Martin Honorio Victorious on Friday Night Fights
By Gina L. Caliboso (At Ringside)
On ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, Martin “El Brochas” Honorio, 28-4-1, 14 KO’s, successfully defended his NABO Lightweight title by defeating Wilton “Pretty Warrior” Hilario, 12-1-1, 9 KO’s, in a 12 round unanimous decision. Both Goossen Tutor Promotions and Pechanga Resort & Casino put together a great night of boxing. Here’s a breakdown of the night’s bouts:
Main Event: Honorio vs. Hilario
Round 1 through 4:
Both fighters were lackluster in the opening round, still trying to figure out what the other could do. Hilario showed a good uppercut to the body and both fighters put together some combinations. In round 2, Honorio showed an effective lead hand when he used his jab. Hilario showed a promising short overhand right, but displayed a tendency to lead with his head and received a warning by ref. In round 3, Honorio showed technical ability by keeping off Hilario’s attack by his reach and made Hilario miss. Hilario continued to go forward but failed to put together any attack that showed he could box.
He continued to try and find his way inside, but Honorio’s reach and continued use of his jab made this difficult. Finally, in round 4, Honorio really started to open up and pulled off a flurry of punches to the body and the head of Hilario. Hilario connected with an overhand right, but still didn’t put together any effective combinations
Rounds 5 – 9:
In round 5, Honorio picked up the pace and both fighters exchanged but Honorio landed more punches and he easily took the round. Hilario just kept missing with no combination and showed he can take punches, but failed to counter and come up with any sort of offense. In round 6, Honorio continued to make Hilario miss and he connected with a hook that caught Hilario solidly. Hilario got knocked down twice in the round but managed to survive to the sound of the bell. In round 7, Honorio continued his momentum and didn’t let up. Again, Hilario showed he can take punches, but had no defenses and in one effective shot, connected, but it really wasn’t enough to hurt Honorio at this point of the bout.
Round 8 continued action in Honorio’s part and he did not relent on his attack. Hilario remained tentative and continued to take more punches. In round 9, Honorio worked a brilliant round of combinations at will, in a flurry, and shoe-shined to Hilario’s body. Hilario did not fight back at all, except against the ropes as he tried to get inside. As the bout reached the final rounds, the ref continued to stick close to Hilario’s corner because of the amount of punishment Hilario had taken.
Round 10 through 12:
In the closing rounds, Honorio continued to build points in his favor. In round 10, he continued to attack and put together more effective punch combinations to the head and body. Hilario failed to counter against Honorio. Hilario, knowing the fight was not going to be won on points, started to head hunt and look for an opening to get the KO. In round 11, Honorio had a cut above his eye that may have affected his vision, but still managed to pull off an effective offense in the round. Hilario continued his efforts to get the KO, especially with the uppercut, but seemingly grew frustrated with himself. Finally, in the 12th round, Honorio put the finishing touches on the fight and came away with the unanimous decision.
The night’s action started with a quick win by John Molina, JR., 19-1, 15 KO’s, over Ricardo “El Rayo” Medina, 31-36, 17 KO’s. In the first round, Molina and Medina exchanged on the inside when Molina connected with a left hook. There were 2 knockdowns in the opening round and the ref called an end to the fight at 1:48 in the first round. Molina declared winner by KO.
Following the quick victory by Molina, Ukrainian Sergey Karpenko, 0-1, made his boxing debut in a 4 round bout against Las Vegas heavyweight Alvaro Morales, 4-6. The fight went to 4 rounds with Karpenko showing promise with a good lead hand with an effective jab-cross combination. Morales proved to be a good counterpuncher and executed more combos whenever the two exchanged. Morales showed more experience and connected on Karpenko several times in the 2nd round. Karpenko is a good technical fighter and started to go to the body and head. In the 4th round, Karpenko had a sense of urgency to putting together an attack in the closing round, but actually kept missing. Morales showed more fatigue and took everything Karpenko gave him. In the end, Morales came out the winner in a 4 round split decision.
In the third bout of the evening, Rico “Suavacito” Ramos, 15-0, 9 KO’s successfully defended his NABO Youth Champion title against Cecilio Santos, 24-13, 14 KO’s. At 1:14 in the 4th round, Ramos connected with a left to Santos’ body that took him down. It was a perfectly timed, well placed body shot.
In the fourth bout of the evening, Michael “Silent Assassin” Dallas, JR., 12-0, 3 KO’s handed Fabian “El Lobo” Luque a loss at 2:58 in the 1st round. Dallas showed excellent hand speed and landed effective combinations when the ref called the fight with a KO.