighters hugged in a complementing way before the start of the last round and then immediately went at it. Marcos seemed to be getting the better part of the round until a powerful right hand put him down. He tried to get up but the referee stopped it as he did not look apt to continue at 2:05 of the twelfth and final round.
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Daniel Jiménez gets the title and reroutes his career with the spectacular knockout victory while Marcos Jiménez hits a bump in the road. Still, for both fighters, the manner in which they fought should help them up their respective crowds and establish them as viable fighters for many upcoming bouts.
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In the semi-stellar bout, former Puerto Rican Olympian Carlos Negrón (3-0 3KO’s) of Villalba suffered the first knockdown of his career from a counter right in his first round against Geovante Davis (3-3-1 2KO’s) from Gulfport, Mississippi. Negrón was dominating the round before the sneaky punch caught him but got up and didn’t seem hurt. The former Olympian continued to dominate in the second round, landing a variety of blows on his opponent before referee Ramón Navedo stopped it at 2:05 of the second round.
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Negrón talked with 15rounds.com after the bout and said he will learn from the knockdown which he says came because he was too confident. His plans now include fighting six rounders possibly in September and October with a third fight before the year ends.
The evening oponed with Luis Adorno (1-0 1KO) of Bayamón, Puerto Rico making his profesional debut against still to win Carlos Velázquez (0-3) of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Velázquez refused to go out for the fourth round of the bout set at the lightweight limit. Actual time of stoppage was 0:01 of the fourth.
In another lightweight fight set for four, Luis Joel González (2-0, 2KO) of Bayamón, Puerto Rico put José Morales (0-1) of Luquillo, Puerto Rico down in the first round en route to a stoppage win. Referee Ramón Navedo halted the action at 1:55 of the same round after Morales appeared defenseless against his opponent.
The third bout was set at the junior middleweight division and before it was over the crowd was chanting for the fighters to leave. Scores were 39-37 twice and 40-36 all for Emil González (2-0 1KO’s) of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico who bored everyone while defeating Eduardo Adorno (1-10-1 0KO’s) of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico.
In an explosive first round Amador Acevedo (3-5-1 3KO’s) of Moca, Puerto Rico knocked out Julio García (3-2 2KO’s) of Rincón, Puerto Rico at just 1:32 into the round. García barely beat the count but was in no condition to continue. The bout was fought at a maximum of 175 lbs.
In a four rounder at the junior flyweight division, Julio Irizarry (1-1 1KO) of Yauco, Puerto Rico and Erickson “Kiki” Martell (2-1-1 2KO) of San Juan, Puerto Rico in went at it from the first bell. Irizarry scored a flash knock down in the first and Martell his own knock down in the third and finally put him down in the fourth for a TKO win at 1:16 of the fourth and final round. Both young fighters showed skill and heart beyond their experience and were rewarded by the audience with a long standing ovation.
The only six round bout for the evening pitted Joan Cesáreo (6-3, 1KO) of Luquillo, Puerto Rico against José González (7-0 5KO’s) of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico at the lightweight limit. González switched stances and out boxed Cesáreo until Cesáreo’s corner threw in the towel and the bout was stopped at 0:54 of the fourth round.
Daniel Jiménez (18-3-1 10KO’s) 129.6lbs.
Dominican Republic
Marcos Jiménez (16-1 10KO’s) 128lbs.
Dominican Republic
Geovante Davis (3-3-1 2KO’s) 181lbs.
Gulfport, Mississippi
Carlos Negrón (3-0 3KO’s) 182lbs.
Villalba, Puerto Rico
Joan Cesáreo (6-2, 1KO) 134.9lbs.
Luquillo, Puerto Rico
José González (6-0 4KO’s) 134.6lbs.
Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
Julio Irizarry (1-0 1KO) 109.3lbs
Yauco, Puerto Rico
Erickson Martell (1-1-1 1KO) 109.6lbs
San Juan, Puerto Rico
4rds – 175lbs
Amador Acevedo (2-5-1 2KO’s) 173.5lbs
Moca, Puerto Rico
Julio García (3-1 2KO’s) 173.1lbs
Rincón, Puerto Rico
4rds – 126lbs
Héctor Hernández (0-1) 127.7lbs
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
José del Valle (Pro Debut) 124.1lbs
Corozal, Puerto Rico
4rds – 154lbs
Eduardo Adorno (1-9-1 0KO’s) 155.2lbs
Vega Alta, Puerto Rico
Emil González (1-0 1KO’s) 155.1lbs
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
4rds – 135lbs
José Morales (Pro Debut) 135lbs
Luquillo, Puerto Rico
Luis Joel González (1-0, 1KO) 137.1lbs
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
4rds – 135lbs
Luis Adorno (Pro Debut) 135lbs
Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Carlos Velázquez (0-2) 135lbs
San Juan, Puerto Rico