Gamboa, Angulo & Martinez Impress on HBO

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Three fighters seeking to make a name for themselves took on the best opposition of their careers and won in dominant fashion on Saturday night. None of the fights went the distance, and none left any stench of controversy – the way boxing fans like it best.

GAMBOA GETS CLOCKED BEFORE KNOCKING OUT RAMIREZ

In the main event, featherweight sensation Yuriorkis Gamboa, the most heavily hyped prospect in boxing today, put the first “0″ on the record of Marcos Ramirez, but he had to recover from a questionable knockdown along the way.

In Gamboa’s two biggest fights, both televised by HBO, he’s been knocked down yet emerged victorious both times. Darling Jiminez put him down on his last HBO appearance in May before Gamboa bounced back to win a decision.

This time, Ramirez dragged Gamboa into a brawl after landing a solid left hook halfway through the first round. Gamboa gave in to his pride and tried to slug it out, landing good shots of his own but catching Ramirez’ elbow to the jaw on the end of a right hand that dropped him in a flash onto a knee beside the ropes. Gamboa was instantly on his feet, wanting to continue the battle, but Referee Jerry Cantu stopped him to administer the count, ruling it a knockdown, which was incorrect but impossible to decipher without replays.

Gamboa recovered like a champion, drilling Ramirez with shots from both hands as soon as the action picked up again. A solid exchange ended the round, and Gamboa acknowledged Ramirez’ effort by touching gloves with him.

Early in round two, it was Gamboa who was warned by Cantu about using his elbow and later for a low blow. At the same time, he was being hit by quality shots from Ramirez, who had definitely come to fight. A minute into the round, however, Gamboa had found his rhythm and was able to put Ramirez down after five or six punches, the last of which was an uppercut that sent Ramirez to a knee.

Gamboa knew a wounded duck when he saw one and quickly went to work with hard blows from both hands. A three-punch combination knocked Ramirez into the ropes. A body shot and uppercut put him down again on hands and knees. Cantu counted to nine but sped up the count before Ramirez decided to stand up again – a rare occurrence in the sport.

Ramirez didn’t like that blatantly biased call from Cantu, but his nose was bleeding and he was in bad shape, probably not going to win the fight without landing a few more elbows.

The bout was only Gamboa’s twelfth, which demonstrates just how hyped he has been in his young career. Knockdowns aside, he has thus far lived up to his billing. How many boxers with just over ten fights have taken on and defeated fellow undefeated fighters like Ramirez, who’s had twice as many fights? While neither man has any big names on his resume, that’s still an immense gap in experience, which can only serve to improve Gamboa in the future.

ANGULO STOPS TSURKAN

Also returning to HBO with Gamboa was undefeated Mexican junior middleweight prospect Alfredo Angulo, who beat on Russia’s Andrey Tsurkan for nine rounds before forcing a corner stoppage.

Both men came out looking to land big punches and establish themselves as the aggressor, a role they pursued by each throwing over one hundred punches in the first round, but by the end of the round, Angulo was already knocking Tsurkan back with hard left hooks.

Tsurkan’s effort showed he wasn’t content with just being an opponent and managed to land plenty of good punches of his own. Still, the second round ended even more one-sidedly than did the first as Angulo opened up on Tsurkan with both hands, sending the Russian back to his corner already swelling under his right eye.

Whether caused by a punch or a headbutt, a cut over Angulo’s right eye in round three revealed that Tsurkan was dealing some damage as well, but Angulo began hammering him moments after the blood began to flow, keeping Tsurkan constantly off balance and in trouble. A right hand started the trouble for the Russian, but Angulo was so comfortable with the way the fight was progressing that he turned southpaw to feed Tsurkan some hard left hands too.

Apparently Referee Tony Krebs ruled that the cut over Angulo’s eye was caused by a headbutt, which put the Mexican out of danger of losing on a TKO should the fight be stopped, but the way Angulo continued to hunt Tsurkan down over the rest of the fight, one would think he was unaware of the official ruling.

Despite never being beyond round six in his career, from rounds five to nine, there was no letup from Angulo, who chased the knockout in admirable fashion. A huge right-left combination snapped Tsurkan’s head up in the sixth round as the Russian’s chin continued to impress. The ringside doctor came in to examine Tsurkan after round eight and allowed him to go on when Tsurkan assured him that he was fine.

In the final round, Angulo began wailing away with a minute to go, prompting HBO commentator Jim Lampley to start shouting for Tsurkan to go down and give up, which was unprofessional and frankly bizarre to see him interjecting himself in the fight. He had been comparing the bout to fights in which fighters lost their lives from injuries sustained later, a comparison so far from the truth that it was almost comical. Perhaps hearing Lampley, Tsurkan’s corner finally threw in the towel. Yes, he was taking a lot of punishment, but Tsurkan had been doing so since the first round and was certainly capable of lasting to the final bell.

It was a fight fan’s fight fought on a fairly high level and featured non-stop action throughout. This makes back-to-back HBO appearances in which Angulo has caught the fight world’s attention with his workmanlike effort and executioner style. He would be a great opponent for a guy like Antonio Margarito, but the better move career wise would be to build him up to take over what is right now an extremely weak junior middleweight division.

MARTINEZ BUMPS OFF BUNEMA

In another junior middleweight bout, once beaten Sergio Martinez continued to build his resume when he defeated seasoned veteran Alex Bunema when the ringside doctor advised Referee Raul Caiz to stop the fight.

Bunema has proven to serve as a solid test as he has been in with many big names from the 154-pound division, including Kassim Ouma, Carlos Bojoroquez, J.C. Candelo, Bronco McKart and Roman Karmazin as well as former undisputed Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor, who was the last man to stop him. Martinez passed the test with flying colors as he once dropped and punished Bunema into submission.

Martinez’ only loss came at the hands of Antonio Margarito when he was knocked out eight years ago. Since that loss, he has bided his time fighting absolutely no one of any significance. Now, at the age of 33, Martinez seems to realize that time is running out to make an impact in boxing, and he had best move quickly on a division devoid of big names.

He certainly moved fast on Bunema, scoring with straight left hands from the southpaw stance, both to the head and body, while Bunema held back in the first round. Despite having his head snapped back by a hard right hand from Bunema in round two, Martinez answered back with combination punching and, by round’s end, was fighting with so much confidence that he arrogantly dropped his hands while standing in front of the heavy hitter.

A blistering pair of straight left hands sent Bunema onto his back on the canvas halfway through round three. Martinez poured on the attack to end the round, hitting Bunema with jabs and straight left hands, but failed to put his man away. Smiling in his corner between rounds, Martinez couldn’t have looked more relaxed or pleased with himself.

Yet somehow he seemed even more comfortable in the middle of the rounds, keeping one hand below his waist at all times, sometimes both hands, stopping to scratch his nose and adjust his belt and even putting one hand behind his back at one point. After catching a jab from Bunema in round five, he responded by tilting his head aside to acknowledge it. After another jab, he tilted his head the other way, almost mocking the opponent in front of him. What was supposed to be the most evenly based matchup on the card was quickly becoming a mismatch.

The jab was always on Bunema, keeping him from offering anything in return aside from the rare right hand that found its way to Martinez’ chin. The hard left hands added injury to the insult, and Bunema’s eyes began swelling up in the seventh round. So apparent was the disparity of ability that Referee Raul Caiz implored Bunema to fight back after a volley of shots from Martinez. The ringside doctor examined Bunema between rounds, but Bunema passed his tests.

Martinez unleashed his best assault of the night with a five or six-punch combination midway through round eight and another series of left hands to end the round, but Bunema smiled and again headed to his corner for more advice. The doctor administered the same test, and though the results seemed the same as the previous round, the fight was stopped this time.

It was quite a statement from Martinez, who earned his best win in incredibly impressive style. With the win, he becomes the mandatory opponent for WBC Champion Vernon Forrest, though it’s unlikely Forrest will fight him if other options are out there. The fight many would like to see based on this performance would be a rematch with Antonio Margarito if the two can meet at a weight that suits both – most likely 154 pounds since Margarito is enormous for a welterweight.