SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA — Boxing returned to the City by the Bay for the first time in several years, as local welterweight prospect Karim Mayfield kayoed Sergio De La Torre in the main attraction before nearly 2,000 of his vocal supporters at the Kezar Pavilion on Saturday night.
Mayfield (13-0-1, 7 KOs) of nearby Daly City, California brought his home crowd to their feet early and often in five rounds of one-sided action. De La Torre (11-14-3, 1 KO) of Escondido, California had been stopped just three times prior to Saturday night, but he was clearly feeling Mayfield’s punches beginning with the first overhand right that was landed early in the first round. Mayfield jumped on his opponent right away, landing a flurry of clean punches with De La Torre leaning against the ropes. Clubbing overhand rights were the weapon of choice for Mayfield, 146.5, as he closed out a dominant first round.
De La Torre, 147, continued to show off his durable chin in the second round as a vicious right, left hook combination landed for Mayfield early on. However, it appeared a Mayfield overhand right forced a knockdown late in the round, but referee Jon Schorle ruled it was a push. Finally in the third, De La Torre began to crack, as a looping left scored the first official knockdown in the fight for Mayfield. De La Torre was downed again, this time by a three-punch combination, just before the end of the third.
To his credit, De La Torre kept coming forward, proving his gameness as the fight continued. Another overhand right stunned De La Torre in the fourth. Mayfield followed up with a left and right that forced the Escondido native to fall into the corner. While it was clear the turnbuckles kept De La Torre off of the mat, a knockdown was not ruled.
The knockdown count would prove to be academic, as a solid right would get De La Torre in trouble again late in the fifth. With the crowd anticipating the stoppage, Mayfield landed an overhand right and a left hook to prompt Schorle to call a halt to the bout at the 3:00 mark of the fifth. As Mayfield found himself hoisted on the shoulders of his team, much of the crowd rushed the ring to celebrate with their emerging boxing star.
Despite competing with San Francisco Giants-Oakland A’s interleague game taking place simultaneously down the highway at AT&T Park and the Andre Ward-Allan Green WBA Super Middleweight title fight which takes place across the Bay next weekend, Mayfield showed he could become the first boxing draw San Francisco has had in many years. That fact, coupled with his exciting style and flair for entertainment, could go along way in making him attractive to a major promoter – something he has been seeking since he turned professional in 2006.
In the co-feature, Tony Hirsch (12-3-1, 5 KOs) of Oakland, California scored a second-round knockout over pudgy journeyman Jovanni Rubio (6-12, 5 KOs) of Santa Rosa, California. Hirsch, 163, controlled the fight from the outset, continually finding a home for his thudding overhand right. Rubio, 167.5, was roughly a foot shorter than his opponent, and was never able to get inside Hirsch’s long reach to do any damage.
After dominating the action with his right hand in the first round, Hirsch turned up the aggression in the second, unleashing flurries with both fists. Finally late in the round, with Rubio retreating from corner to corner, Hirsch unloaded his arsenal with referee Dan Stell standing in close looking for a reason to stop the fight. Hirsch gave the referee the reason he was looking for by landing a big right to stagger Rubio and force the stoppage. Time of the bout was 2:34 of the second round.
In the most competitive bout on the card, former National PAL Champion Bruno Escalante Jr. (1-0-1) of Waimanalo, Hawaii moved up in weight to score his first professional victory over Jonathan Alcantara (4-2-1) of Novato, California in an exciting four-rounder. Alcantara, 120.5, started out well, as he found a home for his straight right against his southpaw opponent in the first round. Escalante, 118.4, turned the fight in the following round with quick flurries and lateral movement.
Fast-paced, high quality fight action continued through the final two rounds and until the final bell. In a fight that could have gone either way, one judge scored the fight 39-37 for Alcantara. That tally was overruled by the scores of the other two judges who had the fight for Escalante, 39-37. Escalante turned pro at 112-pounds, fighting to a draw against Takashi Okada in February. Okada upset the highly touted McWilliams Arroyo in New York on Saturday night.
In the curtain raiser, Benjamin Rivera (1-3) of Fresno, California moved into the win column for the first time in his pro career with a unanimous four-round decision over the still winless Shawn Wate (0-5) of Los Angeles, California. Wate, 138, may have been slowed down by the large afro he sported in the ring, since he was consistently outworked by Rivera, 138.5, for much of the four rounds. In the end, all three judges scored the bout for Rivera by the scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice.
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
