Story and photos by Boxing Bob Newman at ringside

by fightnews.com

Former three-division world champion Yuriorkis “El Ciclon de Guantánamo”Gamboa (26-1, 17 KOs), newly signed by Golden Boy Promotions, scored a ten round unanimous decision over Rene “Gemelo” Alvarado (24-8, 16 KOs) on Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY. A rusty Gamboa was in command most of the time, although he never had Alvarado in any sewrious trouble. In fact, the only knockdown of the fight was a flash knockdown scored by Alvarado in the final stanza. Scores were 97-92, 97-92, 97-93.

In the most exciting off-TV Fight of the night, Montreal’s Yves Ulysse, Jr. pressured fellow undefeated prospect Zachary Ochoa of Brooklyn, NY, enrout to a brutal stoppage at the mercy of Ochoa’s corner at the end of the seventh. Ulysse, Jr. came into the fight as he left the weigh in face off, all smiles. That look of confidence was evident throughout the bout, while Ochoa displayed a look of concern, perhaps a lack of confidence. The taller Ochoa pumped his jab frequently, with a distinct, “pshhhh, pshhhh” escaping his lips each time. Ulysse, Jr. for his part, displayed crisp combos up and down, using deft footwork to keep Ochoa thinking and searching. Ulysse, Jr. landed the more telling blows throughout, a mouse developing under Ochoa’s right eye early on.

In the sixth, Ochoa chose to circle the ring to his left, for virtually the entire frame, leading one to wonder if he had an injured hand, or just didn’t want to engage. There was no escape in the seventh however, as Ulysse, Jr. unloaded, catching Ochoa flush along the ropes. Trapped in the enemy corner, Ochoa ate an unbelievable amount of shots, snapping his head back and stiffening his left leg. Inexplicably, referee Gary Rosado didn’t step in, although he seemed primed to do so at any moment. Ochoa tried to fight back in brief spurts, perhaps prompting Rosado to give him every chance. It didn’t matter, as Ochoa staggered back to his corner, somehow making it to the bell, his corner waved it off before the fighter even sat down.

This prompted a bit of infighting in Ochoa’s own corner and Ulysse, Jr. to exalt on the ropes after dashing out of his own corner. Ulysse, Jr. picks up the NABF Junior Super Lightweight title in the process, along with win #13 against no losses and 9 KOs. Ochoa tastes defeat for the first time, dipping to 16-1, 7 KOs.

Golden Boy nephew Diego De La Hoya had to work extra hard against tough-as-nails Mexican import Roberto Pucheta in a super bantamweight eight rounder. De La Hoya started out with tactical precision, using his left jab-right cross combo to good effect. Pucheta was unlucky to receive a knockdown count against him as he missed a punch and was countered to the arm pit while off balance, touching the canvas in round two. By round three though, Pucheta was scoring his own, slower combos, the effects of which could be seen in the form of a black & blue mouse under De La Hoya’s right eye. By the fifth, Pucheta’s mouth and nose were a bloody mess. The sixth was the best round off the fight, drawing cheers from the crowd as both combatants went toe-to-toe, with neither giving ground. De La Hoya opted to dance and keep his distance in the eighth, securing his unanimous, across the board 80-71 points win. De La Hoya now 17-0, 9 KOs, while Pucheta evens out at 10-10-1, 6 KOs.

D’Mitrius Ballard had his hands full with tricky clown Zoltan Sera of Budapest, Hungary in a scheduled eight round light heavyweight bout. The stocky Sera mugged, ducked, mauled his way as Ballard tried not to get drawn into the tactics. At the end of round three, Sera tackled Ballard to the canvas, who appeared to have hurt his lower back in the fall. Referee Benjy Esteves had already taken a point from Sera earlier in the round for holding and issued a DQ warning for the take down. After the rest period to start the fourth, Ballard decided he had had enough and bludgeoned Sera to the canvas twice with a mix of head and body shots, the second time with Sera shaking his head “No” to his corner and prompting Esteves to halt matters at 1:16 of the round. Ballard moves to 16-0, 12 KOs, while Sera slides to 26-12, 17 KOs.

Debuting Alex Rincon came out like a man possessed, ripping head and body combinations on the hapless Shaun Lee Henson in a super welterweight bout, scheduled for four rounds. Henson went down twice courtesy of vicious body shots, the second time for the count. Rincon is now 1-0, 1 KO, while Henson falls to 2-4, 2 KOs..

The second bout of the night packed more action in two rounds than the opening eight rounder as hot prospect Damon Allen, Jr. smoked Hungarian import Adam Mate via the three knockdown rule at 1:05 of the second stanza. Mate definitely won the tattoo contest as he was beautifully inked up. He was definitely game, but couldn’t match Allen, Jr’s speed and skill. Body shots and head shots dd the trick. Allen now 10-5 KOs. Mate now 24011, 17 KOs.

In an uninspiring light heavyweight tussle, Todd Unthank-May and Quinton Rankin labored to an eight round draw. Rankin looked to counter while Unthank-May came forward, if ineffectively. Unthank-May now 10-0-1, 4 KOs, while Rankin goes to 12-3-2, 9 KOs.