Sweet homecoming for 'El Gato!'

Ringside by David Greene
Photos by: Marty Rosengarten

It was a sweet homecoming for hard hitting Frankie “El Gato” Figueroa (19-2, 13 KOs) - who was born in Puerto Rico but calls the Bronx his home - as he retained his NABF jr welterweight title with a one sided but impressive twelve round unanimous decision victory over Luis Rodriguez (22-2, 13 KOs) of Monterey, Mexico.

Figueroa - the #10 WBC, the #13 IBF and the #14 WBA ranked contender at junior welterweight - looked confident as he pressed the attack right from the opening bell, picking his chances to get inside the long jabs of the taller Rodriguez. Late in the opening round, a cut opened up over the right eye of the challenger from Mexico by an accidental clash of heads.

The Rodriguez corner did a great job of closing the cut between rounds and it was not much of a factor the rest of the way. Fighting for the first time out of Mexico, Rodriguez didn’t get flustered from the cut as he returned fire, banging away at the body of the champ in second round.

The tide turned again in round three as Figueroa finally worked his way inside, where he could unleash right hooks and straight lefts that backed up the taller Rodriguez.

Rounds four and five were more of the same as Figueroa continued to win short exchanges on the inside forcing Luis back peddle throughout.

Rodriguez had his best round of the fight in round six, with several long left jabs and right hands that kept the advancing Figueroa from finding the correct distance for his combinations.

In round seven, Figueroa was able to work his way inside to connect with a short left that drew blood from the nose of Rodriguez, who was also bleeding from the mouth and over the right eye as the round ended.

Appropriately nicknamed “El Gato,” Frankie Figueroa pounced in and out of range like cat with rugged combinations and leaping left hands as Rodriguez covered up from the advances in rounds eight through ten.

Both fighters had their moments the last two rounds, but it was Figueroa who looked stronger down the end, using constant pressure with two and three punch combos. Rodriguez was iron chinned though and fought valiantly while backing up until the final bell sounded to end the fight.

All three judges scored the bout easily in favor of Figueroa by scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 respectively.

COLLADO OUTWORKS ORTIZ!

Unbeaten featherweight prospect Joselito Collado raised his record to a perfect 3-0 with 1 KO with a workmanlike four round unanimous decision victory over a Jose Ortiz (1-2, 1 KO) of Jersey City, New Jersey.

Collado of Queens, New York gained control of the fight early in round two, constantly catching Ortiz with left hooks as he backed out of exchanges. Ortiz was game though and tried to trade with the stronger Collado whenever possible.

Collado switched to the southpaw stance in round three, which allowed him to land lead left hands and short two-punch combinations throughout the round. Ortiz tried to push the fight early in the fourth and final round, instigating exchanges, but he could not match the quicker hands and tighter defense of Collado, who out-boxed him until the final bell.

All three judges gave every round to Collado by score of 40-36.

TORRES-FERNANDEZ FIGHT TO A DRAW

Unbeaten jr welterweight Joel Torres (9-0-1, 5 KOs) suffered the first blemish on his record after an uneventful eight-rounder against Chris Fernandez (15-4-1, 8 KOs) ended in a draw.

In the opening round, Torres came out strong as Fernandez decided to backpedal to his advancing opponent. Torres continued to apply the pressure in the early rounds but Fernandez showed no enthusiasm to engage.

For most of the contest, Torres was able to connect with hooks from both sides to Fernandez but little damage was done.

Torres was the aggressor throughout the rounds and he landed the cleaner punches although the judges saw the contest a draw over eight rounds, with one judge giving each fighter the nod, and the other seeing it even. One judge scored it 78-74 for Torres while another judge scored it 78-74 for Fernandez but the third card read even at 75-75.

NELSON SCORES IMPRESSIVE TKO!

Jonathan Nelson (2-0, 1 KO) scored an impressive first round stoppage over Borngod Washington (0-3) in a schedule for four round super middleweight affair. Nelson - the nephew of Jermain Taylor trainer Ozell Nelson (who was in the corner at both trainer and cutman) - started off slowly but picked up the tempo after the first minute mark as his opponent did little to fight back. Midway in the round, Nelson landed a thudding hard left hook to the face of Washington that sent his mouthpiece flying into the crowd. The referee immediately stepped in to mercifully stop the action at 1:48 of the first round.

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RINGSIDE NOTES:

The evening’s card was the inaugural event ESPN Deportes which has partnered with DiBella Entertainment to produce a series of boxing matches airing weekly on Wednesday nights which will feature up-and-coming Latino boxers. Each program will feature a total of three fights and will be televised with a one hour delay on ESPN Deportes.