Photo Credit: Cristian Rios Photography
It's been four years since Jorge Castaneda last fought in his home city of Laredo, and the now 26-year-old was eager to put a show on for his hometown fans, and he did exactly that. After somewhat of a slow start, Castaneda got cooking and sealed the deal with a thudding one-punch knockout that put Rio Grande Valley native Nestor Medellin out cold. In what was a highly competitive fight early, it ended abruptly. The early rounds saw Castaneda jabbing and boxing beautifully but may have given some rounds away by letting Medellin back him against the ropes and unleash power shots and outwork him on the inside. Castaneda got going in the third Castaneda began circling and firing off his jab. The pin-point jab set up a left hook that scored on Medellin's body and took some steam out. Medellin answered back immediately with a hook to the Gateway City native's head that slowed Castaneda down. When the Laredo native jabbed and circled, he had success the RGV native found his success on the inside, where he could score his hooks and uppercuts. However, the body attack from Castaneda was persistent. The scrap was very competitive but saw Castaneda start to pull ahead in the second half of the scheduled eight-rounder. In the eighth perhaps Medellin saw the fight slipping away on the cards, and he valiantly slammed on the gas, bringing the fight to Castaneda. He scored with a left hook early sending the hometown fighter reeling into the ropes. However, Castaneda slid off the ropes and got back behind his jab. Medellin worked his way back on the inside, and the two exchanged power shots in the close range. However, his punches no longer had the same steam, and with just under a minute to go in the fight, Castaneda unleashed the right hand from hell! A perfectly placed uppercut that about took his opponets to head off and put him on the canvas and out as the referee immediately waved the bout off without a count. Castaneda moved his record to 15-2 (11).
It was the first fight for Castaneda with his new trainer Marcos Caballero who is the trainer of legendary four-division future hall of famer Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez. Caballero was highly impressed with Castaneda, who he has worked with for just over a month "We made a lot of improvements, and he listens well." Caballero said.
"El Mago" Josh Juarez started his career and had the bulk of his success in the light heavyweight division. He tried his hand last year as a smaller heavyweight and scored a first-round knockout. Juarez Saturday night as a 241-pound heavyweight and gave forth a dominating performance. He possessed the same hand speed and skills that he sported as a light heavy. He rocked Leopoldo Reyna with a right hand around the midway point of the first round showing his power carried up through the division. He got back behind his jab and was landing it with accuracy. He was able to consistently make Reyna miss and tag him with a counter shot when he did. Another left hook came in and rocked Reyna again just moments later. He scoffed with another right hand just before the bell to end the opening round. The second picked up exactly where the first left off, with Juarez in complete control. The Laredo native walked his man down with his jab and landed clean right hands. A barrage of right hands put the overwhelmed opponent down a minute into the second. Juarez stayed patient, and another right hand rocked Reyna as the two exchanged some words. Clearly, on wobbled legs, Reyna was eating one big shot after another, and his corner came in and called a halt to the bout. The stoppage gave Juarez his 11th win and 6th stoppage in 11 pro bouts. The goal for Juarez is to stay busy and be back in the ring before the end of 2023. The 26-year-old showed the speed, power, and skill set that can take him far in the heavyweight division.
Other Laredo fan favorites had their comebacks stalled out. Hector "Baby Hurricane" Ferreyro Jr suffered the first loss of his young and promising career. The son of the former heavyweight belt holder was caught with a right hand early from Jesus Gomez, and he never fully recovered from it. He found himself on the canvas and was able to beat the count, but Gomez slammed on the gas and landed a barrage of power shots that put the Laredo native out cold. Ferreyro dropped to 6-1 (3), and Ferreryo was 2-0 with two first-round knockouts after a three-year layoff from March 2020 to March 2023.
Leopoldo Martinez returned to the ring for the first time since back-to-back losses to Kingsville native Oscar Cantu and fellow Gateway City native Jaime Jasso in 2020. The three-and-a-half-year layoff proved to be too much for Martinez as he was knocked out in the first round by Jose Casiano of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Also on the card was Laredo native Mario Ramirez, who made his pro debut a successful one scoring a dominant one-sided point victory over Alex Ramirez, also of Laredo, who was also making his pro debut. Mario dominated the fight with a pin-point accurate jab and a thudding left hook and won the four-round jr middleweight affair by scores of 40-36 x2 and 39-37 to move his record to 1-0 (0).