GRAPEVINE, TEX. – Tasty local appetizer cards have become a staple of promoter Top Rank’s superfight weekends, and Friday night’s fare at the Gaylord Texan Hotel & Convention Center – an opening course for “The Event” on Saturday – was no exception. Featuring a Filipino and a Mexican in the main event and crowd-pleasers from around the world in seven other matches, the card delighted its capacity crowd in a sweeping luxury compound northwest of Dallas.
Filipino flyweight Richie Mepranum (16-2-1, 3 KOs) and Mexican Hernan Marquez (25-1, 18 KOs) made a fantastic 10-round battle in Friday’s main event, one in which the light-hitting southpaw from the Philippines absorbed everything the Mexican could throw his way and hung on to win a unanimous decision: 99-91, 96-94 and 98-92.
After starting slowly before a suddenly quiet crowd, Mepranum and Marquez gradually increased their punch output through the next six rounds, turning the eighth into the beginning of a three-stanza crescendo in which both fighters threw knockout blows, while failing to finish – or even much hurt – the other man.
Though the fans in attendance were evenly split between Filipinos and Mexicans, there was little outrage expressed from the Mexican side over the judges’ awarding the fight to Mepranum.
SAMUEL PETER VS. NAGY AGUILERA
Friday’s co-main event saw a fit and fired-up Samuel Peter (34-3, 27 KOs) box, counter and then blitz Dominican Nagy Aguilera (15-3, 10 KOs), winning by technical knockout at 2:24 of the second round.
Clues to Peter’s newfound seriousness were in evidence at Thursday’s weigh-in when the “Nigerian Nightmare” – whose fitness and heart have been questioned in the past – tipped the scale at 237 1/2 pounds, his lowest weight since 2001. After that, Peter showed surprising patience and technique (and abdominal muscles), countering Aguilera whenever the Dominican hung his jab. One such counter, a patented overhand right from Peter, took Aguilera’s knees from under his thighs, dropping him early in round 2.
Peter, never a shy finisher, showed uncharacteristic finesse after that, taking his time and waiting for Aguilera to hang one more jab. Aguilera complied, hanging another left hand – and Peter blasted him with a right cross that sent Aguilera sprawling into the ropes where Peter assaulted him till the referee waved an end to the match.
JOSE BENAVIDEZ VS. BOBBY HILL
In a showcase bout to close the opening hour of Fox Sports Español’s telecast, undefeated Phoenix prospect Jose Benavidez (3-0, 3 KOs) – a seven-time national amateur champion now fighting under the Top Rank banner – made decisive work of southpaw Mississippi lightweight Bobby Hill (1-4), stopping him at 2:59 of round 3. Benavidez, who at 6-foot-1 is an enormous 135 pounder, showed the joy of battle and willingness to exchange one hopes to find in a young prizefighter.
At times, though, that joy of battle led Benavidez to show the amateurish habit of dropping his lead hand to waist level while throwing the right cross. Under the watchful eyes of trainer Freddie Roach and mentor Jose Benavidez, Sr., however, that perilous habit should be eradicated soon.
“This was the first left-hander I’ve fought as a pro,” Benavidez said after the third opponent of his career. “But I had a lot of experience against them in the amateurs, and body shots always work.”
“After the second round, I was worried,” Jose Benavidez, Sr. said about a cold from which his son had been suffering all week. “But I told him to do what he had to do.” And that he did.
UNDERCARD
The night’s second televised bout saw super welterweight Houstonian Omar Henry (8-0, 7 KOs) race out his corner and ruin Mexican Francisco Reza (5-2, 4 KOs) in a half minute of relentless offensive assault. Henry dropped Reza 10 seconds into the match with lefts and rights everywhere. Reza rose and then dropped 10 seconds later. At 0:32 of round 1, the fight was over – Henry by TKO.
The evening’s final pre-television match saw Filipino welterweight Dennis Laurente (34-3-4, 17 KOs) decision Ghanaian strongman Ben Tackie (29-12-1, 17 KOs) in a competitive eight-round welterweight scrap. Though each round was close and Tackie clearly thought he’d won at least four, the official scorecards did not agree, unanimously seeing things for Laurente by scores of 77-75, 77-75 and 78-74.
Before that, Freddie Roach-trained Mexican heavyweight Andy Ruiz, Jr. (3-0, 3 KOs) made quick work of Texan Luke Vaughn (0-2), stopping him with a textbook left hook to the liver at 1:55 of round 1. That was about the only thing that looked like it does in a textbook, as Ruiz – at 271 pounds of much more than striated muscle – wore a physique bearing no resemblance to that of his trainer’s most famous charge.
Starting the card was undefeated Washington D.C. lightweight contender Anthony Peterson (30-0, 20 KOs) in a 10-round bout with overmatched Puerto Rican Juan Ramon Cruz (16-8-1, 12 KOs). Peterson moved well, using his shell defense and waiting for openings, and did exactly what an undefeated contender is supposed to do with an eight-loss journeyman, off-television.
After felling Cruz in round 2, Peterson landed an impressive right uppercut/left hook combination in the third to begin the end of Cruz’s night. Dropped a second time, Cruz rose once more, got clipped with a right uppercut and dropped a third time. And so his night ended by TKO at 1:11 of the third round, preserving Peterson’s unblemished record.
The evening began about a half hour later than scheduled, as an ambulance had to be located before the card could commence. Attendance was good in the convention hall despite Friday’s card being made mostly for television.
Doors for Saturday’s fights open at 5:00 p.m. CT. 15rounds.com will have full ringside coverage of “The Event” in its entirety.
Photos by Chris Farina / Top rank
