Hugo Castaneda upsets Felix Garcia and Travis Crawford Shines in Laredo

Photo Credit: Counter Punch Media

Big-time boxing returned to The Gateway City, Laredo, Texas. The Same's Auto Arena has become synonymous with boxing, and the card it hosted Saturday was no exception. The undercard featured several highly competitive bouts and local fighters. Nicholas Molina of Laredo used precise power shots, right hands that rocked Manuel Martinez with one of his signature right hands early in the fifth that shook Martinez. Molina seized the moment and unleashed a barrage of power shots. Forcing the ref's hand to stop the fight and improving his record to 6-2-1 (5). 

In another high-action undercard bout, Juan Garcia of Carrizo Springs was relentless in moving his record to 5-0 (2) and outpointing a game Gary Hampton of Fort Worth, who fell to 5-1 (0). Garcia stayed behind a high guard and attacked scoring with straight right hands and lead hooks he kept Hampton on the back foot. The Fort Worth native had moments in the fight with well-timed countershots. Garcia scored with a big left hook in the third that rocked the head of Hampton, and ultimately the judges preferred his aggression and precise power punching to the jab and counter shots of Hampton, taking the competitive decision by scores of 58-56 X2 and 59-55. 

Explosive Laredo-based prospect Jaime Jasso was able to avenge his last professional defeat, a 2021 points loss to the skilled Guillermo Gutierrez of San Antonio, to move his record to 5-2 (0). In his first-ever scheduled 8-rounder, Jasso did not fade and got cooking in the second half. Brilliantly working angels and scoring with a barrage of power shots from every possible angle. The Laredo native had a noticeable speed advantage and used slick footwork and his speed advantage to avoid the artillery of the San Antonio native. Jasso fought brilliantly off the book to decide by scores of 78-74x2 and 77-75 to capture the WBC Flyweight Youth title. 

Highly touted super middleweight prospect Daniel Blancas from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, moved to 9-0 (4) and narrowly escaped with a split decision over Bruno Pola, originally of Mexico, who now fights out of San Antonio, Texas. Pola, a southpaw, consistently landed with his jab that set up big straight left hands and seemed to have better moments, he appeared to land the harder, cleaner shots. In a once in a lifetime moment, a double knockdown occurred in the opening round, both fighters scored with hooks, and both fighters dropped. It was a foreshadowing of how competitive and close the fight was going to be. Blancas marched forward and had some success on the inside, but early on Pola was able to keep him at bay and made his opponent pay every time he tried to get inside. Blancas kept charging forward trying to get on the inside and landed some clean shots but never really seemed to get on the inside/ Balncas did some of his best work in the fourth round and was able to score with a straight right that allowed him to get inside and do damage on the inside. However, Pola stood his ground and answered back. The rest of the night was back and forth nip and tuck with Blancas trying to get on the inside with Pola tagging him when he did at the end of the highly competitive eight-round affair, the judges slightly favored Blancas. The first two judges handed in reasonable scorecards of 77-75, one in favor of each man. The third judge, Eleazar Luna Bacahanded in a ridiculous 79-73 in favor of Bancas

Travis Crawford, the typically all-action slugger from Corpus Christi, used a bit more caution in moving his record to 7-2 (2) and scoring his seventh consecutive victory. Using his speed and reach advantage over the always-determined Alex Ramos of Laredo, who fell to 7-2 (3). Crawford used a sharp jab through the affair to keep Rmos from charging in and would put well-placed right hands behind it. Ramos kept competitive throughout. Marching forward and scoring with his jab and ripping off hard power shots, but it just wasn't enough as the hometown favorite dropped the decision to Crawford, who was just too sharp in the mid-range and long-range and had Ramos in a bit of trouble in the fifth with a well placed right hand. Crawford stayed in control and did just enough as he was consistently first and landed the cleaner, more eye-catching shots, and took a split decision by scores of 78-74 and 77-75, with the third judge favoring the aggressive work of Ramos by a score of 78-74

Just moments into the main event, Hugo Castaneda originally of McAllen, Texas, but was raised in Mexico, caught undefeated Laredo blue chip prospect Felix Garcia on the chin with a left hook that snapped his head back. Castaneda followed up with a hook to that body that took the wind out of Garcia. Another left hook came in and scored on the side of Garcia's head and buckled him. The assault was on, and Castaned let loose but stayed in control while gunning for the first-round stoppage. After a few more power shots scored on the button, referee Jose Guadalupe Garcia stepped in and waived the bout to halt at the 1:19 mark of the first round to give the Laredo prospect his first loss and move Castaneda to 14-1-1 (10) and take home the WBC Youth Super featherweight title. Castaneda captured the WBO youth title in late 2022.

Sammy Castaneda Sets Record Straight in Co-Main! Plus Incredible Undercard in RGV

RGV native and fan favorite "El Gallo Fino" Sammy Castaneda exacted revenge on the rugged Houston-based veteran Julio Sanchez to move his record to 9-0-1 (7). Castaneda suffered the first and only blemish on his record. However, he righted that wrong at the Payne Arena in Hidalgo on Friday night. He stayed calm and patient, jabbing and maintaining the pace of the fight. The two traded hooks early with Castaneda's landing cleaner. The RGV native had a few moments early with the left hook early in the first round. He later scored with a nice counter right to close a competitive opening round. Castaneda relied much more on movement than he did in the first fight. While Sanchez looked to load up one shot. Sanchez was able to score with right hands over Castanedas low lead hand. A counter left hook put an off-balanced Castaneda on the floor in the second. However, the undefeated RGV native got up, dusted himself off, stayed calm, and took control of the fight starting in round three. Castaneda, on the advice of his corner, picked up the aggression and appeared to carry the third with precise left hooks and precise power shots on the inside. Sanchez scored with some clean counters and had answers. However, Castaneda was breaking his man down and seemed to chip away at that lead Sanchez built after the two-point round in the second. Castaneda landed clean left hooks one after another and mixed in some uppercuts in round four. By the fifth, it was a dog fight with Sammy leading the exchanges and Sanchez scoring with counters and catching Castaneda when he left himself open. However, it was Sanchez that was really starting to slow down as Castaneda slammed on the gas and let it go in the final round. The two traded on the inside throughout the final stanza. Castaneda landed a beautiful it on the right hand and followed up with a body shot to put an exclamation point on the fight and capture a hard-earned but clear points victory. Taking a majority decision by scores of 57-56 X2, with the third judge scoring 57-57 even.

In the opening bout of the evening Alex "El Bazooka" Ramos of Laredo moved his record to 5-1 (3) and put on a highly impressive display of power, dropping his rugged opponent Irving Tapia twice. Ramos battered his veteran opponent for the full 2:21 of the fight before a vicious left hook from "El Bazooka" but Tapia down for one final time. Ramos had older brother Jorge in the corner, and the pair seemed to work well together. 

The undercard also featured former WBA super bantamweight title holder Oscar Escandon of Ibague, Colombia, who showed even at 38 years old, he still has the craft and skills to compete at the highest level. The former champ jabbed his way in and then unleashed powerful right hands from a variety of angels. He outworked and out-landed his opponent,  Angel Tamez Colombian, beating his man up throughout a six-round affair. The Colombian scored with a thudding body shot late in the second that hurt his opponent badly. He stayed downstairs and dropped his man. Just moments later Escondon struck again with a left hook and right upper combo.  The battering continued throughout the fourth and fifth and the only question left was could it go the distance able to go the distance. A determined Tamez survived to the final bell. However, the scorecards were academic as Escandon took a wide decision by scores 60-53  and 59-54x2.

McAllen Native, knockout artist, and fan favorite Javi Vargas suffered his first career loss and dropped to 2-1 (2) when he dropped a competitive decision to Damian Guajardo of Zapata. Guajardo was not intimated by the power and reputation of the McAllen native and pressured Vargas and took the fight to him in what was an all-action fan-favorite slugfest. The judges preferred the constant pressure and punch output of Guajardo over Vargas's more precise punching and counter shots as the judges scored in favor of the Zapata native 40-36x2.

In a rematch of September's all-out slugfest between Laredo native Nick Molina and Edinburg native Eduardo Guerra. The first bout ended in a controversial draw in which most spectators thought Molina rolled to a clear victory. In the rematch, Molina was jabbing and moving a bit more and was scoring with a stiff jab that kept Guerra at bay. However, as the fight progressed the Edinburg native was able to get on the inside and apply pressure that wore Molina down and land chopping right hands on the inside. It was another highly competitive fight the judges ruled in favor of  Guerra's pressure as opposed to Molina's skills and jab. Two of the three judges scored for Guerra 39-37 with one scoring by the same tally in favor of Molina.

In a highly competitive and entertaining lightweight affair, Joshua Montoya of Lubbock outlasted "Hot Hands" Nelson Hampton to move his record to 4-3-2 as Hampton dropped to 9-6. After a career-best performance and capturing the Texas title Montoya celebrated with a backflip that he stuck perfectly. Montoya who is a natural 126-pounder took a big challenge in Hampton and did so at a sizeable weight disadvantage. The newly minted 135-pound Texas champ will likely not be spending much more time at the lightweight limit and will likely go back down to 126.

World Championship Level Boxing Returns to the RGV

The Rio Grande Valley will once again host elite-level boxing. Former Junior Middleweight world champion Austin "No Doubt" Trout will battle local favorite Jose Charles in the main event of an absolutely stacked card that is promoted by Pound 4 Pound Entertainment and will be held at the Payne Arena in Hidalgo and aired on ESPN Knockout.

Trout captured the WBA 154-pound strap back in 2011 when he outpointed Rigoberto Alvarez. From 2011 to 2012, he successfully defended it four times, most notably against Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. Trout was able to outbox the Hall of Famer and Puerto Rican legend and pull a massive betting upset in what became fairly one-sided down the end of the fight. In his next fight Trout came to the Lone Star State and came up on the wrong end of a very close and controversial decision with Canelo Alvarez at the Alamodome. Trout, a native of Las Cruces, New Mexico, sports a career record of 35-5-1. In addition to Cotto and Alvarez, he has shared the ring with both Charlo Twins, Jarrett Hurd, and Erislandy Lara, He has a win over Delvin Rodriguez and a draw with former US Olympian Terrell Gausha back in 2019. He last fought in July and outpointed Florin Cardos in Germany.

Trout will battle local fan favorite Jose Charles, 20-2-1. Charles last fought in May at the Freeman Coliseum, dominating and outpointing Adam Ealoms of Bryan, Texas. He has won four fights in a row since being narrowly outpointed by touted Spanish prospect Cesar Nunez back in 2017. Charles's best win came in May of 2021 when he outpointed Raul Ortega in Reynosa, Mexico.

The Co-main event features highly touted 140-pound prospect and Rio Grande Valley native Sammy "El Fino Gallo" Castaneda. Castaneda, a hard-hitting prospect, ran off eight consecutive victories to start his career before settling for a disputed draw with Julio Sanchez of Houston in September at the Payne Arena. He looks to settle the score and fix the lone blemish on his track record. Castaneda, a highly regarded prospect, wanted the rematch and was willing to do whatever necessary to get it. He was able to secure the rematch and looks to make things right and get back on track to a world title.

The card will also feature former title holder Oscar Escandon who looks to get back in the world title picture in the featherweight division. Several other south Texas-based fighters will also be showcased in an absolutely stacked and exciting undercard. Quick-fisted and hard-hitting bantamweight Jaime Jasso of Laredo will battle with Roberto Cantu Pena. Fellow Gateway City natives Alex Ramos and Nicholas Molina will also be in intriguing four-round bouts. The card will also feature Rio Grande Valley native and knockout artist Javier Vargas. Vargas scored two knockouts in his two professional bouts. He scored a KO of the Year type of knockout when he fought in the Payne Arena back in September.

Nick Molina Shines As Boxing in Laredo Returns

20-year old and  Laredoan and undefeated Jr. middleweight, Nick Molina, was planning on attending Fight Fest 9/11 in his native Laredo as a spectator watching his friends and local fighters throw down in the return of boxing to the Gateway City. Until he received a phone call just over a week ago, offering him a fight on the card. The catch was he needed to fight a touted fighter from Weslaco, Peter Balderas jr, who would be making his pro debut three weight classes above where he typically fights and had the WBC Super Bantamweight Champ Brandon Figueroa by his side. The fighter that Molina is, he gladly accepted.

The fearless but very undersized Molina stepped into the ring and just seconds into the bout got clipped on the chin and dropped. He calmly got up and showed incredible composure for a 20-year-old veteran of just three previous fights. Firing off the jab and he never lost focus. Out boxing Balderas from the outside he can see his larger opponent softening up. Snapping his head back with laser-like right hands. The first round saw Molina picking himself up off the canvas and within the next three minutes absolutely seize control of the fight. He picked up the pace and really started breaking him down Balderas in the second stanza. Clearly slowing down Bladeras threw a sloppy hook that Molina countered perfectly with a right hand that sent his opponent flailing into the ropes. Molina jumped on his wounded opponent like a dog on fear unleashing a barrage of power shots that put Balderas down and brought the referee in to call a halt to the bout with just seconds left in the second round. Molina jumped up three weight classes on a week's notice got himself up off the canvas and delivered a career-best performance securing a second-round TKO victory to move his record to 4-0 (4).

The rest of the card featured Danie "The Disciple" l Villareal of Zapata, Texas scoring an impressive third-round knockout over a game opponent in Ramiro Balli.  Villareal outboxed his opponent easily firing off a shotgun-like jab and broke his overmatched opponent down with a ferocious body attack and straight right hands to the head. He scored with a perfect left hook that staggered Balli. The Disciple unleashed a whirlwind of power shots leaving his opponents helpless against the ropes and unable to continue as the ref waived the bout off giving Villareal his fifth win in five pr fights. Villareal will headline the next FIght Fest, on October 29th in his hometown of Zapata. 

Alex "The Bazooka" Ramos bounced back nicely from his first career loss to blast out an outmatched veteran by the name of Hector Gutierrez, a veteran of 18 fights who hails from Mission, Texas and scored a vicious one-sided TKO victory. There was also an upset in the building as San Antonio-based Robert Ledesma, who has been in the ring with several world-class fighters, including Max Ornelas, Ray Ximenez, Juan Tapia, and Bam Rodriguez but he finally got his win over a big named fighter. The beneficiary of two very controversial knockdowns secured the victory over Cesar Garcia of Laredo by scores of 38-36 on all three cards. Ledesma moves his record to 3-7 while Garcia whose only other loss was to the prospect of the year Bam Rodriguez, falls to 11-2.

Two other local fighters were able to secure the first win of their professional careers. Jaime Gueverra of Laredo unleashed a ferocious body attack and broke down Austin Rivas of McAllen to secure the victory in his pro debut. Additionally, Oscar Barrera also from the Gateway City picked up the first win of his pro career. In Barrera's other two professional bouts he fought Steve Garagarza both times in two very close and contentious battles. Settling for a draw in the first and suffering a decision loss in the second. He bounced back from that and outlasted Manuel Lerma. taking a majority decision by scores of 40-36, 39-37 in his favor with the third judge scoring 38-38 even.

Boxing is Back In Laredo!

Laredo, the Gateway City, is quickly becoming one of the hotbeds of Texas boxing. The city that gave the boxing world the legendary Canizales brothers is again producing potential world-level talent at an alarming rate. Jorge Castaneda pulled a major upset over Otha Jones III on a Matchroom Card, Josh Juarez put on a masterclass performance on a Golden Boy card, and Jaime Jasso, started his career with two wins over really impressive highly experienced fighters and then recently dropped a very competitive decision to Floy Diaz, who is perhaps Top Ranks most regarded young prospect. Jasso was brought in to be an outmatched, undefeated opponent that was supposed to make Diaz look good. That was anything but the case as Jasso impressed and fought Diaz tooth and nail for the scheduled four rounds. 

what all these young South Texans have in common is they built themselves up on the Triple-A Promotions Fright Fest series in Laredo. Fight Fest 20 went down in Laredo back in March of 2020. However, due to the pandemic, this series which is producing such incredible talent was put to a temporary halt. It's been a year and a half since the last rendition of the fight series but it returns today (9/11/21) in a major way. On the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, the hard-hitting prospects of Laredo, Texas will once again fill out the Sames Auto Arena. 

Undefeated super featherweight Daniel Villarreal will make his Laredo debut and look to move to 5-0.  Nick Molina who is a highly touted Jr Middleweight prospect, will show his fighter's mentality and warrior spirit will take a catchweight fight on extremely short notice and look to move his record to 4-0.  Additionally, Alex "Bazooka" Ramos, younger brother of Jorge Ramos, looks to bounce back from his first career loss, a 6-round slugfest with San Antonio-based prospect Javier Fernandez when he takes on veteran Hector Gutierrez of Mission, Texas. Two other young Gateway city natives will make their professional debuts. 112-pound Jaime Guevara and Super Middleweight Sonny Lique, both look to get their career off to a quick start.