FAIRFIELD, CALIFORNIA — Three years ago Alejandro Perez was an emerging undefeated prospect with the backing of a powerful promoter, but one slip up derailed his rise. With an eye-opening first-round stoppage of world ranked Antonio Escalante Friday night at the Fairfield Sports Center, Perez appears ready to fulfill the promise of years passed.
Escalante (24-4, 15 KOs) of El Paso, Texas by way of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico is normally a forward-moving brawler, but did little of either in the one round of action Friday. The strategy played into the hands of Perez (15-2-1, 10 KOs) of Salinas, California, who was able to time the movement of Escalante’s left hand. Midway through the round, Perez, 130, jabbed and missed Escalante, 130, with an overhand right by several inches. Though the combination failed to accomplish its mission, the idea behind it was correct.
Escalante continued to keep his lead hand held at his waistline, and when Perez jabbed downstairs a second time, it brought the Texan’s left down even further, setting up the overhand right that landed flush on his jaw and ended the fight. Escalante, who hit the back of his head hard on the mat, sat up before signaling to referee Ed Collantes that he could not continue. Time of the stoppage was 2:57 of round one.
Perez, who had fought at 122-pounds nearly his entire career, had been scheduled to fight last Friday against featherweight prospect Ronny Rios in Costa Mesa, California. Soon after that fight fell out, Perez was offered Escalante at super featherweight. Although he carried his power all the way up the scale, Perez plans to drop back down to the 126-pound featherweight division.
Despite having just scored the biggest win of his career, which played to a national television audience on Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo, Perez could not be goaded into calling out one of the marquee names of the featherweight division. “I am just taking it one day at a time,” says Perez. “I can say I want to fight this person or that person, but only time will tell. Whatever comes our way, we will sit down and make a decision.”
For Escalante, who entered the fight the IBF #6/WBO #14 ranked featherweight, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which he becomes a viable contender again any time in the near future. The loss to Perez marked the second straight early round kayo loss of his career, the first coming at the hands of former champion Daniel Ponce De Leon last September.
In the competitively matched co-feature, Clint Coronel (4-1-2, 1 KO) of San Jose, California came away with a six-round split decision nod over journeyman Carlos Musquez (3-5-3, 3 KOs) of Sacramento, California.
Neither fighter may be craftiest or quickest pugilist you ever saw, but both Coronel and Musquez bring their hard hat and lunch pail, planning to put in the work for however many rounds they are scheduled. The naturally larger Coronel, 150 ½, did his best work when he gave himself enough room to score with his looping overhand right, which was the showiest punch continually landed in the bout.
Despite his apparent height and strength disadvantages, Musquez, 149 ½, was effective pressing Coronel and landing in combination to the San Jose resident’s body. Several of the rounds were hard to score, as each had their moments in most every round. In the end, two judges preferred Coronel by the scores of 59-56 and 58-56. The lone dissenting judge had it for Musquez, 58-56.
Former amateur standout Manuel Avila (3-0, 2 KOs) of Vacaville, California scored three knockdowns in under two completed rounds to halt Frank Gutierrez (2-9-2, 1 KO) of Highland, California
Avila, 121, boxed cautiously before landing a straight right midway through the first round. The tentative southpaw Gutierrez, 120, flicked out a jab, but offered little else that might prevent Avila from utilizing any of the weapons in his arsenal. When Gutierrez lunged forward awkwardly, Avila landed two lefts that forced his foe to stumble to the mat for the first knockdown of the fight late in the first.
Gutierrez made it out of the round, but found himself deposited on the mat by a short counter left seconds into the second. Gutierrez returned to his feet before unwisely leaving out a lazy jab moments later. Avila seized the opening, sending out a laser right that dropped Gutierrez a third and final time. Referee Ray Balewicz waved off the fight without a count at 59 seconds of the second round.
Unfortunately for the television audience at home, the fight of the night did not make air as former amateur standout Guy Robb (3-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento battled debuting Manuel Morales (0-1) of Orosi, California tooth and nail en route to a well earned four-round majority decision victory.
One punch that was there all night for Robb, 131, was his straight right, which was the first telling blow he landed early in the first. Morales, 136, let it be known right then that he was not going to be an easy out. Morales charged inside, and forced Robb to fight from the ropes. Robb, though clearly the more schooled boxer, opted to trade from the ropes rather than spin out and box at a distance. Just as Morales appeared to be coming on, Robb uncorked left on the inside that bucked the Orosi native nearly down to a knee right at the bell.
Although Morales had come in heavier, three pounds over the contracted weight, Robb looked bigger and was clearly the stronger puncher. Neither of those facts deterred Morales, as he continued to press Robb throughout the fight. Robb may have been a little out of his comfort zone, but he seemed to be enjoying the toe-to-toe action nonetheless. Robb’s power-punching and ability to shorten up his punches on the inside gave him the edge in rounds two and three.
Undeterred, Morales broke through with some clean shots of his own late in the fourth. After the final bell, fans ringside applauded both fighters. One judge had the fight even, 38-38, but was overruled by the other two official scorers who had Robb a shutout winner, 40-36.
What looked to be a physical mismatch proved to be just that, as Trevor McCumby (2-0, 2 KOs) of Glendale, Arizona wasted no time in dispatching Nathan Ortiz (0-2) of Crystal River, Florida in the opening contest of the night. Hands held low, McCumby, 183, moved in and pressed the stocky Ortiz, 182, from the outset.
McCumby, the 2010 Under 19 National Champion at light heavyweight, punctuated an unanswered series of blows with a left hook to score the inevitable knockdown. The fight continued as the wobbly-legged Oritz managed to make it to his feet. However, with their man taking punches along the ropes, Ortiz’ corner signaled for referee Ray Balewicz to stop the fight. Official time of the stoppage was 1:13 of the first round.
Super bantamweight prospect Roman Morales (2-0, 2 KOs) of San Ardo, California put his wide arrange of abilities on display for four-rounds in a unanimous decision over durable Danny Pantoja (0-4-2) of Fairfield. Pantoja, 125, never stopped trying, but was simply outgunned in every way.
Morales, 123, never changed his expression as he systematically picked Pantoja apart from round one. Morales’ well-timed counter right started the damage midway through the first, opening Pantoja up for a series of clean headshots along the ropes. Pantoja turned defensive and was countered with a chopping right before round’s end.
Over the course of the following three rounds, Morales pulled many of his tools out of the toolbox. The former amateur champion switched to southpaw and back, boxed in spots, landed punches from multiple angles and mixed up his power shots from body to head and vice versa. To his credit, Pantoja never went completely defensive, as he fought back in spots, perhaps hoping to land that one Hail Mary shot that could turn around the fight. It never came as Morales took the decision 40-36 on all three official cards.
Photos by Stephanie Trapp/StephanieTrapp.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
