Triple Header in Corpus Christi Nov. 9

El Mariachi

by Joe Calvey

By the time HBO’s boxing announcers have their hair sprayed and their manly make up applied boxer Steven Hall will have hopefully stepped from the ring under his own power.

Big time world championship boxing returns to Corpus Christi Nov. 9th when Top Rank Boxing stages the biggest fight card in these parts in more than 15 years with 2012’s Fighter of the Year Nonito Donaire, former champion Mikey Garcia, former champion Vic Darchinyan, undefeated Vanes Martirosyan and World Champion Rocky Martinez

With world championship belts on the line in different fights and a rock solid line up from boxing’s top tier it would be easy to over look one of the preliminary bouts featuring a Texas boxer. His 6 wins against 4 losses is respectable for a guy who is 34 years old, trains on his lunch break and spends his weekends with his family lounging around the pool after his road work when the weather permits.

Hall is among the most flamboyant free spirited fighters in Texas. Hopefully Top Rank will play his Mariachi entrance music. No doubt fight fans will do a double take as the serape clad, sombrero wearing pasty white welter weight makes his way from the locker room to the ring. Hall pays homage to his wife Sandra Nava, herself a Hispanic from the Rio Grande Valley, and the people of San Antonio - especially his daughter Skye Mackenzie. Hall himself is a Brit who grew up near the North Sea in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Hall has spent most of the last two decades staying in shape in amateur and professional boxing while spending his days as a CNC Setter Programmer and who had hopes to catch on with an off shore oil rig crew now that there is another baby on the way. He will need to bring all the wiliness, power and speed he can muster against 19 year old Alex Saucedo.
At 10 wins, zero losses with 7 knock outs this kid out of Oklahoma faced a tough Boyd Henly10-1 in a four rounder last June.

Following that unanimous win Saucedo’s handlers had him face a fighter making his pro debut. This match up could be a mistake for the kid since he has never faced a veteran like Hall. Likely Hall will get tagged by Saucedo’s youthful speed but if he can stay away from the kid’s power shots, cut off the ring to keep his legs fresh he has a puncher’s chance to rock the kid and take a win where he isn’t expected to in the eyes of the matchmaker. There isn’t much time left to train and Saucedo is training year round and Hall refuses to be just an opponent.

Occasionally at the end of an HBO broadcast they show clips from a preliminary fight that surprised all of the "ringside observers". This match up could be one of those.

With three solid gold fights on the card Corpus Christi will see action that will be hard to match in the years ahead.
Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire 31-2 lost his world championship belt, his destinction as one of the five best pound for pound fighters in the world, had surgery on his shoulder and became a father since his last fight in Texas. Vic "The Raging Bull" Darchinyan 39-5 is licking his chops as he seeks revenge against Donaire who took his championship belt away six years ago.

Junior middleweight U.S. Olympian Vanes "Nightmare"  Martirosyan is still seeking the spotlight despite a perfect 33-0 with 21 KO’s record. This fight he faces southpaw Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade who at 19-0 has fewer fights than Martirosyan has knockouts. That kind of match up can be a boo boo. They will be fighting for the vacant WBO World Championship.

In the main event of the night former world champion Mikey Garcia, 32-0 with 27 knockouts faces current WBO Junior Lightweight Champion Roman "Rocky" Martinez, 27-1-2.  Martinez comes from a rich background of Puerto Rican champions and Garcia is trained by his brother Robert one of the sport’s elite trainers.

Paddy "The Fin" O’Rourke is a long time gambler, boxing aficionado and part time bar stool philosopher. He ranks this card as one of the best he has seen promoted where the ringside seats don’t hit five figures. I paid him a visit and he shared with me his predictions but only after I bought him the best steak on the menu at a local chop house.

"Darchinyan will get his last big paycheck but that’s all. The fight will go the distance and the newly reconstructed shoulder of Donaire will be connected to the winner’s arm".  O’Rourke said between bites.

"The fight between the Nightmare and Boo Boo will end like a Nightmare for Boo Boo. Martirosyan realizes he needs to dispatch the younger fighter to earn the title and climb the talent board in Top Rank’s stable. Expect either a knock out or a bloody but dominating performance".

At this point O’Rourke paid more attention to his empty glass of beer than my questions. The waitresses brought a refill so he turned his attention to the main event.

"Martinez is tough, and he is defending. Judges are human and them may give some weight to the champ, you know the close rounds where it could go either way".  O’Rourke said before getting up from the table.

"Look, I know you want to know about your pal, El Mariachi, you know the guy from England".
I nodded.

"There are no moral victories in this sport except two, you retire with your money and your brains or you retire with your brains." He paused to fill his pockets of peanuts from the barrel by the front door. "Hally" has to dominate this kid, just like champs get the close ones so do the up and comers when it’s close, nothing wrong with that if that’s the way everybody sees it. No surprises, ties go to the runner, video replay and punch counts make for great conversation that’s all".

But who is going to win it I asked.

"The guy who wants it more. Make sure you tell Hally I said good luck to him and if he wins I’ll buy him and his mates a case of Guiness."