LA Matadors Defeat the Miami Gallos
Posted by Igor Frank on 01.14.2011
Results from last night's World Series of Boxing matchups.
The World Series of Boxing went on into a high gear yesterday at Nokia Theatre when Los Angles Matadors avenged their only loss in the tournament dominating Miami Gallos. The Final score was 4-1 with only loss on the record of Matadors was due to injury. The World Series of Boxing is a groundbreaking, international sports league with teams from three continents competing for five spots in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. According to four time heavyweight champion of the world Evander Holyfield who was in attendance, this kind of new concept could only bring our Olympic program back to the glory days of the eighties.
Fernando Martinez of LA Matadors took a hard fought unanimous decision over Miami Gallos, Jose Luis Meza Ochoa in a five round bout fought at 54 kg or 119 pounds weight limit. All three judges scored the fight 48-47 for Martinez, who did look the more polished fighter in the ring. "I've been training and giving it my all," Martinez said. "It was a tough fight, but I came here to win. I knew our team needed to start things off with a victory so it's nice to get the win."
In another war, contested at 61 kg or 135 pounds LA Matador debutant Jose Saenz won a razor thin split decision over Adrian Martinez from Miami Gallos. Score cards were as follows: 48-47 for Martinez and 48-47 twice for Saenz. "It feels good to get a win in my first fight for the Matadors," Saenz said. "I had a few injuries that set me back a little bit. I'm just glad that I finally got to compete."
Next up, a middleweight brawl took place between unbeaten LA Matador, Russell Lamour and Miami Gallo's John Joe Joyce. After eating several booming right hands in the first round Lamour took over the fight pressing the action and scoring with combinations. Judges were in agreement awarding Lamour a unanimous decision victory: 50-45 twice and 49-46. "He was kind of rocking the whole time so I had to time my punches a little bit," Lamour said. "I got my timing right after a few rounds and started doing some damage. If it went a few more rounds I would have definitely stopped him."
Light heavyweight bout was forfeited due to a Matador being injured. Gallo's Kenny Egan got the first point for Miami but fans were still hoping to witness a knock out in the heavyweight battle.
The final bout between heavyweights at 91kg or more, LA Matador, Javier Torres took on Gallo, Craig Lewis. Torres found a home for his right hand and controlled the action early, but Lewis held his own and got back into the fight. Toffees electrified the crowd with a late final round flurry. Judges scored the fight for Torres 50-45, 49-46, 48-47."I used my patience and my distance," Torres said. "I was a lot smarter in this fight. My corner was a big help. I used to just go for broke and try to bulldoze guys, but I wanted to fight a little different tonight and show that I could box and punch. I stuck to the gameplan and it worked. He was a lot slower than me so I just did what I had to do to get the win. "
LA will host Miami in their next home bout on Jan. 27. Tickets, starting at $20, can be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com or calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-30.
