Show:697982

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2014-09-29 State Farm Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, US

PROMO

2014-09-29 Hildago, TX. USA.jpg

REPORT

Leija-Battah and Golden Boy Promotions Energize on Fight Fan’s Monday Night
By Daniel Ozuna; SouthTexasContender Updated: October 2, 2014[1] 
In the main event, Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz (12-0 8 KOs) controlled the action in his bout against Raul Hidalgo 
(21-12 16 KOs). Diaz consistently landed cleanly. The much more experienced Hidalgo remained formidable 
throughout, bringing the fight to Diaz with aggressive assaults and never backing down from a brawl, but he 
was ultimately ineffective against the faster, spryer Diaz. By the mid-rounds, the pounding resulted in a 
slower, less effective Hidalgo. Diaz capitalized in the seventh, scoring three knockdowns resulting in a TKO.

Fidel Maldonado (19-2 16 KOs) maintained a substantial edge against a very tough Nelson Lara (15-6-5 8 KOs), 
securing an 8th round TKO. Battles were frequent in the exciting bout. Maldonado was usually the victor and 
the beating took its toll on Nelson, who seemed to have lost much of his steam by the mid rounds. The referee 
stopped the action in the 8th round in favor of Maldonado.

Ricardo Alvarez (24-3-3 14 KOs) enjoyed a slight edge for the duration of his bout against 46-year-old John 
ichael Johnson (31-10 23 KOs). A very careful Alvarez seemed reluctant to engage in battle against a very 
game Johnson. Ricardo Alvarez often lead with power punches seemingly looking for the one punch knockout. 
Worth noting, this was Johnson second fight in eleven years.
Local fight fans were treated to exciting matches from local fighters. Mission’s Ricardo “El Gallero” Palacios 
(2-0) dominated his match, and was quick to answer when his opponent, Mcallen’s Patrick Rangel, (0-1) tried to 
change the course. Palacios scored a unanimous decision.
Mcallen’s Enrique Alvarez (5-0 1KO) scored a unanimous decision over Harlingen’s Hector Garza (3-13 2 KOs). 
Garza’s corner spent much of the bout telling Garza to let his hands go, an instruction a visibly frustrated 
Garza could not heed against an effective Enrique Alvarez.
It was hard to imagine how one judge scored the bout against Edinburg’s Luis Castro (5-1 4 KOs). A confident 
Castro, dominated in his bout against Jesus Garza (2-5-1). Garza, fierce throughout, was often stopped by 
Castro’s left hook up top, apparently Castro’s weapon of choice. Castro got the split decision win after four 
rounds.
Fight fans were also treated to Antonio Tarver’s (1-0 1 KO) professional debut. Tarver dismantled his opponent 
with effective boxing, and won via TKO when the contest was stopped in the fourth. His display suggested native 
talent mixed with top-notch training, and cemented Tarver, at least for the time being, as a fighter to watch. 
The question is what Tarver will do when tested. His opponent, a very game Zachary Briones, (1-2) seemed to be 
a deliberate mismatch.
Ricardo Lamas (2-0 2 KOs) secured a quick victory against Norberto Saenz (0-1). Lamas scored a knockdown with 
a left hook to the body within moments of the first round bell. Lamas landed a second left hook, the second 
resulting in a knockout before the first minute of the bout.

Golden Boy Live! report – Diaz Jr prevails; Ricardo Alvarez and Maldonado win.
by Nader Gamez; Behind The Gloves / Tuesday, 30 September 2014[2]
Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz Jr (12-0, 8 KOs) from South El Monte, CA defeated Raul Hidalgo (21-12, 16 KOs) from Casas 
Grandes, Chihuahua, Mexico by TKO on Monday night.  The scheduled ten-round featherweight bout was cut short 
by referee Tony Weeks after two minutes and thirteen seconds into the seventh round after he decided Hidalgo 
had taken enough punishment.  This event, held in a 6,000 sold out State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, TX, was the 
first time Diaz was the main event in a fight.  He went on to say that he wanted to fight two more times 
before the end of the year and make the top ten list next year.

The first fight of the night was a scheduled eight round junior welterweight bout between Ricardo “Dinamita” 
Alvarez (24-3-3, 13 KOs) from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and John Michael “Bam Bam” Johnson (31-10, 23 KOs) 
from San Antonio, TX.  Alvarez, the older brother of former title holder Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, came in 14 
years younger than Johnson at age 32 and with a 72”  reach.  It is also notable that the 46 year-old Johnson, 
with a 69” reach, came in weighing 137.5 lbs while Alvarez came in at 145.25 lbs.  This fight was important 
for Alvarez since he was coming off a loss in May 2014.  As for Johnson, a former title holder, he had been 
out of the ring for almost ten years until about three years ago when he started sparring again and he said 
he felt the itch.  He said while he was out he had saved enough money for his family and took a job at a power 
plant.  Johnson, a member of the San Antonio Boxing Hall of Fame, said he works from 5am to 5pm and then trains 
until 9pm.  He also reported that he had ran a half marathon last week and had run earlier on the day of the 
fight and felt like he could go for 12 rounds. The bell rang and the first round started with both boxers 
feeling each other out.  Both boxers met each other at the center of the ring with a high guard.  For a while 
it seemed that the only action to be had was a few upper cuts and straights thrown by Alvarez to the body until 
the crowd started booing.  At that point both boxers became more active and Alvarez started targeting Johnson’s 
head in order to find his reach but Johnson was able to block a good amount of punches. The second round began 
with Johnson talking to Alvarez in order to get him to become more active.  The tactic had its effect as Alvarez
landed 3 powerful left hooks to the body but Johnson just asked for more.  A one-two combination by Alvarez 
then moved Johnson back but he responded with straights that put Alvarez in the corner. Overall, Johnson was 
doing a good job of skipping and parrying jabs.  He started using an overhand right hand in the third round and 
was able to land effectively against Alvarez.  He continued to taunt Alvarez throughout the next few rounds.  
At one point in the fourth round, the 46 year-old Johnson was chasing Alvarez while on the attack and had him 
against the ropes again, but Alvarez had better timing and accuracy. The fifth round began with Johnson yelling 
at Alvarez to “Come on!”  Alvarez proceeded by throwing a powerful combination but Johnson was still on the 
offensive chasing Alvarez.  Johnson then landed a few body shots and a ripping left hook to the head when he 
cornered Alvarez.  Alvarez was able to move out of the corner and then was able to perfectly time uppercuts as 
Johnson moved in.  It is interesting to note that neither one of the two boxers was punching at the same time 
as the other.  They were both taking their turns.
The seventh round started off with Alvarez landing left hooks on Johnson’s body.  Johnson responded by landing 
straight punches to Alvarez’ head.  Johnson did not have much power behind his punches.  Some of that may have 
been attributed to his age. In contrast, Alvarez was stepping forward with his front foot whenever he jabbed 
and was able to land crisp, effective punches.  In addition, he was sitting on his punches and was, as a result, 
able to keep his reach.
The eighth and final round started off with Johnson yelling at Alvarez again.  Johnson walked Alvarez down the 
ring and against the ropes.  He landed a flurry of punches that got the crown going.  Alvarez was able to get 
out but Johnson started switching his stance to that of southpaw in order to help cut off the ring.  As the 
crowd started booing again for more action they both flurried in the last ten seconds of the round.
The judges gave the win to Alvarez by unanimous decision.  Despite having won the fight, the bout showed that 
Alvarez still has more work to do if he wants to become a contender and that Johnson still has some fight in 
his 46 years of age.

The second fight of the night was a scheduled eight round junior welterweight bout between Fidel Maldonado Jr. 
(19-2, 16 KOs) from Albuquerque, NM and Nelson Lara (15-5-6, 8 KOs) from Jinotepe, Nicaragua.  The 23 year-old 
Maldonado came in with a reach of 72” over the 29 year-old Lara’s 69”.  Maldonado, who was on a five fight win 
streak, had not fought since February due to managerial issues.  He stated that in the near future he wanted to 
fight either Adrien Broner or Omar Figueroa, who was in the audience.  For Lara, this would be his first fight 
in the US.
The bell rang and both came out in the first round with high guards.  Maldonado was in his southpaw stance and 
began using his quick jab almost immediately.  He then landed a combination while Lara was unable to find his 
reach.  Maldonado was able to show better timing and caught Lara every time he moved in.  Lara started showing 
signs of frustration as he was unable to connect.In between rounds, Steven Quinonez in Lara’s corner told him 
that Maldonado was open and that he had to throw more and hesitate less.
The second round began and Maldonado was able to land body shots and uppercuts as he placed Lara against the 
ropes.  Lara was able to get out but he kept on walking into the Maldonado’s jab as he was pressing forward. The 
round ended with Maldonado smiling as he knew that he was dominating with his uppercuts and left hooks as well.
The third round began with Lara landing two powerful right hands to the head but Maldonado just smiled and 
taunted Lara.  They both then flurried and smothered each other until referee Tony Garcia had to separate both 
of them.  Later in the round, Maldonado threw a powerful left hook to Lara’s head that resonated throughout the 
arena.  Lara responded with powerful right to Maldonado’s head and both ended the round in another big exchange.
Lara landed a straight right that started a flurry in the fourth round.  Lara was on attack mode as Maldonado 
was stepping back.  Maldonado was shaking his head but Lara was landing and the crowd was cheering for him. 
Lara then backed him against the ropes and was able to draw blood from his nose.  At this point, Maldonado could 
barely stand and was not smiling anymore.  He was saved by the bell.  This fight had just turned into a slugfest.
In between rounds, Lara’s corner told him that every time Maldonado was smiling it meant that he was hurt and to 
just keep punching. Maldonado came back in the fifth and sixth round and was just pecking away at Lara.  Lara was 
unable to connect once again.
During the seventh round, Maldonado defended himself by spinning Lara.  As a result, Lara fell to the ground and 
the referee deducted one pint from Maldonado.  Almost immediately, Maldonado came on the attack.  Both boxers 
ended up exchanging on the ropes and Maldonado was finally able to get out but he was too tired to fight back at 
that point.
In the eighth and final round, Maldonado was able to knock Lara down with a one-two combination.  Lara immediately 
stood up and took more punishment before the referee separated them and gave him the count.  The fight continued 
and Lara took more punishment until the bout was called to an end by the referee at one minute and thirty seconds 
of the eighth round.
Although Maldonado won the fight, his exhibit showed that he needs to do more work if he plans to mix with the 
likes of Adrien Broner or Omar Figueroa.  As Figueroa stated while he was interviewed after the fight, Maldonado 
could have done a better job if he could have finished the fight in the earlier rounds.

The main event of the night between Diaz and Hidalgo started out at a very fast pace in the first round.  Both came 
in very active with high guards and quick feet and hands.  Diaz, with his southpaw stance, was keeping his right 
hand down.  At one point, he was able to knock Hidalgo down with a right hook to the head but that was also mainly 
due to bad balance on Hidalgo’s part.  Hidalgo was able to get up right away.  The fight continued and Diaz ended 
the round with powerful hooks to the body.
Hidalgo showed some signs of fight in him in the third round when he worked on Diaz’ body and walked him down, 
leading to a close quarter fight between the two. However, by the fourth round, Diaz was using his powerful hooks 
again to keep Hidalgo in his place. At one point in the round, he was able to push him against the ropes and 
Hidalgo had to smother Diaz to stop the attack.  Diaz moved in for the kill in the last ten seconds of the round.
Hidalgo was mainly on the defensive in the fifth round.  Hidalgo told his corner in between rounds he was tired 
and he was feeling Diaz’ punches.  Diaz dominated the round again and finished with another flurry.
Diaz was able to perform in the same manner in the seventh round.  He was able to stay out of Hidalgo’s reach but 
still land.  Hidalgo still showed no sign of coming back into the fight.  At the end of the round, he preemptively 
turned his back on Diaz only to allow him to land a flurry on him before the bell.
In the seventh round, Diaz landed a thunderous body shot that dropped Hidalgo.  After he was given the count, Diaz 
went on the attack and Hidalgo had to take a knee to save himself.  After he was given another count, a combo by 
Diaz dropped him once again and referee Tony Weeks stopped the fight at two minutes and thirteen seconds into the 
third round. From the looks of it, Diaz will make the top ten list as he wishes if he keeps at his current pace.  
The 2012 Olympian may soon be looking at contender status in the featherweight division as he takes on bigger names.
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