Mike Jones batters Venegas, Belasco and Vasquez go to war at The New Alhambra

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com

It was a rainy, soggy night on the street of Philly this Friday but promoter J. Russell Peltz still managed to pack them in and send them out as satisfied customers with this entertaining 8 fight card at The New Alhambra. On top of the bill for this evening was the local scenes hottest name, Mike "Machine Gun" Jones who returned home after receiving his first taste of main stream TV exposure a few months back in a win over Germaine Sanders of Chicago. On this night, Jones was to face another Chicagoian in the form of Gilbert Venegas, a known tough guy with a mahogany head and solid right hand to match. Though Venegas record won't blow you away, he is battle test against some of the worlds best fighters in the welterweight division. The co-feature had the Philadelphia return of "King" Gabriel Rosado, a hard hitting 22 year old who is looking to cement his name as one of the areas best and on this night he would have to do it against a familiar face in Mustapha Johnson in the rematch of their 2006 contest which ended in a majority decision win for Rosado. Two years later, they meet again under different circumstances. Rosado who has recently become a promotional free agent is the interest of a some organizations in need of an exciting fighter. Johnson on the other hand has rebounded from this loss to pull the rug from under local fighters who were on winning streaks. The under card was highlighted by a dream card special pitting the boxing barber Victor Vasquez against Delaware's Ryan Belasco in a 6 rounder. This one came as advertised and both men gave it their all. Larry Robinson was in for a tune up against William Bailey to prep up for his proposed fight with Simon "One Punch" Carr. This one got interesting really quick. The trifecta of Dennis Hasson, Anthony Flores and Pedro Martinez looked to follow up succesful pro debuts, but it wasn't mean to be for all three. Pottstown's Travis Thompson has been winning over fans with his recent performances and looked to make it 3 in a row against Connecticut's Tommy Garcia in a lightweight battle. There were quite a few really good fights and finally some good ring girls to boot which went along with an acknowledgment to Charles "The Hatchet" Brewer and Curtis Parker recently being inducted to the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame. Scroll down to get the ringside report.


WELTERWEIGHTS

MIKE JONES....vs......GILBERT VENEGAS
146 pounds....WEIGHT...147 pounds
Chicago, IL............North Philadelphia
10-5-3, 7 K0s..........13-0, 12 K0s

It was a fight designed to give rising prospect Mike "Machine Gun" Jones another good, stiff test against a fighter who has faced world class competition. Originally scheduled for early March, this one was postponed because of Venegas going AWOL during training. It probably would have been in his best interest to stay truant because for 8 rounds, Mike Jones battered and bruised the Chicago tough guy en route to a very impressive and one sided unanimous decision win.

After a slow opening round, Jones picked up the pace in the second, used his size and speed advantage, circling Venegas and painting him with quick fire jabs that found its mark. Working behind this jab for the majority of the contest, Jones was able to find openings for the straight right, some well place three and four punch combination and quite a few hard hooks to the body. There were no knockdowns in the fight but there were a few occasions where Venegas was stunned, particularly in the 8th when Jones landed an uppercut that almost sent his whole head into the 5th row. Miraculously (or maybe foolishly) Venegas was still standing but the song remained the same. It went the 8 round distance in what must have seemed to be an eternity for Venegas. To no ones surprise, all three judges scored it 80-72 in favor of Mike Jones.

Venegas, to his credit, took a good old fashioned licking but his will was never broken. After taking a variety of shots that would have left most men down and out, he kept coming forward and throwing right hand in an attempt to steal the win. While victory would elude him, he did show that he would prove a major test for any up and comer in the welterweight division who thinks they have what it takes to be a contender.

Though it was a decision win, this is the most complete performance to date of Mike Jones career. He fought smart, his punches were accurate and took some good punches very well. He used his size and speed like never before. The knockout machine is evolving into a true boxer. Up next is a possible August date on Telefutura against an opponent TBD.

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com











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JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS

RYAN BELASCO....vs....VICTOR VASQUEZ
137.5 pounds...WEIGHT...136 pounds
Wilmington, DE..........North Philadelphia
6-2-3, 1 K0.............7-1, 4 K0s

In a great piece of matchmaking, we had a fight between two men with many similarities. Both are familiar faces around this circuit and bring a crowd to the arena, both have never lost when fighting at The New Alhambra, both have spent small fortunes at the tattoo parlor and both like to get right at it and fight when the bell sounds. This one promised fireworks and they sure did deliver.

Belasco had the better in ring experience coming into this fight, taking on a decent mix of journeyman and prospects in his time as a pro. The knock on him was that he was notorious for fading out after a few hard rounds. Vasquez, who has a crowd friendly style, was getting his first crack at a fighter with a winning record.

After three rounds of good, hard exchanges, Vasquez has the misfortune of a swollen left eye that would eventually grow to the size of a walnut. Vasquez was at the disadvantage of fighting with one eye but continued to bring the fight right to his opponent. Belasco took it as well as he gave it and used this swelling as a target, repeatedly popping jabs and straight right to the face.

By the 5th round, the medical personnel became concerned, stopping the action to take a look. Vasquez made it to the bell but the ring doctor saw enough, order the fight be stopped before the 6th round began. At the time of the stoppage, Belasco was ahead 48-47, 48-47, 49-46.

On this night Ryan Belasco secured his best win as a pro. After the way this one ended, I am sure Victor Vasquez will want some revenge, let's hope that the eye heals fast and we are all treated to the rematch soon.

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com





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JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS

MUSTAFAH JOHNSON....vs....GABRIEL ROSADO
156 pounds........WEIGHT....157.5 pounds
Indianapolis, IN...........North Philadelphia
5-3-1, 2 K0s...............8-2, 6 K0s

This was an interesting match up between another set of familiar faces on the Philly fight scene. "King" Gabriel Rosado, though only 22 years old has seen his share of controversy during his time as a pro. Now a promotional free agent, "Gaby" was returning home after settling some unfinished business avenging a prior loss when he knocked out Joshua Onyango in 2 rounds last month in New York.

He returned to Philly to face Mustapha Johnson who was also looking to avenge a prior loss received at the hands of Rosado almost two years ago. Since that fight, Johnson has improved drastically and has given some of the areas better middleweights a tough night and is more than capable of pulling out the win.

Rosado is best known for his knockout power but Johnson is the type of fighter who refuses to let you look your best against him. Alot of the rounds here were very similar. Rosado would start out circling, throwing some jabs and mixing in a few rights. Johnson would work his way inside,land a few in return them hold on. In every round, it seemed that Rosado would pick up the pace and fire off hard combinations.

Johnson to his credit has a pretty under rated chin. He took some solid rights and kept on fighting. Overall, Rosado was too strong and down the stretch was able to break out of clinches and put his heavy right hand to use. It went to the scorecards with the judges seeing it 59-55, 59-55, 60-54 in favor of Rosado.

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com









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CRUISERWEIGHTS

LARRY ROBINSON....vs....WILLIAM BAILEY
193.5 pounds.....WEIGHT...193.75 pounds
South Philly.............Chesapeake, VA
8-3, 6 K0s...............8-13-2, 5 K0s

This fight was signed as a tune-up for a Larry Robinson vs Simon Carr showdown in July, but Robinson was the one who almost got tuned up as William Bailey came out blazing in the first. About :20 into the round, Bailey landed a hard right and followed up with two more that put Robinson down. Robinson beat the count and was able to withstand and big barrage as Bailey looked to close the show.

Things didn't look much better to start the 2nd as Bailey tried to seal the deal but instead got caught with booming right hand that put him on his seat. Bailey beat the count but was still dazed and Robinson finished the job soon after with another hard right which left the referee no option but to call an end to the contest at 2:33 of the round.

After the fight, Simon "One Punch" Carr went on record to say he accepts the proposed fight against Robinson.

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com






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JUNIOR LIGHTWEIGHTS

ANTHONY FLORES....vs....DARRELL MARTIN
130 pounds......WEIGHT...130 pounds
North Philly.............Baltimore, MD
1-0, 1 K0................2-2

"Flawless" Anthony Flores made it two in a row when took a unanimous decision win over a capable Darrell Martin in a match up of two accomplished amateur champions.

Early in the fight, Martin made the mistake of trying to out box Flores and was taken to school. Flores would move in, throw two and three punch combos and get out before the fire returned. He also threw some good, hard hooks to the body which took some wind out of Martin's sails.

Going into the third, Martin looked finished in the corner but he dug deep and had his best round of the fight. Instead of boxing, he came moved forward and landed some clean left hooks to the head. It probably wasn't enough to win the round but he did make it competitive. Martin had the jab working early in the 4th but Flores stepped on the gas and became more active, throwing hooks to the body and uppercuts on the chin as Martin looked to get a knockout late in the fight. It went to the score cards and all three judges saw it 40- 36 in favor of Flores

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com

 
 
 
 

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MIDDLEWEIGHTS

CHARLES KIRBY....vs....DENNIS HASSON
167 pounds......WEIGHT..166 pounds
North Philly............Kensington
1-3 .....................1-0

This one was short but pretty sweet, Dennis Hasson made a successful pro debut back in March but Charles Kirby showed right away that he wasn't going to lay down in this one. It didn't take long for these fighters to start throwing the leather. After a scuffle on the ropes, Kirby got Hasson's attention with a hard right that landed flush but Hasson returned the favor with a two piece combo that wobbled Kirby. After a few more big rights and lefts. Kirby was in serious trouble and holding on for dear life. Just as he was about to go, the bell sounded. Between rounds, referee Shawn Clark saw enough and stopped the bout which earned The Assassin Hasson his first win as a pro.

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com









__________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LIGHTWEIGHTS

TOMMY GARCIA....VS....TRAVIS THOMPSON
133 pounds....WEIGHT...131 pounds
Hartford, CT...........Pottstown, PA
1-1, 1 K0..............2-1, 2 K0s

Two fighters who compete in a growing lightweight division faced off against each other in hopes of putting their name in the mix. Travis Thompson has the look of a throwback fighter with his gritty, let's have a fight style. Tommy Garcia was back in town after splitting a series last year with Felix Arroyo. Garcia was taller and had a bigger build but Thompson is quicker and seemed to be the more active of the two. Both fighters tried to put their advantages to use, Thompson on many occasions tried to initiate the action but seemed to mistime a variety of jump jabs, hooks and overhand rights. When the fight went inside, Garcia was able to withstand the charge and landed a few hard hooks of his own which would at least temporarily stop any rally that Thompson would build. No knockdowns or serious trouble for either man and it went the four round distance. Two judges scored it 40 - 36 in favor of Garcia while a third judge saw it 38 - 38.

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com









Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com
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CRUISERWEIGHTS

AHMED SAMIR....vs....PEDRO MARTINEZ
195 pounds...........191.5 pounds/24 years/5'11"
NYC, NY...............North Philadelphia
1-0 ...................1-0, 1 K0

Ahmed Samir once again came in as the hand picked opponent for a promotionally carried ticket seller and once again he leaves a winner. It almost ended really early as Samir scored two knockdowns in the 1st round. Martinez was able to survive the early scare and in the 3rd, looked like he was going to return the favor. Samir showed a lot of grit by withstanding this attack and coming back to look strong in the 4th and final round. At times it looked more like a street fight than it did a boxing match but overall it was pretty entertaining. The fight went to the cards with the judges seeing it 38-36, 39-35, 39-35 in favor of Samir who was showered with boo's upon his exit.

Photos by Zach Radel / www.zarphotography.com



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