Another ProBox TV Wednesday, another action-heavy main event, this time between two Ciudad Obregon locals in Luis Torres and Misael Cabrera. Torres (18-0, 10 KO) looked fantastic early – patient when he needed to be, then quick to punish when the opportunities were there. Cabrera (14-2, 10 KO) looked like he’d turned the tide when he landed a straight that PEZ dispenser-ed Torres late in the 2nd, but got caught and dropped when he tried to press on it.
That knockdown, and the time it took for Cabrera to recover, largely decided the fight. Cabrera was stiff for two rounds, winging hooks hard and wild enough to consistently throw himself off-balance, and Torres crisply responding to pile up rounds. Cabrera finally found steady legs again in the 6th, and started finding success by getting weird.
Kung-fu is known for multiple animal-inspired styles, and Cabrera seemed to invent a boxing style best described as “agitated gorilla,” with a frequently squared-off stance, droopy arms swinging, and either snot or drool occasionally dripping down in a long strand from his own face. Torres didn’t really seem to know what to do against it, but Cabrera couldn’t get a consistent attack going because he kept getting interrupted by his own failing glove tape. Cabrera had to make three trips to the corner for tape repair or replacement in the 6th round alone.
Cabrera shook Torres a little in the 7th round, but that round saw yet another interruption for glove tape repair. Torres finally adjusted, then came out angry and cruel in the 8th, pummeling Cabrera all over the ring in a borderline 10-8 round.
Good action both ways in the final two rounds resulted in a unanimous decision for Torres on official scores of 98-91, 96-93, and 96-93 again. Bad Left Hook also had it unofficially 96-93 for Torres, but the commentary team saw it tighter. Paulie Malignaggi had it for Torres by a point, while Chris Algieri had it a draw thanks to a 10-10 round. However wide anyone may have scored it for Torres, it was a fun little fight, particularly in the second half.
Mario Valenzuela UD-6 Alex Fuentes
The chief support was a late replacement, but a well-matched six-rounder between two other Ciudad Obregon residents. Alex Fuentes came in undefeated, but broke his nose at some point in the first two rounds. It really started leaking at the start of the 3rd from what looked to be a fracture near the bridge. The bleeding was steady and heavy enough that Mario Valenzuela’s glove tape turned pink and started coming loose in just one round from the blood, and had to be re-taped before the start of the 4th.
Not a lot to say about this one, as Valenzuela (5-1, 2 KO) kept working a smart jab, and Fuentes (4-1, 1 KO) just could not get inside to respond. He kept trying, though, and his nose will need some rearranging because of it. Not a bad fight at all, but the judges all had it wide, correctly, for Valenzuela.
Oscar Alvarez MD-8 Diego Lopez
The opener was a backwards step from Oscar Alvarez, who looked sloppy and basic, but escaped with his perfect record intact. Alvarez (9-0, 7 KO) is a promising teen who struggled early but fought through it and showed something in a step-up fight 42 days ago that ended after a headbutt cut his eyebrow. This fight looked like it was meant to be a gentler test than his last challenge; perhaps a hasty return to action to take advantage of a ProBox showcase in his hometown.
Alvarez is young, he’s got a monstrous height advantage at the weight, and hopefully this fight will be a blip in a solid career. But, the plain fact is that he didn’t seem to take this one very seriously, and Diego Lopez actually came to fight. Lopez (3-2-1, 2 KO) consistently found a home for his left hand, and Alvarez’s defensive plan never developed past shaking his head to indicate he wasn’t hurt.
Much was made of Alvarez’s 10 inch reach advantage, but little was done with it. He fought like he had no plan, and only really impressed when Lopez was willing to plant feet and trade punches with him. When Lopez was moving around the ring, Alvarez couldn’t initiate his own attack or stop many punches, as Lopez gave him a fresh cut on his left eye, another under his right eye, and a puffy black eye on top of it all.
Bad Left Hook unofficially scored it a draw, and both Paulie Malignaggi and Chris Algieri on commentary scored the fight for Lopez. But, the official scores were much friendlier to the local lad, and Alvarez officially takes a majority decision on 78-74, 77-75, and 77-77 cards.
