The Mouthpiece
Oh What A Night!—Maldonado Edges Cartagena
Prescott & Wise Rumble to a Draw
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: June 29, 2018
Venue: Xcite Center, Parx Casino – Bensalem, PA
Promoters: Joe Hand Promotions in Association with BAM Boxing
Ring Announcer: Alex Barbosa
Referees: Benjy Esteves Jr. & Eric Dali
Photos: Darryl Cobb Jr.
The first and only time that I saw Philly flyweight Miguel “No Fear” Cartagena (15 wins – 4 losses – 1 draw – 6 kos) in action as a professional it was in his second fight – seven years back on the undercard of then undefeated #1 ranked WBO welterweight contender Mike Jones (24 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 18 kos) second-round technical knockout of Raul “El Toro” Munoz (22 wins – 13 losses – 1 draw – 16 kos) of Topeka, Kansas – June 25, 2011, at The Arena – now 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia. On that night, Cartagena (1 win – 0 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) dropped Jaime Gonzalez (0 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws) of Puerto Rico twice in the opening round and again in the second stanza forcing referee Esteves to call a halt at 49 seconds of Round 2.
The Ring Card Ladies (L-R) Mundara, Alex & Desarée
It has been a long circuitous route for the former amateur star that joined the punch-for-pay ranks right before his 19th birthday on March 26, 2011, instead of waiting around for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Thus, I was looking forward to seeing him again in the scheduled eight-round main event against Carlos Maldonado (10 win – 2 losses – 0 draws – 7 kos) of Los Angeles, California.
Cartagena captured the opening round by boxing, using his jab and excellent latter movement to offset the stronger Maldonado who came forward in an attempt to land something of consequence. As fate would have it, he hurt Cartagena in the second round when the Philadelphian decided to slug. Cartagena is a savvy veteran and was able to evade any serious punishment by getting on his bicycle and boxing at long range. The next four rounds were almost identical with Cartagena having the edge by out-boxing Maldonado— appearing in control—having momentary lapses—standing and trading occasionally. He was ahead on my scorecard five round to one heading into the seventh stanza. Maldonado garnered the seventh round because he was slightly busier than Cartagena who motored around the ring sticking and moving – taking the round off.
Cartagena (R.) lands the overhand right
Early in the final round, Maldonado connected with a straight right that staggered his opponent and followed up immediately with another right that sent Cartagena to the canvas. Slightly shaken, Cartagena made it upright before referee Dali reached the count of three and dusted his gloves. The action resumed and Cartagena utilized his ring savvy and lateral movement to evade punishment and finish the round on even terms.
One judge had it 76-75 for Cartagena which mirrored my score. However, we were overruled by the other two judges who scored it 77-74 and 76-75 for Maldonado who won by split-decision.
There are old adages that “styles make fights” and ‘familiarity breeds contempt.” It is difficult to tell which one was more overriding or applicable in the six-round rematch between Philly junior-middleweight Isaiah Wise (6 wins – 2 losses – 0 draw – 3 kos) and Anthony “Put-Em Down” Prescott (8 wins – 8 losses – 2 draws – 2 kos) of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. On March 10th, at this same venue, they rumbled for six glorious rounds that had the ring on fire with Prescott sending Wise to the canvas in the second stanza —winning by split-decision. It was an action-packed fight and the much-anticipated rematch exceeded expectations. Wise was magnificent in the opening round, working behind his newly-found jab – controlling the action – keeping the pressing Prescott at bay – having press-row commenting on his boxing acumen. It was a masterful display of the sweet science by Wise.
Well, what started as a boxing match turned into a street brawl mid-way through the second stanza when Prescott pinned Wise against the ropes and went to work – wobbling him with a combination. They fought feverishly until the gong sounded ending the round. The melee continued over the course of the next four rounds with both men refusing to take a step backward – unloading from their arsenals with every conceivable punch – trying to end the fight by knockout. How they remained upright defied logic and physics because they both landed with power and precision. They rumbled back and forth at a frenetic pace with the crowd cheering raucously throughout. It was a war of attrition worth the price of admission. It was only fitting that referee Esteves had to hop between them at the final bell. One judge had it 58-56 for Prescott with the second returning the same score for Wise – the third judge scoring it even 57-57. Thus, the fight was ruled a draw.
Wise (L.) and Prescott in a heated battle
In a scheduled four-round lightweight bout featuring two North Philadelphia fighters – debuting Adolfo Serrano and Christopher Burgos (0 wins – 2 losses – 1 draw) waged war at the opening bell. The gong sounded and Burgos hopped on Serrano like a lion on a gazelle. But, unlike a fleeing gazelle, Serrano stood his ground and unleashed some heavy artillery hurting his opponent with some vicious body shots winning the round. Somehow, Serrano’s inexperience allowed Burgos back in the fight. Instead of boxing from the outside and continuing the body attack, he stood toe-to-toe with Burgos who took command. Burgos whacked away at Serrano’s body and captured the second round. The action continued in the third stanza with both combatants having their moments in a close round. However, Burgos with three fights under his belt took advantage of his experience and continued the body attack in the last round – hurting Serrano several times forcing referee Esteves Jr. to call a halt at 1:58 of the round – declaring Burgos the winner by technical knockout.
There were a few who believed that instead of stopping the fight – the referee should have administered a standing eight-count. However, in Pennsylvania, there is a mandatory eight-count after a fighter has been knocked down. Thus, the referee was within the rules of stopping the fight – preventing Burgos from the inevitable – a knockout loss. Serrano is a talented fighter with a bright future who simply was overcome by circumstances and abandoned the game plan. Kudos to Burgos for weathering the storm and getting one in the win column.
In a scheduled six rounder, undefeated Philadelphia welterweight Marcel Rivers (5 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 4 KO’s) had his hands full with southpaw Michael “The Hammer” Crain (2 wins – 2 losses – 1 draw – 1 KO) of Smyrna, Delaware. Despite dictating the pace and tempo of the fight, the hard-hitting Rivers was unable to land that one big punch to debilitate and dismiss the marauding Crain who blanketed him the entire fight. Rivers used his jab, but Crain’s unpredictable style was a puzzle that he was unable to solve. The fearless and relentless Crain fought with every ounce of his energy. He came to Parx to pull the upset. It was a good showing for the Delaware fighter despite bleeding profusely from the nose throughout the fight. Nevertheless, I gave Rivers every round. Two judges had it 59-55 with the third scoring it 59-56 all for Rivers who won by unanimous decision.
Rivers (L.) connects with the uppercut
Lightweight Gerardo Martinez (2 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Coatesville, Pennsylvania who was hoodwinked and bamboozled in his last fight at this same venue on March 9th – losing a split-decision to Vinnie Denierio – pitched a shut-out – winning a unanimous four-round decision 40-35 on all three scorecards over Nyrome Lynch (0 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws) of North Philadelphia. Martinez attacked at the opening bell, forcing Lynch to retreat rapidly. Martinez whacked away at his opponent’s core with Lynch attempting to befuddle him by switching intermittently between orthodox and southpaw stance. Nothing that the man from North Philadelphia attempted produced any positive results as he was penalized a point for holding in the third round by referee Dali. Martinez captured the final round – hurting Lynch in the process.
Bantamweight Emmanuel Rodriguez (2 wins – 0 loss – 0 draws – 0 kos) of Puerto Rico now residing in Newark, New Jersey won a four-round unanimous decision by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice over southpaw Ndira Spearman (1 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 0 ko) of Lavergne, Tennessee in a spirited bout. It was a chess match with Rodriguez sharp-shooting and countering – appearing one step ahead of his adversary. There weren’t any knockdowns and neither man was ever in dire straits. I gave Spearman the third stanza because he out-hustled Rodriguez who didn’t do much. However, Rodriguez was able to close the show by out-working his opponent for the final three minutes of the bout in this tactical match.
In the opening bout of the night Philadelphia junior-middleweight Kieran “Special K” Hooks (2 wins – 0 losses – 1 draw – 1 ko) returned to action after a 13-month hiatus to face cross-town rival – middleweight Sharif “Bam Bam” Jones (0 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw) – who at 160.7 lbs. out weighted him by more than six pounds in a scheduled four-rounder. Hooks at 6 ft. 1 inch was able to use his reach and height to out-box his chiseled and compact 5 ft. 9 inches opponent – landing at will – hurting him throughout the fight. Hooks dominated the fight from start to finish – using his jab and straight right to get on the inside where he raked Davis with some vicious body shots. Davis was in retreat mode for much of the fight with Hooks landing at will and appearing to be one punch away from ending the bout. However, Jones refused to go down despite the shellacking and earned the respect of the audience. It was an impressive performance by the twenty-three-year-old Hooks who won a unanimous decision by scores of 40-35, 40-36 and 39-37.
Hooks (R.) connects with the straight right
It was another exciting night of boxing at this great venue. Miguel Cartagena is an exceptional boxer who has to understand his forte and capabilities. He is a boxer and not a puncher. Hopefully, he is a student of history and realizes that Ivan “Iron Boy” Calderon was a two-division world champion with only six knockouts in 39 fights – 36 wins. We can only pray that there isn’t a third match between Anthony Prescott and Isaiah Wise. Despite their fights being “must see” events for the fans – they cause too much irreparable harm to each other. In two fights they have done more damage to each other than the average fighter sustains over twenty fights.
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
ghanson3@hotmail.com
