Carlos Diaz Defeats Sergio Puente – Boxing News

By Joshua “City” Brewer

Box Azteca was back on via Bien Boxing this past weekend, live from Guadalajara, Mexico.

In the main event of the night Guadalajara’s own Carlos “Chuko” Diaz, 23-0, 11 KO’s took on Sergio Puente 25-4, KO’s, in a super featherweight clash. Diaz looked very poised early on and chose to be slow and steady with the use of his jab. Puente looked tense as he tried to figure a way in though the long reach of Diaz. Diaz landed a few snapping uppercuts to the head of Puente midway through. Puente was the aggressor moving forward and was able to land a few head snapping jabs of his own as he seemed to get better grounding and become more comfortable.

Round two saw the two fighters clash heads early on, but no cut was apparent and they continued to fight on. Through the first minute, Diaz continued to look poised and strong as Puente missed on a good number of thrown punches. Diaz was able to land a number of single shots and it was clear that he was definitely the better fighter of the wo and it wasn’t so much a matter of iff he’d win, but how’ he’d win at this point. As the round went on Diaz was able to land several more hard shots consisting of many unanswered right hooks all perpetrated by his excellent jab work. He was also able to land good body shots.

The third round followed a similar script from a style perspective but Puente seemed to be moving more this round. Again though, Diaz was able to land heavy shots and at one point landed two heavy body shots as Puente laid against the ropes. Occasionally Puente would land a decent left hand of his own, but it wasn’t enough thus for to really get the attention of Diaz.

Both fighters landed good shots in their own right during the first minute of round four. Puente started to look more comfortable. Diaz landed the harder of the shots. Puente started to really press near the fifty second mark and landed a good combination on Diaz. Both fighters threw heavy shots to close out the round in what was the most competitive round of the match.

Out of nowhere in the beginning of round five, Puente was able to land a huge left hook that buckled Diaz. Puente then landed a number of combination punches and looked as though he would potentially drop Diaz. Diaz was able to withstand even trying to shake it off as though he wasn’t hurt, but Puente had done solid damage. Diaz started to land more of his shots as the round went on but wasn’t able to separate himself from Puente for this round. Puente showed that he could hurt Diaz, potentially re-writing the narrative for the fight.

Diaz came out very aggressive to start the sixth and started to invest even more into the body shots landed on Puente as he seemed ready to try and get him out of there. Puente, as expected, provided resistance. Diaz continued to land solid shots as the round continued and closed. Puente’s opportunity to get Diaz out in the previous round seemed very distant. At this point.

Diaz peppered Puente with a number of hard shots in the early part of round 7. Puente complained of headbutts as he and Diaz clashed heads for what must have been the fourth time in the fight. Still, no cuts or blood was apparent. Around the fifty second mark Diaz was able to land some good uppercut that snapped Puente’s head. Shortly from there, they clashed heads again but continued on. Both fighters landed solid shots in the first minute of the eighth with Diaz ultimately landing the better of the shots. The latter part of the round was fairly similar.

Diaz landed a few very solid counters early in the 9th to go along with a previous tempo and style of punches landed. Puente continued to press and didn’t’ look hurt or bothered by the punches though he continued to complain of headbutts. The headbutts were more style driven as opposed to intentional. The 10th and final round was very similar to round nine as Diaz continued to box on the outside and landed more punches in an effective manner. The two fighters closed with an exciting flurry that brought the fans in attendance to an ovation. Puente never gave up and even made it a fight for a few rounds, testing the chin of DIaz. Still, I didn’t see him doing nearly enough to get the win.

The judges felt as I did as Diaz was able to notch the unanimous decision victory. Diaz started out well and was certainly tested. He’ll have to go back and work on the kinks in his game and look to take it to a higher level next time out. Regardless, good showing.

The co-main event featured Irma Sanchez, 29-7, 8 KO’s facing Maria Guadalupe Atilano, 0-2-1, 0 KO’s. Sanchez started the fight pressing and was the aggressor early. She was able to land good combinations on the retreating Atilano. Atilano chose to stay on the back foot, on the outside and use her jab, which was effective in the last minute of round one. That said, Sanchez was able to land cleanly when in close and did a good job of closing the distance.

It was apparent to me that the narrative would be whether Atilano’s jab and outside boxing style would be able to keep Sanchez off for the entire fight. Sanchez again came out aggressive in round to throwing and landing shots. Atilano put up more resistance this round in comparison to the previous. Near the minute mark there was a sequence in which Atilano was able to land about five consecutive unanswered shots on Sanchez. Near the close of the round Atilano landed a very solid shot that snapped Sanchez’s head.

Atilano was very effective in the early part of round three and was looking, dare I say, dominant with her punch combinations. Sanchez continued to press as the aggressor but became less and less effective because she found herself on the receiving end of shots in frequent quantities. Atlinanto had almost laser like precision with her jab, overhand-right combo and closed the round strong. The momentum was most certainly in her favor.

Both fighters started round four throwing a high volume of punches with the more effective punches seeming to come from Atilano in my eyes. That said, when in close, Sanchez started to bully Atilano as this round progressed on and her shots seemed to gain much needed steam that backed Atilano up and forced a reduced volume of punches from Atilano in the latter stages of the round. The momentum shifted back to Sanchez.

Sanchez started out round five aggressively but Atilano fired back with newfound strength this time around. Both fighters looked very determined. As the round went on, Sanchez was able to back Atilano to the ropes and was effective with exchanges. Atilano, though didn’t stop throwing shots and made it a scrap. This turned out to be another solid round on the books for Sanchez.

The final round, six, saw a similar script to the previous round early on. Both fighters were throwing shots as it was clear both really wanted this win. The style contract made for an interesting fight and both fighters continued to land and receive in the final round, though Sanchez seemed to have solidified the fact that she had the momentum and may have very well pulled off the fight with a strong closing.

Officially, the judges saw it as a unanimous decision win for Sanchez. Sanchez deserved to win with the determination she showed in the latter part of the fight as she was able to take the final three rounds. Hopefully we’ll see more of each fighter moving forward.

Joselyn Arroyo, 19-1, 7 KO’s Vs Maricruz Rodriguez, 1-3, 1 KO was another fight on the card. Arroyo started out looking the sharper of the two with her jab, stronger as well. As round one picked up her jab was helping to set up several power shots, mainly hooks, that got the attention of Rodriguez. Eventually Rodriguez started to land a few decent shots, though not at the volume of Arroyo. Arroyo was mainly on the back foot as Rodriguez was the aggressor, but Arroyo was very effective in her role.

Arroyo started round two with a very solid double hook combination that snapped the head of Rodriquez. She continued to land with her hooks as the round moved forward, even with Rodriguez pressing her to the ropes. It became apparent that Arroyo was without a doubt the more skilled of the two fighters, but Rodriguez stayed in tight on her and provide applied pressure.

Arroyo rocked Rodriguez with a solid right near the minute and thirty second mark of round three. Rodriguez was able to again get Arroyo against the ropes and this time landed a number of good jabs and straights. Though being outclassed in the early part of the fight, for the first time the pressure Rodriguez was providing seemed to be getting to Arroyo. Both fighters started to visibly show facial damage which was a good indication that shots were getting through on both fronts.

Round four saw Rodriguez come out in her similar role as the aggressor moving forward. Rodriguez was once again able to back Arroyo to the ropes where they both exchanged a few punches. There was a clear drop in punch volume for Arroyo this round while Rodriguez seemed to stay at a steady pace similar to previous rounds. Arroyo also visibly had her mouth open. It looked as though the forward pressure and grind of holding Arroyo backed to the ropes was starting to take a tole on Arroyo, though she was still winning the fight.

The fifth saw each fighter exchange solid four to five punch combinations during an early exchange and Arroyo seemed to have the more effective punches as in previous rounds. Rodriguez continued to press and once again, like a broken record, got blues backs to the ropes and landed shots in two separate occasions, though the last wasn’t’ as effective as Arroyo was able to land several good right hooks off the ropes that were snapping the head of Rodriguez..

The sixth and final round was excellent from the jump as each fighter immediately started with shots of varying types. Arroyo was able to hurt Rodriguez coming out of an exchange. Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez was able to get Arroyo’s back on the ropes and laid work to her body with several solid and unanswered shots. The later part of the round was mainly fought in close quarters. The two fighters closed the round exchanging heavy shots. I viewed it as a win for Arroyo though it was a valiant and game effort put forth by Rodriguez, in only her fourth fight.

In the end the judges saw it as a unanimous in favor of Arroyo. Arroyo looked good with her offensive prowess but will definitely need to test the waters with deeper competition as she moves forward.

The fight that opened up the televised action featured Emanuel Navarrete, 19-1, 17 KO taking on Luis Bedolla Orozco, 19-3, 16 KO’s. Each fighter seemed ready to put up their best effort from the start. Around the two minute mark Navarrete landed a couple of good punches. Orozco landed a good combination early on to set the tone. Near the minute and a half mark Navarrete landed a few multi punch combination in succession. Navarrete hurt Orozco with a great left hook thereafter and started to press on his offense more. Navarrete was the longer of the two fighters and used his length well and was also the fighter with the higher volume and variety of punches.

Navarrete maintained his momentum and picked up where he left off early in round two. Halfway through the round Navarrete again looked to be the stronger of the two fighters and repeatedly caught blue with uppercuts to the head and body. Navarrete hurt and dropped Orozco with a huge left upper cut near the 40 second mark of the round. Orozco was visibly hurt by the shot which was essentially icing on the cake for Navarette. Orozco’s nose was bloody as he stood up for the count but he was not on good legs and the referee called the fight.

Navarrete looked good in this fight. His style is similar to that of Mexican-American fighter, David Benavidez. If he can replicate the type of success that Benavidez has had as he moves up in competition then good things could lie in his future, which would be a in for the fans as well.

Good, late-night boxing action. It only gets better from here in 2017.

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